Vladimir Mokaev: biography and metaphysics of thinking

R.A. Kerimova

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Abstract. This article provides a systematic overview of the main stages in the life and career of the contemporary Balkar and Russian writer V. A. Mokaev. For the first time, into scholarly circulation are introduced the author’s previously unstudied texts. The paper discusses the connection between the lyric poetry of V. Mokaev and the work of metaphysical poets.
The purpose of the article is to identify, describe, and systematize the main stages of V. Mokaev’s life and work in terms of thematic and genre features.
Research methods. The paper utilizes a hermeneutic, contextual, and integrated approach (theoretical, comparative-typological, contrastive, and systemic analysis methods), as well as empirical methods. As a result, the features of the poetic style were revealed: intellectualism, the use of prototexts, wit (complex metaphor, concetto), “obscuring meaning”, semantic density, discourse synthesis, intertextual references to prototexts (the Bible and other precedent texts), and mysticism (an appeal to the transcendent).
Conclusions. At the core of V. Mokaev’s poetic system is a search for hidden meanings within phenomena, a conception of the mystical nature of art, and an implicit or explicit manifestation of the “metaphysical” through the thematic and figural representation of transcendent ideas. These characteristics can help to better understand the artist’s “portrait”, as well as fill the existing gap in our knowledge of Karachay-Balkar literature of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, identify trends in its development, and outline the direction of contemporary artistic thought as a whole.

Keywords: V. Mokaev, Balkar poetry, contemporary Russian-language poetry, “metaphysical” poetry, intellectual mode, style, philosophical lyrics

For citation. Kerimova R.A. Vladimir Mokaev: biography and metaphysics of thinking. News of the KabardinoBalkarian Scientific Center of RAS. 2026. Vol. 28. No. 2. Pp. 166–174. DOI: 10.35330/1991-6639-2026-28-2-166-174

©   Kerimova R.A., 2026

References

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Information about the author

Rauzat A. Kerimova, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Senior Researcher, Karachay-Balkar Literature Department, Institute of Humanitarian Researches – branch of the Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
18, Pushkin street, Nalchik, 360000, Russia;
K.roza07@mail.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1964-4511, SPIN-code: 1548-5430

Funding

The study was performed without external funding.