ABSTRACT The article explores the representation of hybrid Ukrainian and Russian identities in Aleksandr Kuprin’s story “Olesia” (1898). Using the concept of “internal colonization” as a nuanced version of postcolonial theory applied to the context of Russian Empire, the author analyzes the hidden motives that are linked to ethnic groups and stereotypes. The key feature of the main heroine, unnoticed by the previous scholars, is her Russian origin and, thus, the Ukrainian mimicry. This important detail enables a new interpretation of the protagonist’s love of Olesia. Both the love story and the orientalization of the heroine can be read as the Russian intelligentsia’s unconscious anxiety of dangerous peasants. The article traces how Kuprin discredits populist ideology and the idea of a civilizing mission working with the most painful myths and discourses of fin-de-siècle imperial culture.

中文翻译：

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Ориентализация «другого» как страх перед своим народом: «Олеся» А. 伊。Куприна в постколониальной перспективе

摘要 本文探讨了亚历山大·库普林 (Aleksandr Kuprin) 的故事“奥莱西亚 (Olesia)”（1898 年）中乌克兰和俄罗斯混合身份的表现。作者将“内部殖民”的概念作为应用于俄罗斯帝国语境的后殖民理论的细微版本，分析了与族群和刻板印象相关的隐藏动机。以前的学者没有注意到主要女主人公的主要特征是她的俄罗斯血统，因此是乌克兰的模仿者。这个重要的细节使主人公对奥莱西亚的爱有了新的诠释。无论是爱情故事还是女主人公的东方化，都可以理解为俄罗斯知识分子对危险农民的无意识焦虑。