Problems of alcohol consumption in the oral and written literary tradition of the Yakuts (late 19th – early 20th centuries)

Semenova Valentina Grigorevna ORCID: 0009-0002-9982-6111 Doctor of Philology Associate professor, Department of Yakut Literature, Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University 42 Kulakovsky str., Yakutsk, Republic of Yakutia, 677013, Russia semenova_ykt@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Efimova Lyudmila Stepanovna ORCID: 0009-0007-5685-9622 Doctor of Philology Associate Professor, Department of Cultural Studies, Northeastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov 677000, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk, Kulakovsky str., 42, office 226 ludmilaxoco@mail.ru

Basharina Zoya Konstantinovna ORCID: 0009-0004-9457-4546 Doctor of Philology Professor, Department of Yakut Literature, Northeastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov 677000, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk, Kulakovsky str., 42, office 235 zbacharina@mail.ru

 introduction

Alcohol and the culture of drinking alcoholic beverages are considered to be introduced cultural phenomena in the Yakut community. Since the XVII century, since the accession of Yakutia to the Russian state, as a result of a new round of socio-cultural development in the region, the process of acculturation began – the adaptation of the communicant (residents of Yakutia) to a new culture. The Yakuts quickly adopted the innovation, which had negative consequences in the socio-cultural life of the people.

The ancient Yakuts did not drink drinks containing ethyl alcohol in significant percentages. This was noted in particular by ethnographer V. L. Seroshevsky in his fundamental work "Yakuts" (1896): "Vodka is rarely drunk and considered not as food, but as a delicacy. Of course, only its intoxicating property is appreciated in it. Although they have their own Yakut name – argi, very similar to the archimedes, but the Yakuts do not know how to extract vodka from kumis like the latter. In Yakut legends and songs, I also found nowhere any indication of the original production of vodka. If they knew him, they forgot, and the Russians introduced them to vodka again" ^{[1, p. 313]}. The Yakuts produced the national drink kymys from mare's milk, it contained only 1.02 – 1.40% alcohol ^{[2, p. 12]}. Yakut kymys has a similar manufacturing technology with drinks from mare's milk of other Turkic peoples (Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Altaians, Bashkirs). Most Turkic peoples have the same composition of drinks, which consists of fresh mare's milk and sourdough. The leaven vessel, which was made of waterproof pet skin, is identical. The stirrers with holes and with a handle are the same, the fermentation technology by frequent stirring is identical. The drink contains almost all the elements necessary to maintain the health and normal functioning of organs: B vitamins; vitamins A, E (vitamins of youth and beauty); ascorbic acid; vitamins F, K; calcium; magnesium and potassium; fluorine; sodium. Thus, the Yakuts did not have an established tradition of cultural consumption of alcoholic beverages, as in other civilized societies.

Researcher A.V. Nikolaev ^[3] identified three main stages in the historiography of the study of drunkenness in Russia. The first stage covered the pre–revolutionary period, the second – the Soviet period (from 1917 to 1991), the third - the post-Soviet period (from 1992 to 2001). According to its materials, literature on drunkenness and alcoholism first appeared in foreign countries. So, in 1581, the problems of alcohol consumption in the army were discussed in the English press. In 1643, a society for combating drunkenness was organized in England. In Russia, one of the first publications on the problem of drunkenness in 1843 was a book by B. Kramer. In 1868, a monograph by the Russian historian and ethnographer I. G. Prygov was published. Representatives of medical science (N. I. Grigoriev, A.M. Korovin) first joined this problem, then lawyers (A. F. Koni, etc.), representatives of the State Duma (M. G. Kotelnikov, M. D. Chelyshev), etc. On December 28, 1909, the first All-Russian Congress on Combating Drunkenness began its work. The first stage of actualization of the problem of drunkenness and the fight against this disease in Russian society has begun.

Public opinion about the spread and harm of alcoholic beverages in Yakutia was formed at the dawn of the XX century. So, in 1901, the newspaper "Siberian Life" published an article by the educator, priest, teacher of the Suntar parish school of the Vilyui district I. E. Popov "Wine monopoly in the Yakut region". In the article, the author expresses his concern about the growing need of the population for alcohol: "There is no need to talk about how strongly the Yakuts are addicted to alcoholic beverages. Enough has already been written about vodka as the cause of the decline of the foreign economy, family discord, heterogeneous diseases and crimes. For my part, I consider it timely to say: if the Yakuts did not completely die from vodka, it was only due to the prohibition of wine trade in foreign camps" ^{[4, p. 14]}. Further, he asks the regional leadership not to allow the sale of state-owned wine and the opening of drinking establishments in foreign camps. In 1912, the newspaper "Sakha Sa?ata" published an article by one of the first graduates of the Yakut paramedic-obstetric school V. G. Mestnikov "Arygy buortuta (Harm of alcohol)". In it, for the first time from the point of view of medical science, the author actualizes the problem of alcoholism as a harmful disease, about the effect of alcohol on the human body and its descendants ^[5]. Active scientific interest in the study of the problems of drunkenness in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) began only in the post-Soviet period. Basically, doctors with a scientific degree are included in this research topic ^{[6; 7; 8; 9]}.

The active use of alcoholic beverages by the Yakuts began at the end of the XIX century with the widespread import of alcoholic beverages from Russia to the territory of Yakutia. In Yakutia, the first problem of drunkenness was posed by folk singers, whose works were widely distributed in the region and were popular among the population.  

The subject of the research in this article is the texts of folklore and literary works of the late XIX – early XX centuries devoted to the problem of drunkenness. The main methods were historical-cultural, comparative-historical research methods.  

The scientific novelty of the work consists in the fact that the authors attempt a comprehensive study of the problem of alcohol in folklore and literary works of the pre-revolutionary period. For the first time, the texts of archival documents previously unknown to a wide range of readers became the object of scientific research and were introduced into scientific circulation.   

the main part

The bearers of the folklore tradition, singers, Olonkhosuts (storytellers of the Olonkho epic), as exponents of folk aspirations, at the end of the XIX century tried to critically analyze and comprehend the negative impact of alcohol, the harmful effects of drunkenness and the spread of alcoholism in Yakutia.

The problem of drunkenness in the oral art of the Yakuts.

One of the first printed works on this topic is the song "Arygy yryata (Song about vodka)" with a size of 154 lines, published in 1890 in the magazine "Living Antiquity" ^[10]. The song was recorded from the words of an unknown singer and translated into Russian by the Cossack of the Yakut regiment N. I. Beznosov. There is a note in the publication that "the song was composed by the Yakuts at the first time of the delivery of state–owned alcoholic beverages to Yakutsk and since that time has passed to their descendants - our contemporaries" ^{[10, p. 33]}. The lyrics of the song were delivered to the publishing house of St. Petersburg by V.L. Priklonsky. It should be noted that V. L. Priklonsky, as an official, working in the Yakut region, put a lot of effort into collecting and publishing Yakut ethnographic and folklore materials. So, on the 26-30 pages of the above-mentioned department of the first edition of the magazine, texts of Yakut riddles with a translation into Russian were included. In other issues of the magazine, Yakut folk beliefs and fairy tales collected by him were printed.

In Soviet times, the text of this song in a processed, slightly modified version was printed in the collection "Sakha narodnaya yryalara (Yakut folk songs)" with a parallel translation into Russian ^{[11, pp. 324-331]}. In a comparative analysis, we found that, in general, the editors adhered to the translation of N. I. Beznosov (1890) with some editorial corrections. "Arygy yryata" was a widespread song among the Sakha people. According to the classification of G. U. Ergis, songs of this content and character belong to the third group of folk songs - songs about work and everyday life, directly related to the daily practical activities of the Yakuts. G. U. Ergis explained the appearance of songs about vodka by new phenomena in the economy, everyday life and social life of the Sakha people. He wrote that this "song picturesquely describes the production, sale of vodka and the harmful effects of drunkenness. The Yakuts were drugged by merchants and bought furs and products of their labor from them for a song" ^{[12, p. 317]}.

The song "Arygy yryata" consists of several logically constructed and interconnected parts. As G. U. Ergis noted, the singer first describes the production of vodka, emphasizing the externally introduced nature of this product in Yakutia. At the beginning of the song, the vodka production process is praised as follows:

The first part of the song describes the process of vodka production in Russia, in particular in Moscow. It was prepared by distilling an infusion of flour, and gave strength to this drink by adding the juice of okhta.

Further in the second part of the song, the singer describes in detail the process of transporting vodka to Yakutia. At the same time, state support for vodka production is emphasized: "Sokuonunan holboonnor, Luohtuur toyottor boruobuidaan turan, Uohtaah, kuusteh buollun dien, Urduk sirge kordoron, Boorgoton turan, Yyaa?Ynan y?yran ylan, Hahaak hamaandalaryn Hara ta?a ta?aardylar (With the law having agreed, gentlemen, having tried it, "it will be strong and strong," in other words, in the highest having shown the place, reinforced (by this), having summoned the Cossack team by decree, they were sent to the forest)" [ibid.]. Indeed, the import of vodka to the remote suburbs was agreed by law in the circles of the highest authorities as a result of the state's drinking policy to replenish the country's budget. As can be seen from the lyrics of the song, Cossacks, serving people, and military personnel of the Russian state, recruited from free people in the XVIII century, take part in the delivery of goods.

The Cossacks, having carefully prepared the goods, send them to Yakutsk by river transport. The singer uses comparisons to convey this process. As is known, comparison is characterized as "a stylistic means by which objects, phenomena, states, actions, living beings in various paired combinations are presented as "equal" in general, certain parts or qualities" ^{[13, p. 108]}. Cossacks prepare packaging materials from wood for the export of vodka "yrya kurduk ysaran, tuoy (in the original – that in the meaning of "holiday" - S.V., E.L., B.Z.) kurduk tutan, kulu kurduk kuobulleen, oonnuu kurduk usturuustaan baran (as a song composed like clay (in the original that – on holiday) having made it, like a laugh scraping, like a game whittling)" ^{[11, pp. 324-325]}. That is, they carry out the transportation of vodka in a very joyful, upbeat mood.

The third part of the song presents the harmful effects of drunkenness. Of the 154 lines of the song, 61 lines are devoted to the problems of drunkenness. Drunkenness is defined by experts as alcohol abuse, but without signs of physical and mental dependence, unlike alcoholism, accompanied by painful dependence. At the beginning of the song, the folk singer distantly describes it as a new phenomenon in the Yakut community, shows the attitude of different classes to wine and vodka products. The author notes that as a imported product, vodka was attractive to those who had money, who could buy, buy, drink and enjoy it. Indeed, at first the use of alcoholic beverages was a privilege of the upper classes: "maanylary batyst, baidary taptaat, korsuleri kytta kapsatte, bileechchini biliste, sokuonnukka tuhaaida (she chased the venerable, fell in love with the rich, talked to the smart, met with experts, met with lawyers)" ^{[11, pp. 328-329]}. Next, the singer describes the negative and harmful effects of vodka. So gradually alcoholic beverages become attractive to the lower classes of society. The song expressively and figuratively describes the negative effect of alcohol on a person's social status: "otor so?us urduk diyele?i namtatta (soon having high houses – lowered), kie? diyele?i achchatta (spacious houses – reduced), oyuulaah oronnoou ularytta (patterned beds – changed), ohoh urde oronnoto (made to sleep on stoves), oroguoha suor?annaat (with a matting blanket), kirchiichche sytyktaat (laid a pillow made of bricks), solko kurdaàày sutuka kurdaat (having silk sashes, forced to replace with a talc), komus kurdaàày kolopune kurdaat (changed silver belts to hemp)" ^{[11, pp. 398-399]}. Further, the singer reveals the true essence of alcohol and expresses fears that alcohol has spread widely through the uluses of Yakutia: "to?us uluhu tuolla, a?ys uluhu ar?arda, sette uluhu siten sielle (filled nine uluses, drove around eight uluses, trotted around seven uluses)" ^{[11, pp. 330-331]}. The song also notes that to attract the attention of consumers, alcoholic beverages have become different grades: dessert, liqueur, alcohol, fruit, rum, cherry, etc. At the end of the song, in several lines, the singer attempts to show the disastrous consequences, the ruinous effects of alcohol. The work ends with the words "Kutur ostooh! Kuogeldyan, nushaldyan, kuchaan, ulaatan koston, suten kuoreyen" (Eco hostile! It moves, does not hurry, decreases, increases, is visible, gets lost, rises) [ibid.].

In the archive of E. K. Pekarsky there is a second song with the same name, recorded by N. P. Pripuzov on January 26, 1894 ^[14]. In the manuscript, Pekarsky noted: "It was sent to my disposal by D. A. Klemenz for familiarization with the folklore material collected by me and other participants of the Siberian expedition (1894-1896)." The short work, which has only 22 lines, is called "The Song of Vodka", but there is no speech about it in the text. One can think that the rest was lost or this song was composed at the very beginning of the import of alcoholic beverages into the region, when the Yakut people did not fully feel its harmful effects. The singer, sitting at a table with a precious green vessel, which was created with the blessing of the tsar-sovereign, sings life in high spirits, encourages everyone to have fun and rejoice. In our opinion, the song can reflect the people's first impression of alcoholic beverages at the earliest stage of acquaintance with them.

Using the example of two folk songs about vodka, which were popular, perhaps for a long time, but recorded by informants at the end of the XIX century, it can be stated that folk singers eventually realized the harmful effects of alcoholic beverages and tried to convey to the people about the dangers of alcohol consumption.

Songs about vodka in works of oral literature.

In the pre-revolutionary period, one of the earliest recordings of songs about vodka and drunkenness is a self-recording by a folk singer, olonkhosut from the II Igidei nasleg of the Boturus ulus Konstantin Grigoryevich Orosin, made in 1889 ^[15]. He came from a wealthy Orosin family and studied literacy with E. K. Pekarsky. Konstantin Orosin, at the request of his teacher, wrote down the texts of one of the variants of olonkho "Gyuluruyar Nyurgun Bootur (Nyurgun Bootur Swift)" and folk songs – toyuki of a mythological nature.

K. G. Orosin was a prominent representative of Yakut oral literature, following folklore and preceding literature at the stage of development of the artistic consciousness of the people. According to the researchers, "improvised and written works of the authors differed from folklore ones in conscious authorship, direct connection with reality, attention to social contradictions in society, stability of texts, original artistic means close to written poetry" ^[16].

The song "Argy yryata (Song about vodka)" is kept in the personal archive of E. K. Pekarsky, who made the following entry in the manuscript: "Written by K. G. Orosin on February 3, 1889; his own improvisation" ^{[15, p. 17]}. The song is well composed with respect for poetic features and the use of traditional means of artistic expression of oral creativity. But Orosin's work differs from folk songs in that it is written in his personal name, which violates the true nature of the folklore work. In the first part of the work, which has only 92 lines, the author presents the origin of alcoholic beverages in the spirit of folk songs. Then the lyrical hero describes the effect of alcohol on the human body, causing a change in his mental and physiological state: after two glasses, the drinker feels dizzy, his movements slow down, and after the third, forces suddenly appear, an aggressive attitude and the hero continues drinking. Then the singer thoroughly, in all details, describes the manifestations of a hangover, the inner state of the hero. The authorship of the poet-improviser was vividly expressed in the conclusion containing the key idea of the work:

Dae min duumaidaan-tolkuidaan kordohpune – If you think about it, children, it seems,

Kunduge-maanyga, chieske                                                   Vodka is intended only for

Oonnuuga, korgo, uruuga, yyahha For treats in one or two glasses

Biirdii ikkilii uryumpeni iherge                                On holidays, weddings,

Anammyt as ebit, o?olor!                                                  Ysyakh and in celebrations. ^{[15, p. 19]}  

As can be seen from the work, the singer reflected his first impressions after meeting and drinking alcoholic beverages, but he does not yet realize the harm of drunkenness and advocates "cultural drinking".

In 1912, the forces of the nascent Yakut intelligentsia published the first magazine in the Yakut language "Sakha Sa?ata" (1912-1913), which became a great event in the history of Yakut culture. On its pages in 1913, the original work "Burduk uuta Boyun bukhatyr (Flour-water bogatyr Boyun)" by the author under the pseudonym Aata Suoh was published ^[17]. In it, the narrative is built in the style of an epic work on behalf of vodka, which is depicted in the image of the hero Boyun. We assume that a grammatical error has been made in the text of the work and we believe that the name of the Flour-water hero can be understood as "Buoyun" in the meaning of "sariihit (conqueror)". Semantically, vodka is presented as a conqueror of the minds of the inhabitants of Yakutia. The system of events described in the work has similarities with the plots of other songs about vodka. So, the hero Buoyun is from Russia, brought on a ship accompanied by Russian Cossacks. Then vodka becomes for all Yakut people, from rich to poor, one of their favorite pastimes and at the same time a very dangerous occupation. The work indicates the devastating consequence of drunkenness as alcohol addiction. The bogatyr Buoyun has a strong and strong grip, she never lets go of the one who joined her: "tutarym kytaanakh, bastaryttan atakhtarygar dieri, iliilaritten etterigar dieri, surakhtaritten byardarygar dieri t olorybet, muchchurybet, sillibet kyna tutar buollaym, kelgiyarim kiriepkei (I keep people who drink vodka near me – S.V., E.L., B.Z.) firmly, from head to toe, from hands to torso, from heart to liver, without letting go (of them), without distracting, without giving a chance, I attract to myself forever)". The disastrous effects of vodka are conveyed in the work with emotionally colored figurative expressions: bastaan Bayaantai uluuhun baraabytym, Duksun uluuhun dyudeppitim, Mae uluuhun malippitim, Taatta uluuhun dyadappytym, Nam uluuhun tatyaryppytym, bel-bel haannah-chynnaah Haalas uluuhun olboorputum (first he devastated Bayagantai ulus, Dupsunsky ulus became impoverished because of me, disappeared (population) Meginsky ulus, Tattinsky ulus became impoverished, Namsky ulus became impoverished, even the famous Khangalassky ulus faded) ^{[17, p. 33]}. The author of Aata Suoh tried to show the killing power of alcohol in the image of a Warrior Hero and thereby wanted to warn fellow countrymen about the dangers of vodka, which invariably leads to alcohol dependence.

As can be seen from the above, at the beginning of the twentieth century, alcohol abuse became an urgent problem of society and representatives of the emerging oral literature, the authors of the original works K. G. Orosin and Aata Suoh devoted their works to this issue and expressed their personal view of alcohol as an upcoming threat to the people.  

Poet A. E. Kulakovsky is the initiator of the sober movement in Yakutia.

The founder of Yakut literature, educator, scientist Alexei Eliseevich Kulakovsky in his fundamental work "The Yakut Intelligentsia" (1912) devoted many lines to the topic of alcohol consumption and drunkenness. He was one of the first to realize that at the beginning of the twentieth century, drunkenness was gradually becoming a problem of Yakut society. Using the example of the Chukchi, he shows that excessive passion for alcoholic beverages invariably leads to the death of the nation:  "The bestial Chukchi have not died out so far because the poisonous "breath" (tyyn) of cultural peoples has not yet touched them. But now the Americans and Russians have already begun to heavily solder them with alcohol, because their days are numbered" ^{[18, p. 34]}.

As a researcher and traveler who traveled a lot around Yakutia, he studied the life of the people from all sides and saw how the problem of drunkenness reached the most remote hinterlands of the northern uluses. Being seriously concerned about this problem, he calls for coercive measures: "It is necessary to take measures to combat drunkenness, gambling and tobacco smoking, since the uncultured people themselves, as always happens, cannot fight these types of "cultural delights" on their own and do not even understand their harm at all" ^{[18, p. 57]}. As a person with developed rational thinking, advocating for limiting the sale of alcohol, he suggests fighting drunkenness at the legislative level. In part VI of the work "Sources of Income", Kulakovsky considers the "exploitation" of such human vices as drunkenness, gambling and smoking to be one of the ways to find money: "I design like this: a) to fine anyone who buys a bottle of vodka anywhere by 50 K. (with vodka dealers, of course, according to the law); in order to control the purchase of vodka in the city, it is necessary to establish points on the main highways where it would be possible to check the amount of vodka purchased. In this way, we achieve a double benefit: we counteract the development of vices and acquire funds for cultural purposes" ^{[18, pp. 70-71]}. It is noteworthy that Kulakovsky, as an integral personality, not only limited himself to posing acute issues of modernity in his journalistic and scientific works, but also immediately began to translate his ideas into reality through his works. So in 1915-16. he expressed his vision in poetic works dedicated to the problem of alcoholism.  

The poem "Itirik bursuy yryata" ("Bragging of a drunken rich man") It was written by A. E. Kulakovsky in 1915 in Vilyuysk. The work is written in the first person in the form of a monologue of a plot character, a role–playing hero - a jaded drunken rich man sitting at a table covered with wines and viands. The author demonstrates in a logical sequence how alcohol consumption affects the character and behavior of a person, how he gradually turns into an animal.

Compositionally, the work can be divided into four main parts, in which the transitions from one theme to another begin with the exclamation "Okie, okie" (Okie, children!). The ends of the parts are also clearly marked with various variations of the exclamation "Cut!" (Pour!).  

The introductory part begins with an appeal to the audience: "Whoa, noyottor! Whoa, hotuktaar!" (Oh, guys! Oh, girls!). The rich man is glad that the long-awaited hour of drunkenness has come. His prosperity is evidenced by a rich table filled with the best dishes of Yakut cuisine: horse belly fat, frozen sturgeon, various drinks. At the beginning of the work, the drunkard appears as a man of a broad soul who openly and sincerely expresses his innermost thoughts.

To make the character's speech more expressive, the author makes extensive use of phraseological expressions, sayings, and proverbs. So, in the first part, the author's inclusion of sayings and proverbs about a happy fate in the text shows the triumph, the happy moments in the life of a rich man. But according to the degree of intoxication, his speech and behavior style change. The impudence and audacity of the rich man are shown by his appeals to those present, insulting and humiliating their human dignity: "Akaarylar!" (Fools!), "Ereideehteer!" (Poor!). The physical condition of the hero is also changing:

Meiyim ergijde,                             My head is spinning,

Haanym tar?anna,                           The blood drained away,

Kurta?ym kuruluida!                    There is heartburn in the stomach!

                                                            ^{[19, p. 265. Here and below is our substring]}

The appeal to others becomes threatening, he begins to force the participants of the feast to drink: "Ihi dietim, Ihi! Ispatehhitine siraigitiger yyam! Omurpatakhkhytyna walukkutugar kutuom! (Drink, I said drink! If you refuse, I'll spray you in the face! If you don't drink, I'll pour it into your bosom!)". The rich man strictly orders the serving guy: "Come on, pour it, boy! Until I bury your crown! (Kuta tat, wal! Oroigun o?uom suo?a buollar!)".

In the second part, the rich man boasts of his power, expressed in Yakut sayings about a good fellow. The increase in the aggression of the drinker shows his not only disdainful, rude treatment of a young man:  "Kulut wol! Kutargyn kubulutuma! Kukkun urgutyom, Kuyakha?Yn kuurdyom! (The guy is a slave! Don't stop pouring! I'll scare your soul so that your hair will stand on end!)", but also changes in his psychological state under the influence of a strong dose of alcohol.

In the following part, the braggadocio of the tyrant reaches its climax: he feels like a winner, is on top of bliss. The ugly essence is manifested in the unrestrained bragging of a man who believes that there is no one in the world who would surpass him in mental abilities and eloquence. This segment ends with the words: "Cut!.. Cut!.. Cut!.. (Pour it!.. Pour it!.. Pour it!..)"

In the fourth part of the plot, the character demonstrates destructive behavior. The extreme degree of intoxication that arose as a result of excessive alcohol consumption is manifested in his deviance, in the desire to fight, fight, kill, armed with a stick and a knife. But still, under the influence of alcoholic beverages, the pronounced aggressive mood of the drinker changes dramatically and he, losing his mind, barely mutters: "Cut! Okie! (Pour it! Okie!)".

The final part of the work is expressed in just two incoherent lines, showing the inappropriate behavior of a rich man and causing bitter laughter from the reader:

Tu?-ta?... tules-balas... bul-bal buollum duu?..

Oh-oh-oh...

In the last line, the author effectively uses the acoustic capabilities of the language, imitating the sound of the physiological process of emptying the stomach, which causes the reader to feel a deep disgust.

Kulakovsky describes in detail all the stages of intoxication, various psychological states, clearly shows how a drinking person changes and degrades. It is interesting that the hero of the work himself exposes his worthless essence. The author deliberately does not express his attitude or condemnation, but simply observes and describes what is happening. But still, the hidden didactic meaning of the work brings to the reader: drunkenness will not lead to anything good.

In a work written in the first person, there can be no description of the character's appearance. But here we agree with the opinion of researcher V. E. Khalizev, who believes that the concept of "portrait" includes not only a reflection of the external appearance, but also a fixation of what is formed in a person by the social environment, cultural tradition, his personality and finds expression in characteristic norms of behavior ^{[20, p. 181]}. Indeed, in this work, the portrait of a rich tyrant is vividly and completely revealed: his inner essence, social characteristics.     

To convey emotions and sarcastically expose a negative character, the author used a number of artistic techniques, such as gradation and irony. As you know, "graduation (Greek. gradatio is a stylistic figure in which definitions are grouped in a certain order – the increase or decrease of their emotional and semantic significance. Gradation enhances the emotional sound of the verse" ^{[21, p. 60]}. The following lines can be used as an example:

Erbe?im epchi?irde, The thumb has become strong,

Ti?ile?Im tiree?irde,                               There was a foothold under my feet,

Tuohum kuuhurde!..                                     My chest has hardened!

            Uh, we're sorry!                                              Oh, I drank it!

            Uh, yeah, yeah!                                          Oh, I ate!

            Uh, let's see!                                             Oh, I've had my fill! (19, p. 266)

Irony also serves as a stylistic means of creating a satirical image in the work: "In its simplest form, irony is one of the ways of allegory, when an object or some of its properties is indicated by a word or words of directly opposite meaning in order to comically characterize the actual meaning of the object" ^{[22, p. 126]}. In the work, the drunkard presents himself as the best representative of the people:  

Ool oo odunaaha,                                      A daredevil and a brave man,

Kihi boo kirgilee, The best of people,

Sakha bo?o talyta                                       The choicest of the Yakuts

            Min buolabyn!                                            I am! ^{[19, 223]}

The great emotional intensity of the work is also emphasized by numerous exclamation marks. Of the 146 lines of the poem, 50 end with an exclamation mark. In addition, there is this punctuation mark inside 7 lines. Question marks were found only in 4 lines, including the last five, where several three-dots also predominate, showing an incomplete utterance, interrupted action.

 The following work "Arygy" ("Werewolf") (literally – vodka) was written by the poet in 1915 in Yakutsk. His genre can be defined as a poem with didactic pathos, where the problem of drunkenness is revealed through the perception and evaluation of the lyrical hero. The hero – singer or storyteller from time to time affectionately and confidentially addresses the audience with the words: "Altannaahai atastarym" (Golden friends), "Komustehei gyogelerim" (Silver girlfriends), "Do?Ottoruom" (My Friends), "O?Oloor" (My Children), urging them to listen to his words.  

The poem consists of four parts separated by an asterism (three asterisks). At the beginning of the poem, when the singer's "long-awaited hour to entertain guests" came, he presents the subject of his story - vodka as a huge scourge that traveled the whole world ("Aan daidy dionun At kynan miimmit Arygy dyaaly"). The description of the components (berry syrup, potato starch, wheat infusion), alcoholic beverage production technologies, methods and mechanism of their distribution do not differ from similar descriptions in the above-mentioned versions of folk songs. The writer bitterly notes that Yakutia could not avoid the import of alcoholic beverages, which are delivered along the Lena River by barge and steamer.  

The second, shortest part, consisting of 23 lines, begins with the exclamation "Ar-dyaaly, ar-tatay, o?olor!". The lyrical hero "admires" the wonderful properties of the drink: by guile, pretense, and the ability to transform. She is also surprised that, regardless of class, nationality, age and character, many fell under her miraculous charms and desired to get a "magic potion". Thus, the author poses the question to himself: "What is his attraction?"

In the third part, which begins with the expression "If you look at it From the good side, It seems to be the best drink," the author first describes the positive sides of vodka. So, after drinking it in small doses, a person afflicted with grief can cry and ease troubles; the rude becomes affectionate, the evil – kind:

Sylaiby sylaannytta,                       I calmed the tired one down,

To?mutu tonolutta, The frozen one was warmed,

Khataraabyty khaannaat,                           The anemia caused a rush of blood,

He made a weak man strong,

Everyday life                              I made the slow one fast,

Syppa?y syty kynna.                            Indecisive - bold. ^{[23, p. 301]}

With its help, previously unknown people can become friends, blood enemies are reconciled, wherever vodka is there is fun and laughter. This drink has become a must-have treat at housewarming, wedding, and the national holiday of ysyakh. As a means of communication, it has become indispensable when it is necessary to appease a strong shaman, invite a famous singer or cheer up a respected blacksmith. The author also notes that vodka gradually became a part of the ritual culture of the Yakuts: it is fed to the spirits of fire, water, and forest.

Then the author proceeds to describe the worst sides, the harm of alcohol: "If you overdo it, do not abstain, drink too much, you can only blame yourself." Addressing "wonderful friends", the poet tells how excessive alcohol consumption decomposes a person, poisons the body, leads to physical and mental dependence:

Yraas haannaa?y                                        Handsome in appearance

Ydyrhai syraidyr...                             It will turn you into a freak,

Talibires of beyele?i Thin, gentle

Tellie ooror...                                        It will make it a lying layer.

Utu urduurun                                            Destroying wealth,

Ultur Baran                                         He will make a famous one

ëèèèè........                                  A beggar tramp...

Arba?as ta?astyyr,                                    Dressed in rags,

Orobuoha suor?annyyr, Will give a matting blanket,

Sutuga kurduur...                                         A rope instead of a belt. ^{[23, p. 305]}

The poet pays special attention to alcoholism as the cause of degeneration of offspring, warns that the heirs will be painful, ill, with physical ailments. At the very end, he talks about the corrupting effect of alcohol on the moral foundations of man and society:

Kuha?AA kuudujar,                                It encourages bad things,

Wararga uhuyar, Makes you steal,

Olororgo uoreter...                                     He teaches you how to kill.  ^{[23, p. 306]}

As can be seen, in this part of the poem, the poet critically comprehends the problem, considering it from different sides. Without disputing some of the beneficial properties of alcohol, he focuses on its negative properties. Thus, 96 lines are devoted to the description of the positive sides of alcohol, and 138 lines are reported on negative qualities, consequences, and harmful effects, which shows that negative qualities prevail over the first.

In the last parts of the work, it is told how drunkenness became widespread and spread throughout Yakutia in a short time, without passing a single settlement, and even reached, without fear of a severe blizzard, the poor and destitute hunters of the Arctic Ocean. Listing the area of geographical distribution of alcohol, along with the names of localities, he uses verbs with negative semantics: "aldiatta" (smashed), "dyabylata" (cheated), "olortooto" (killed), "muodalaata" (mischievous), "sieteleete" (exterminated), "toortoto" (froze), "mu?natalaata" (tortured), etc. The author ironically calls vodka "kutur dyaaly", "uluu dyaaly" several times, using the particle "dyaaly", expressing an enthusiastic and respectful attitude to the subject. At the end of the work, the author, marveling at the resourcefulness and cunning of the "werewolf", gives an overview of intoxicating and alcoholic beverages, listing 20 different varieties:

Kyayyan kyhanna Will want to win –

Kyrymiskai buolan kyllyhyar...               It will turn into a Crimean,

Saatatyan sakhtaina Will want to entertain –

Sampaanyskai buolan saigyyyar,                    The Champagne will unfold,

Bihiretien bilinne                                     He 's going to like you –

Bisiniebei buolan minnier...                         It will delight you with the taste of Cherry...

Sieri sireidenne will think about strangling –

Simirniepke buolan siligiliir.                          It will blossom with Smirnovka. ^{[23, p. 308]}

Although the poem has a clearly instructive content, the author does not express direct assessments or appeals, leaving the finale open. This allows readers to think and reflect for themselves. The didactic pathos and educational orientation of the poem are reflected in the ideological and emotional assessment of the described phenomena.

Undoubtedly, Kulakovsky created his work based on folklore material - folk songs about vodka that were widespread at that time. This is evidenced by figurative and expressive means, formulaic cliches of folklore. If folk singers raised the problem of drunkenness in their works, showed its harmful effects on humans, then the first poet, realizing that alcoholism can become a national threat, clearly showed what alcohol addiction can be fraught with, how it can ruin people's destinies. The originality of the work also lies in the personal judgments of the author, a sharply negative assessment of alcoholism as an urgent problem of society. If the poem "The bragging of a drunken rich man" showed how alcohol affects the physical and moral state of an individual, then the second work reveals drunkenness as a socio-moral problem and vice of the whole society.   

conclusion

Thus, the problems of drunkenness in Yakutia were first actualized by folk singers and the first representatives of the Yakut intelligentsia.

The bearers of the folklore tradition, singers, Olonkhosuts, as representatives of folk aspirations at the end of the XIX century, tried to critically analyze and realize the negative impact of alcohol and bring to the people the harmful effects of drunkenness. From the above it can be seen that some songs could have been composed by the Yakuts at the first time of importation of state-owned alcoholic beverages to Yakutsk and they reflected the first impressions of the people about alcoholic beverages as a "cultural" innovation. But already at the end of the XIX century, having seen and understood the devastating effects of alcohol, folk singers, as well as representatives of oral literature, began to compose songs that vividly express their critical view of drunkenness as an urgent problem of society. We can consider it a special merit of the folk singers that they, along with representatives of the advanced intelligentsia, initiated the fight against drunkenness in Yakutia.

The founder of Yakut literature, A. E. Kulakovsky, wrote two original works on the problem of drunkenness and alcoholism. If the early works of the oral tradition on this subject were composed in the genre of song, then in the poet's work works about the dangers of drunkenness were first presented in the form of literary genres: poems and poems with a pronounced and developing plot, a harmonious composition. It should also be noted that these were the first works of fiction in the history of Yakut literature that raise the topic and problem of drunkenness. Following Kulakovsky, in Yakut literature, the problems of alcoholism were raised in the dramas of N. D. Neustroev "Children of the Iron People" (1917), A. I. Sofronov "Stumbled does not correct" (1917-1922), etc. It is also noteworthy that Kulakovsky purposefully embodied, shaped into a product of artistic creativity his ideas and views expressed by him in a letter to the "Yakut Intelligentsia". A. E. Kulakovsky, being an educator, public figure, spiritual leader, through his work tried to warn his people against excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, and we can rightfully consider He was one of the initiators of the sober movement in Yakutia.