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| 1 | Introduction. The novella by Evgeni Vodolazkin “Close Friends» hasn’t yet attracted close attention of literary critics. In our opinion, an important role in the novella is played by the historic, literary and culturological context which has not become an object of special research. The analysis of intertextuality will allow us to reveal a wider problematics of the work than that shown in plot logic. The aim of the work is to investigate the artistic and thematic originality of the novella “Close Friends”. Material and methods. The paper uses comparative, contrastive, historical and cultural methods. As a theoretical base, works of Russian and foreign literary critics were used. Results and discussion. Intertextuality and historical and cultural context are the basic ways of disclosing the problematics of the novella. The works mentioned in the text (“Death in Venice” by T. Mann, “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by J. W. Goethe, etc.), elements of ceremonial games (initiation) help to understand what is happening in the consciousness of the hero and which experiences become defining for him. Allusion plan of the novella allows us to find deeper sense and to correlate the problematics of “Close Friends” with a certain literary context in the everyday actions of characters. Conclusion. In the work, we can define several levels of narration: symbolical, historical and that of everyday. At the everyday level, Ernestina’s behaviour and actions are illogical and inconsistent: while demanding to keep the oath from the friends, she breaks it, being guided by the not realised desires and physiological requirements. At the symbolical level, Ernestina is the carrier of secret knowledge, and her actions are dictated by the aspiration to preserve the family, procreate, which turns her into the embodiment of creating forces of nature. Ralf is a carrier of historical knowledge and, consequently, comprehension of historical guilt of Germany towards Russian people. The fulfilment of the childhood oath protects him from the chaos of life, fills the life with sense. The final reunion of the dead and alive on the cemetery – on the locus of the sharpest historical and cultural experiences – symbolises the unity and continuity of the generations resisting to the disaster of separation, and, consequently – overcoming the disintegration, destruction. Keywords: the novella story “Close friends”, Evgeny Vodolazkin, modern Russian literature, literary context | 1545 | ||||