Cross-cultural Allusions in the Russian Press: Parallels between Joan of Arc and the Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko

This article deals with the correlation between the original story of Joan of Arc and the features of a new referent of this name. It focuses on the adaptation of an existing historical scenario by the Russian mass media for the representation of new events and for specific argumentative purposes. The former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has frequently been called the 'Joan of Arc of Ukraine' in the Russian press. 100 texts with this allusion have been collected from the two most popular newspapers 'Argumenty i Fakty' and 'Komsomol'skaia pravda' between 2005 and 2013. This research design stems from the assumption that the original story provides semantic slots which are filled and then adjusted to present information about the new character (Lennon: 28-31). These repetitive segments ('slots') and their evaluative orientation have been analysed. The slots have also been compared to information about other referents who were named 'Joan of Arc' in the Russian press. These reoccurring fragments include descriptions of 1) a female warrior and a propeller of historic events, 2) a betrayal by allies, 3) extrasensory and paranormal skills, 4) imprisonment and 5) an ordeal by fire. The allusion frequently becomes a rhetorical device which contrasts new facts and their evaluation against well-known properties of the original story. Therefore, this adaptation of an historic name often generates a spoof rather than a heroic saga.