The article examines the poetics of alternative history in two works by V. Vasiliev — The Turban of Iskander (An Alternative History) and The Alexandrian Pass. Based on episodes featuring Kornilov, Romanov-Iskander, and V. F. Yasnetsky-Voino, the analysis focuses on: (1) mechanisms of “reassembling” historical time (dream sequences, inserted constructions, retrospections, and prolepses); (2) the interaction of national and all-Russian topoi (Tashkent/Bukhara  “the entire empire”); and (3) the archetypal symbolism of power and path (turban/crown, horse, “pass”) in the context of the dialogic model of Russian-language literature (N. L. Leiderman). It is shown that Vasiliev’s alternative narrative relies on a dense system of cultural codes and symbols that reinterpret the canon of “White” and “imperial” mythology, creating a unified atemporal act that merges history, myth, and sacred time.

alternative history, archetype, topos, Russian-language literature, Vasiliev, Iskander, Kornilov, Yasnetsky-Voino.

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