CLASSICAL LITERATURE IN THE DIGITAL AGE: MECHANISMS OF RELEVANCE

The paper examines a paradox: 19th-century classical literature, despite being widely perceived as outdated, retains high cultural demand. The aim is to identify the mechanisms that ensure this relevance. Based on Russian classics (Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Gogol), four factors are shown: representation of invariant existential dilemmas (love, death, conscience), archetypal nature of characters, cognitive value of slow reading, and the emergent character of relevance that arises only through reflective reader-text interaction. It is concluded that classical literature is not a museum exhibit but lives in the act of hermeneutic work.