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Abstract. In this article, the object of research attention is L. N. Tolstoy’s lyric epic short story "The Prisoner of the Caucasus" with his pronounced gender discourse based on complex and contradictory relationships between a small mountain girl and a Russian officer. According to the artistic and philosophical conception of the writer, every communicative gesture of the characters, overcoming the utilitarian nature, symbolizes the need for humanity to move from militaristic consciousness to the idea of brotherly unity of all descendants of Adam. During the analysis of the short story, much attention is paid to the subjects that come out of their utilitarian shell and become the symbols of cross-cultural communication. The key place among these items is the "clay doll", which is a culturological text addressed to the female merciful soul. The second most important symbolic object is a "jug with milk", personifying the female intercession, women’s help from the opposite camp. The deep pit, in which the Russian prisoner is placed, symbolizes a serious crisis in international relations during the Caucasian War. The ladder is portrayed by the author as a happy sign of overcoming the military crisis by two peoples.

Key words and phrases: кавказоведение, русская литература, Л. Н. Толстой, рассказ, гендер, военное противостояние, мирный диалог, Caucasian studies, Russian literature, L. N. Tolstoy, short story, gender, military confrontation, peaceful dialogue