Abstract
<jats:p>This article analyzes a recent trend in Russian poetry – the “new frontline” – dubbed “Donbass” because it brings together authors whose work centers on the events of the 2014–2022 war in Donbas and the special military operation. Using Donbass poetry as an example, the author examines the mechanisms of meaning-making in a Russian culture undergoing renewal. The study reveals that Donbass poets’ choice of names of Russian socio-historical figures to mention in their works, and their expression of positive or negative attitudes toward them, is determined by a system of value and ideological preferences. Donbass poetry personifies cul-tural and scientific figures whose works are associated with Russia’s greatness, defenders of the Fatherland from various eras, and statesmen and rulers who contributed to the strengthening of the Russian state. Thus, in the poetry of Donbass residents, the selection of names of historical figures symbolizing Russia, subject to cer-tain criteria, contributes to the transformation of the Russian worldview and the renewal of the identity of Rus-sians.</jats:p>