Abstract
<jats:p>The article examines the transformation of the balladic tradition in Soviet poetry on the material of ballads by N. S. Tikhonov, K. M. Simonov, and D. S. Samoylov. The study establishes the continuity of the Soviet heroic ballad with Acmeist war lyricism, describes a change in the nature of the double‑world motif, and traces the evolution of the balladic hero’s attitude toward death. The aim of the study is to identify the mechanisms of reconfiguration of the ballad form in Soviet poetry and to describe its internal evolution. The scientific novelty lies in considering the Soviet heroic ballad for the first time as a link in the evolution of the Russian balladic tradition, outlining its ties with the Acmeist lyricism of the Silver Age and noting the return of motifs of the “terrifying” ballad in late‑Soviet texts reflecting on the Great Patriotic War. The results show that the heroic ballad preserves continuity with the Russian balladic tradition; the double‑world motif ceases to be mystical and is transposed into the plane of war as a historical event; the balladic hero’s attitude to death evolves from accepting it as a soldier’s duty to recognizing its inner irrevocability. The balladic tradition retains its genre core – narrativity, conflict, expressivity, double‑world structure – while motifs of the “terrifying” ballad reappear when the cultural context shifts.</jats:p>