Authorial strategies and tactics of Catherine the Great in the comedy “The Siberian Shaman”

The research aims to study the authorial strategies and tactics of Catherine the Great in the comedy “The Siberian Shaman” in terms of examining and classifying the methods used by the Empress for combating her political opponents, the Freemasons, in the fight for control over Russian Enlightenment. The scientific novelty of the problem is determined by the communicative approach used in the analysis of the plays by Catherine the Great, which made it possible for the first time to consider her comedies through the lens of authorial strategies and tactics, which contributes to the identification of the rhetorical structures of the comedy genre, demonstrates the semantic orientation of the crowned writer toward readers, presents ways to establish the ideology of Enlightened Absolutism. The research findings showed that Catherine the Great uses three authorial strategies, i.e., 1) denunciation of Freemasons, implemented as a tactic for representing Freemasons through the image of shamans; portraying the shaman’s communication with humans as an imitation of animal speech; demonstration of harmful results of their activities; 2) providing support to the younger generation, which is carried out using the tactics of presenting the noble house as a place for open communication of young nobles with each other; choosing a handmaid as a mediator between a young girl and her parents; distinguishing between “vice” and “weakness”; 3) the restoration of harmony violated by the Masons, carried out through the tactics of introducing prudent characters; demonstrating the sincere love of parents for children; establishing confidence in the state and power. These strategies give an idea of the author’s focus on the reader, demonstrate the maternal care of Catherine the Great about her subjects, whom she protects from deceitful and selfish Masons trying to destroy the family-state, and also reveal the Empress’s comedic techniques based on the rhetorical structure of the classic genre.