The philosopher of the homeless and the hungry. In Krytyka, No. 7-8 (117-118), 2007, pp. 22-26.

The article examines the multiple interpretations of Mikhail Bakhtin's legacy. The author traces the stages of the dissemination of Bakhtin's texts in Russia and around the world: the discovery and heroization of his figure by post-Stalinist Russian intellectuals, the reception of Bakhtin's concept of dialogue first by the continental tradition, then by American Slavic studies, the clash between Western and Russian interpretations of the philosopher's ideas after the end of the Cold War, and the transformation of these ideas in post-Soviet Russia. The radically different “incarnations” of Bakhtin are described: revolutionary, conservative, ethical and social philosopher, Orthodox fundamentalist, heretic antichrist. The author focuses on the concepts of “homelessness” and “hunger” as those that connect Bakhtin's biography with his philosophy and allow the latter to be adapted to the needs of a large number of mutually contradictory discourses.