When the undecipherable acquires a special value: Code of communication in the correspondence between Juri Lotman and Boris Egorov

Abstract

A distinctive creative atmosphere, dialogue, and the application of ‘language for oneself’ (in Juri Lotman’s terms), along with other features, characterize the intellectual environment of the Tartu–Moscow School of Semiotics. These elements are vividly reflected in the 1960s correspondence between Juri Lotman and Boris Egorov – two prominent members of the school, who developed a unique code of communication through creative devices. The publication of their letters brings to light the paradox discussed by Lotman in his article entitled “The text and the structure of its audience”: a text gains value through its undecipherability for a new audience. The study aims to identify the main techniques that act as carriers of creative memory, drawing on Lotman’s concept of ‘language for oneself’ and his theory of cultural memory. A semiotic approach is used to decipher the code of communication and reconstruct the underlying contexts, revealing the layered meanings within the correspondence. The analysis delivers a deeper insight into the intellectual discourse of both authors, in which the code of communication accumulates indirect information about the past, and the creative devices employed in it serve not only as a form of intellectual play but also reveal a subtle “draft of the past”, including what was impossible or undesirable in the USSR. Thus, the research highlights the role of epistolary practices in sustaining the intellectual tradition of the Tartu–Moscow School of Semiotics and in developing a poetics of memory that ensures the continuity, cohesion, and subtle transmission of its cultural and creative legacy.