On the old age and freedom in the stories of Vladimir Kantor and Elena Dolgopiat

The article presents the problem of old age in the works of Vladimir Kantor and Elena Dolgopiat. In his short story “The death of a pensioner” Kantor puts the cruel diagnosis of the condition of the country in which old age is only humiliation and problems for society. The hero, who lived good and decent life, leads existence of a worm and his existence is almost indistinguishable from the situation of homeless people. Elena Dolgopiat in the short story “Crones”. A story in the style of a blog does not address the topic of blame of the state, but also in her work old age is shown as a negative phenomenon. In her story dominates the category of non-existence. Heroines-old women are still alive, but it is as if they were already not alive. The loneliness of the elderly people is associated with the issue of freedom that heroes of Kantor and Dolgopiat perceive in different ways.