The concept abrek in the modern Russian linguistic consciousness: From the mountaineer-robber to the terrorist-migrant

Since the XIX century, the concept "abrek" in the Russian language was closely associated with the Caucasian wars and romanticizing the phenomenon of "abrechestvo" in Russian culture. Nowadays this social phenomenon has controversial evaluation and an intricate history, since there is no accurate historical information indicating the period of the emergence of abrechestvo. Denoting the semantic contours of "abrek" in modern multiple discursive space, we reach a conclusion that, firstly, there is a high degree of certainty in the moral evaluation that is given to this phenomenon today; secondly, there is a high degree of uncertainty in the logic and the content of this concept. Morally, the concept "abrek" is filled with contradictory characteristics both in literature and in actual speech behavior of modern Russian speakers.