Vsevolod Ivanov’s “Twelve Youths from a Snuffbox” (From the Literary Heritage of the Writer. On the 130th Anniversary of the Birth)

The article is dedicated to Vs. Ivanov’s work on the play “The Twelve Youths from a Snuffbox” (1935), which became the first in a series of works by the writer on the themes of Russian history. The article analyzes the original idea of the play, the plot of which was connected with the theme of the Baltic Fleet, the first and second editions, where the central event is the conspiracy against Emperor Paul I and his murder, as well as sketches of prose works with the same title. Some materials on the history of Russia during the reign of Paul I that the writer studied in the process of writing are presented. The research discusses the role of Gorky’s letters in Ivanov’s work on the play, including its various genres, characters, and plot developments. The article shows how Ivanov, changing the original concept of the play in order to highlight the palace coup and its political origins, presents the events described as a consequence of the foreign policy of Emperor Paul, aimed at breaking relations between Russia and England and an alliance with republican France. The article notes the features that characterize Ivanov’s work on historical themes, including the connection between the events described with modernity and the search for a national hero of history.