Razin’s motif of the Princess’s drowning in the literature about the Russian Civil war (“Princess” by Andrey Sobol and “Povolniki” by Alexander Yakovlev)

The motif of the Persian Princess’s drowning was central to the plot connected with the figure of the famous Cossack ataman Stepan Razin. The motif became popular in Russian literature. The most famous was a song based on the words of Dmitry Sadovnikov, “Iz-za ostrova na strezhen…” (“Round the island to the midstream...” (Stenka Razin Song)), which served as the basis for the subsequent perception of the motif. The story of A. Sobol, “Princess” (1924), and the novel of A. Yakovlev, “Povolniki” (1922), embody the text of Sadovnikov’s song. The character and action of the “ataman” were close to the Razin’s ones. However, the reasons that caused the action and the image of the Princess were different. The heroine turns from a faceless and nameless figure into a full-fledged character, actively acting (A. Sobol “Princess”) or playing a key role in changing the fate of the main character (A. Yakovlev “Povolniki”). Sobol’s “princess” Natasha Toropova only pretends to be submissive to the “ataman” who loves her: in fact, she has her own ideas and views and became a Chekist in order to implement them. Silly but pretty Ninochka from “Povolniki” brings the hero to the embezzlement, resulting in the death penalty for both of them. Thus, the traditional roles in Razin’s story are interpreted in a new way. The initiative of the heroine is directly due to the participation of women in the Civil war: during this period, the “princess” acquires subjectivity in literary works.

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