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4. Aleksei Tolstoi’s Remarks on the Film Peter I
- University of Wisconsin Press
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In early September , as moviehouses all across the USSR were beginning to screen the historical film Peter I, a delegation of workercorrespondents from the Skorokhod Worker factory newspaper visited Aleksei Tolstoi at his dacha in Pushkin, an elite Leningrad suburb known until that year as Detskoe Selo. The interview that they conducted with Tolstoi illustrates how press releases functioned in Soviet mass culture and provides an example of the stylistic register developed for the lowest common denominator of this poorly educated society.1 As in the West, it was standard practice for Soviet authors, directors, and composers to publish essays or grant interviews in order to advertise current projects. Such publications also generated advance publicity for upcoming releases—in this case pointing readers toward the second part of Peter I, which would be completed only after many delays in . Yet in the USSR, these publications also functioned to define the propaganda value of the works in question, alerting their audiences to their “correct” interpretations and indicating how they were to be seen within the larger context of the official party line. In this interview, Tolstoi speaks to the “common Soviet man” in demonstratively simple language, describing the significance of Peter I in the most straightforward and understandable of terms. He portrays Peter’s epoch as an epic struggle for the Russian people’s national independence —a struggle that demanded cultural and technological change in order to rebuff foreign aggression. Peter is seen as a visionary leader who was able to grasp the correct course of action to secure Russia’s future. Tolstoi also implies an allegorical relationship between the Petrine Aleksei Tolstoi’s Remarks on the Film Peter I epoch and Stalin’s day by means of an understated, yet ingenious, step from discussion of the “Russian people” in the body of the interview to evocation of “the great Soviet people” in its conclusion. In short, Tolstoi ’s account informs readers that the film was about leadership in times of crisis and the exigencies and sacrifices that national defense demands of society—a message that could be expected to resonate well within the larger context of Stalin-era mass culture. Of course, such publications advanced personal agendas as well. Tolstoi ’s invectives against various stock enemies of the Soviet historical establishment—fascist stooges, Trotskyites, and former members of RAPP2—reveal the extent to which Tolstoi felt that his Petrine project and his career remained vulnerable to attack. In this connection, his demonstrative mention of Stalin’s personal involvement in the rehabilitation of Peter was clearly designed to send a message to his critics and rivals about the official sanction that his views enjoyed. A D, “A A T’” Skorokhodovskii rabochii, September We were very excited as we stepped into the home of the famous Soviet writer and talented “engineer of men’s souls,”3 Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoi. His drawing room is striking it its elegance and simplicity. One’s gaze is drawn to massive bookshelves made of dark wood. Behind beveled glass doors stand the gold-embossed spines of thousands of books. Somewhere, a floorboard creaked. A deep male voice could be heard and then the imposing figure of Aleksei Tolstoi appeared in the doorway. He entered the room at a slow, confident pace, puffing at a long pipe. His face was calm and dignified. Aleksei Nikolaevich looks very fit and healthy— just days ago, he returned from a trip abroad and has now plunged back into his complicated literary work. Sizing us up with an attentive, penetrating glance, Aleksei Nikolaevich shook our hands in a friendly manner. We explained the purpose of our sudden invasion of his quarters. He smiled and said, “Why not? Indeed, let’s have a chat.” We sat down at a round table in comfortable, upholstered chairs. Aleksei Nikolaevich spoke slowly and calmly, mulling over every word: “The idea of making the historical film Peter I initially came to me three years ago. In cooperation with the Distinguished Artist of the Republic Vladimir Mikhailovich Petrov, I set about writing the screenplay. We wanted Peter the Great to create for the screen the entire epoch of Peter I in three feature-length films: Peter’s Childhood, The Events at Narva, and Peter’s Struggle for the Transformation of Russia. Our plans and conceptions were expansive indeed. Not a single truthful film has ever been made about Russian history until now—neither here nor anywhere else. Several years ago...
