The image of V. K. Pleve in Nikolai Svechin's retro-detectives

The subject of this article is the depiction of V. K. Pleve in the retro-detectives of Nikolai Svechin. The article examines how Svechin reflects the history of the late Russian Empire through the creation of the image of Pleve—a prominent statesman and one of the key guardians of monarchical foundations and order in the country. The research materials include the detective novels of the author, such as "Between the Amur and the Neva," "The Shot on Bolshaya Morskaya," and "Rays of Death." The texts of these works are compared with documentary sources containing information about Pleve's personality and activities, including memoirs or writings of contemporaries, as well as research monographs by historians. Correspondences and differences are identified both in the depiction of Pleve’s personality and in the interpretation of the events associated with him. The main research methods employed in this article are the comparative-historical method and the historical-genetic method. The novelty of the research is due to the fact that there are currently no serious works dedicated to the portrayal of famous historical figures in the retro-detectives of Nikolai Svechin. The author asserts that in his depiction of Pleve, Svechin draws on a number of texts from the memoirs of contemporaries, such as S. Y. Witte, A. A. Lopukhin, and others. At the same time, Svechin simplifies historical sources, which allows him to demonstrate Pleve's moral integrity and present his positive image as an honest and capable official. The confrontation between Pleve and the Durnovo-Witte-Zubatov faction is, accordingly, reinterpreted as a struggle between the protagonist's "friend" and his enemies. The clear division of representatives of good and evil provides ease of reading and understanding of the author’s works.

Nikolai Svechin, V. K. Pleve, retro-detective, history, historical prose, representation of history, creativity of N. Svechin, comparative-historical method, historical-genetic method, popular literature