Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature 1607-6192 2713-2226 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2025-24-738-752 Research Article Articles DRAMATIC DILOGY IVAN THE TERRIBLE BY A.N. TOLSTOY IN THE CONTEXT OF OLD RUSSIAN PUBLICISTIC WRITING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY: TO THE POETICS ISSUES Kaplun Marianna V. old-rus@imli.ru 2025 24 738 752 Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 The article examines the issue of Old Russian publicistic sources of dramatic dilogy Ivan the Terrible by A.N. Tolstoy (1940s). The article examines the elements of the publicistic literary thought of Old Russia in relation to the context of drama in the artistic sound, which has so far remained outside the scope of studies devoted to Tolstoy’s dilogy. Consideration of Tolstoy’s drama dedicated to the first Russian tsar in the context of Russian publicism (journalism) of the 16th century makes it possible to speak about Tolstoy’s significant contribution to the artistic construction of the image of Ivan the Terrible in the 20th century. Tolstoy’s attempt to come closer to revealing the image of the first Russian tsar Ivan Vasilyevich in all its diversity and justified contradiction was achieved by a correct understanding of the tsar’s role in history, to some extent the “werewolf shape”, “playful” nature of the Russian ruler. In the play, Ivan appears in different roles: a humble ruler, a powerful tsar, a skilled diplomat, a subtle military strategist, a man in love. The writer’s possible appeal to the publicistic legacy of Ivan Peresvetov (writings-appeals to the sovereign), Andrey Kurbsky (The History of the Grand Duke of Moscow), Ivan IV himself (diplomatic messages) allowed him to build a special literary model of Old Russia in the play due to the precise and expressive transmission of the poetics of medieval artistic text in dialogues. 1. Vlasova, Z.I. Skomorokhi i fol’klor [Buffoons and Folklore]. St. Petersburg, Aleteiia Publ., 2001. 522, [1] p. (In Russian) 2. Zvereva, I. A.N. Tolstoi — master istoricheskoi dramaturgii: [Posviashchaetsia 100-letiiu so dnia rozhdeniia] [A.N. Tolstoy — a Master of Historical Drama: [To the 100th Anniversary of His Birth]]. Lviv, Vishcha shkola Publ.; Izd-vo pri L’vov. un-te Publ., 1982. 159 p. (In Russian) 3. Il’iasova, S. “Rabota A.N. Tolstogo nad istoricheskimi dokumentami (iz tvorcheskoi istorii dramaticheskoi povesti ‘Ivan Groznyi’)” [“A.N. Tolstoy’s Work on Historical Documents (from the Creative History of the Dramatic Story ‘Ivan the Terrible’)”]. Gumanitarnye i sotsial’nye nauki, no. 6, 2018, pp. 161–171. (In Russian) 4. Karavashkin, V. Literaturnyi obychai Drevnei Rusi [Literary Custom of Old Russia]. Moscow, ROSSPEN Publ., 2011. 551 p. (In Russian) 5. Karavashkin, V. “Poslaniia Ivana IV (arkhitektonika i priemy suggestii)” [“Letters of Ivan IV the Terrible (Architectonics and Suggestion Techniques)”]. Germenevtika drevnerusskoi literatury [Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature]. Issue 20. Ed.-in-chief O.A. Tufanova. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2021, pp. 273–291. https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2021-20-273-291 (In Russian) 6. Krestinskii, A. A.N. Tolstoi. Zhizn’ i tvorchestvo: (Kratkii ocherk) [A.N. Tolstoy. Life and Work: (A Brief Essay], Academy of Science of USSR. Moscow, Academy of Science of USSR Publ., 1960. 314 p. (In Russian) 7. Pervushin, V. “‘Skazanie o Magmet-saltane’ Ivana Peresvetova: uroki dlia russkogo tsaria [“‘The Legend of Magmet-Saltan’ by Ivan Peresvetov: Lessons for the Russian Tsar”]. Germenevtika drevnerusskoi literatury [Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature]. Issue 22. Ed.-in-chief O.A. Tufanova. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2023, pp. 407–418.  https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2023-22-407-418 (In Russian) 8. Skobelev, “Dramaturgiia A.N. Tolstogo” [“Dramaturgy by A.N. Tolstoy”]. Tolstoi A.N. Sobranie sochinenii v desiati tomakh [A.N. Tolstoy Collected Works in Ten vols.], vol. 9: Dramaturgy. Moscow, Khudozhestvennaia literaturа Publ., 1986, pp. 131–135. (In Russian)