Siege Theme in Works of 21st-Century Russian Playwrights

This article examines the process of reactualizing the Siege of Leningrad within contemporary literary and dramatic discourse. The study aims to identify the specific ways in which modern Russian playwrights individually interpret the siege experience. The primary focus is on two 21st-century plays: 67/871 by E. Gremina and Ruins by Yu. Klavdiev, which serve as the central textual sources for analysis. The authors seek to uncover the interpretative potential embedded in the siege theme as manifested in these works. Through a combination of motif-image, contextual-semantic, and intertextual analyses, the research delves into the conceptual level of the plays’ content structures. It is demonstrated that contemporary dramatists are genre-enriching the discourse surrounding the Siege of Leningrad. The analysis reveals that these playwrights engage with historical testimonies in distinct ways, developing innovative methods for transmitting the core conceptual meanings of siege narratives—particularly those related to survival strategies, the preservation or loss of humanity under extreme conditions, and the moral dilemmas posed by catastrophe. The study concludes that the diverse forms of representing the siege theme, as employed by E. Gremina and Yu. Klavdiev, expose the axiological significance of past tragedies for understanding present and future value systems. These representations also establish a vector for the ethical perception of contemporary society and stimulate critical discussion.

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