Abstract
The paper analyses the image of Kuzma Minin and Dimitry Pozharsky who are generally regarded as the key figures of the Time of Troubles in Russia in the 17th century. Undoubtedly, Minin and Pozharsky play a major role in Russian cultural and historical memory up to the present day.
Within the scope of the paper, we try to reveal how the existing mythology of the Second Volunteer Army and its heroic leaders were shaped and what means were used to fix and stabilize these ideas in the public consciousness and state practice. We conduct a dynamic analysis of the myth-forming process based on numerous examples from literature and art.
The main objective is to compare the relevant narratives in the Imperial and Soviet times of Russian history, and to define the role of Minin and Pozharsky narrative as an integral part of Russian national identity