Petroupoli, winter of 1917-18, night. The city is immersed in the whirlwind of bloody conflicts between the Bolsheviks and the "Bourgeoisie". In this atmosphere of crime, corruption, hunger, suspicion, and terrorism - and while the worst snowstorm rages - a group of twelve communist militiamen patrol the deserted streets, encountering faces characteristic of the classes that composed the pre-revolutionary society....

If Mayakovsky is considered "the poet" of the Russian Revolution, "The Twelve" by Alexander Blok is considered "the poem" of it. Written in December 1917 and published in March 1918 in the revolutionary newspaper "Labor Banner", it immediately imposed itself as both a revolutionary and counter-revolutionary work! However, it certainly violated the poetic convention of its time, establishing a new convention that required new poetic and reading consciousness.