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The Youth of Maxim (original title: Yunost Maxima) was the first entry in Grigori Koztinev and Leonid Trauberg's famous "Maxim Trilogy." This film and its sequels endeavor to re-create the Bolshevik revolution and its aftermath, as seen through the eyes of Russian "everyman" Maxim. As indicated by the title, the first entry in the trilogy concentrates on Maxim's childhood, concluding with his break from old traditions and his embracing of the Bolshevik cause. The film was lensed in a technique which its directors labelled "historical-revolutionary," better seen than described. Filmed over a four-year period, The Youth of Maxim and its follow-ups The Return of Maxim and The Vyborg Side were jointly awarded the Stalin Prize in 1941.