An assignment from a workplace was required to enroll, later Ivanov confessed that he forged a paper, proving that he worked in a museum.

[2][3] His first publication was a fantastic story called "Hunt for the Great Bear," published in 1990 in the magazine Uralsky sledopyt with 500,000 circulation.

After returning to Perm, Ivanov worked as a guard, schoolteacher, university teacher, and tourist guide; the latter occupation brought him to study local history, which he later explored in his writing.

[6] Very soon it became a bestseller, received numerous accolades and even made a start to the Сердце Пармы (фестиваль) [ru] of the same name.

[11] The screenplay ‘Tobol’, written by Ivanov, was significantly altered by the movie's director and as a result the writer refused to be named one of the co-authors.

However, after several years of successful work the museum was closed by the local authorities, nowadays there is a billiard center in its former building.

[13] Ivanov also worked on various projects aiming to create a better image of Perm, add fresh air into its cultural life, pay tribute to its long and colorful history.

[14] In the early 2010s Ivanov initiated a series of editions ‘Perm as Text’ that included works of many writers from the East Europe.

[16] In 2014 Ivanov co-authored an art album ‘Ekaterinburg: Multiply by Million’ with artist Valery Shtukaturov.

[18] In culmination of the scandal, Ivanov even refused his Stroganoff Award [ru] and moved to live in Ekaterinburg.