Caucasian War In The Works Of L.N. Tolstoy

Abstract

The article analyzes the Caucasian war and the Caucasian reality in the works of L.N. Tolstoy. The authors note that the Caucasus played a huge role in the development of Russian culture of the 19–20th centuries, especially in the development of literature. Tolstoy’s acquaintance with the Caucasus begins with the Grebensky Cossacks. The history of the Terek-Grebensky Cossacks, this unique phenomenon in the history of Russia, really fascinated the young officer. The article emphasizes that L.N. Tolstoy, faced with the horrors of the Russian-Highland confrontation in the first half of the 19th century, began to deny murder in general, war as a way to solve any problems. While watching the horrors of the Caucasian war, L.N. Tolstoy conceived of ideas of non-violence. The interesting fact is that certain elements of this theory coincided with religious teachings of Sheikh Mansur, the leader of the national liberation movement in Chechnya and in the North Caucasus at the end of the 18th century. The text of the story "Hadji Murad" clearly shows that L.N. Tolstoy was familiar with this teaching. The article convincingly showed that L.N. Tolstoy supported the policy of joining the Caucasus to Russia but not by violent means. In the story "Hadji Murad" he shows that it was the cruelty of the Russian troops that pushed the highlanders into armed resistance to the Russian authorities. The main note is vitality, the glorification of the beauty and power of life, the admiration of a rebellious, proud and freedom-loving man.