Primary sourceBook1862 (published 1863)
The Cossacks
Leo Tolstoy · 1862 (published 1863)
An early novel by Leo Tolstoy, drawing on his years in the Caucasus, about a nobleman seeking a simpler life among Cossacks.
Tolstoy wrote this novel drawing directly on his own youthful experiences in the Caucasus.
About this source
What it is
The Cossacks is a novel by Leo Tolstoy, begun in 1853 and finished in 1862, published in 1863. It follows a disillusioned nobleman, Olenin, who leaves Moscow society to live among Cossacks in the Caucasus and falls in love with a local woman.
Why it matters
The story draws on Tolstoy's own experiences serving in the Caucasus during his youth, and is considered by some critics his first masterpiece. It was praised by fellow writers such as Ivan Turgenev. The novel reveals Tolstoy's fascination with contrasting the artificial life of the Russian upper classes with what he saw as the more natural, honest existence of ordinary people.
Look closer
- Why might Tolstoy have based a character so closely on his own experiences?
- What does the story suggest about how an outsider can misunderstand a community he admires?
- What is left out of this story about the people and conflicts of the Caucasus at that time?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Leo Tolstoy on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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