Peter I and His Era in the Works of Leo Tolstoy

Abstract

The article deals with Leo Tolstoy’s creative understanding of the personality of Peter the Great and his era. The mention of Peter I, assessment of his personality, his role in national history in the works and letters of Tolstoy can be traced throughout his creative life. The writer felt a lively direct interest in the era of Peter I, which determined his attitude to this time as a “node” of Russian life and the beginning of work on a failed novel from the reign of the first Russian emperor. Tolstoy also refers to the personality of Peter I in children’s stories from the “ABC” and the book-supplement to the magazine “Yasnaya Polyana.” The authorship of the story from the reading book has not been definitely established. A comparative analysis of the language and content of the story with draft versions of the unwritten novel makes it possible to assume with great certainty the authorship of Tolstoy.

Keywords

• l. n. tolstoy
• peter i
• novel
• stories for children
• creative history
• design
• authorship