Pedagogical Ideas of L. N. Tolstoy and His Correspondence with Russian Women Writers in the 1860s

Abstract

The article examines the pedagogical ideas of L. N. Tolstoy manifested in his correspondence with Russian women writers — Marko Vovchok, E. N. Akhmatova, S. I. Snessoreva, and E. I. Raevskaya. The pedagogical journal Yasnaya Polyana, published by Tolstoy in 1862, played a prominent role in popularizing his views on pedagogy and public education. The article analyzes unpublished letters of the writers to Tolstoy concerning the issues of education and children’s literature. It shows the use of foreign children’s books in classes with peasant children. The research demonstrates the influence of Tolstoy’s pedagogical ideas, expressed in the 1860s in the articles of the Yasnaya Polyana journal and the pedagogical work of the writer, on the women writers who devoted themselves to children’s literature, translations from foreign languages of books for children, and the cause of education and enlightenment of the people.

Keywords

• l. n. tolstoy
• women writers
• marko vovchok
• e. n. akhmatova
• s. i. snessoreva
• e. i. raevskaya
• zulma karro
• pedagogy
• “yasnaya polyana” journal