“A letter to (Russian) liberals” (1896). Lev Tolstoy’s text which is little known yet in Russia
Abstract
The paper discusses a publicistic L.N. Tolstoy text which was first published by V.G. Chertkov in London in 1897. In Russia it was first published only in 1917 (as a booklet) and republished in 1954 and 1984 (in Tolstoy’s Collected Works). In the English speaking world this text is known as “A Letter to (Russian) Liberals”. In 1919, M.K. Gandhi included it in the list of the obligatory reading for his followers, along with Plato’s “Apology of Socrates” and Henry Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”. In the USSR that text has been published only as Tolstoy’s private letter to A.M. Kalmykova (1849/50 – 1926). But this private letter is one of Tolstoy’s most articulate and passionate anti-state utterances.
About the Author
Sergey D. Serebriany
Russian State University for the Humanities.
Russian Federation
Serebriany Sergey D. – Dr. in Philosophy, director, Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities.
Russian Federation
Serebriany Sergey D. – Dr. in Philosophy, director, Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities.
References
1. Gandhi M.K. Instructions for Satyagrahis//Gandhi M.K. Collected Works. Vol. 15. New Delhi: Government of India, 1965. P. 412-417.
2. Collected Works//GandhiServe. URL: http://gandhiserve.org/cwmg/VoL018.PDF (дата обращения: 24.11.2017).
3. Tolstoy L. A Letter to Russian Liberals//Wikisource. URL: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Letter_to_Russian_Liberals (дата обращения: 24.11.2017).
4. Tolstoy L. A Letter to Russian Liberals//Jesusi. URL: http://www.cyberspacei.com/jesusi/authors/tolstoy/a_letter_to_russian_liberals.htm (дата обращения 24.11.2017).
5. Tolstoy L. Writings on Civil Disobedience and Nonviolence. Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers, 1987.
6. Александра Михайловна Калмыкова//Википедия. URL: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Калмыкова,_Александра_Михайловна (дата обращения: 24.11.2017).
7. Толстой Л.Н. Полн. собр. соч.: в 90 т. Т. 69. Москва: Худож. лит., 1954. C. 127-138.
8. Толстой Л.Н. Собр. соч.: в 22 т. Т. 19. Москва: Худож. лит., 1984. C. 364-375.
9. Покровская (Хаймович) Н.Д. Л.Н. Толстой: Библиография произведений Л. Толстого и литературы о нем: 1917-1927/под ред. Н.К. Пиксанова//Толстой и о Толстом: Новые материалы/ред. Н.Н. Гусева, В.Г. Черткова. Москва: Издание Толстовского музея, 1928. Сб. 4. С. 19-198.
Review
For citations:
Serebriany S.D. “A letter to (Russian) liberals” (1896). Lev Tolstoy’s text which is little known yet in Russia. RSUH/RGGU BULLETIN. Series Philosophy. Social Studies. Art Studies. 2017;(4/2):252-260. (In Russ.)
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