The “Rebellion” in Bogucharovo in Leo Tolstoy’s War And Peace: Sources, Philosophy, Poetics

The article attempts to comprehensively analyze the scenes of “the revolt in Bogucharovo,” the only episode in War and Peace devoted to the theme of civil unrest. The study of the historical sources used by Tolstoy allows us to conclude that the literary representation of a failed rebellion was deep...

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Main Author: Alexander V. Gulin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature 2020-03-01
Series:Studia Litterarum
Subjects:
Online Access:http://studlit.ru/images/Gulin.pdf
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author Alexander V. Gulin
author_facet Alexander V. Gulin
author_sort Alexander V. Gulin
collection DOAJ
description The article attempts to comprehensively analyze the scenes of “the revolt in Bogucharovo,” the only episode in War and Peace devoted to the theme of civil unrest. The study of the historical sources used by Tolstoy allows us to conclude that the literary representation of a failed rebellion was deeply rooted in the realities of 1812. The article reveals a correlation in the national consciousness of the epoch between the figures of Emelyan Pugachev and Napoleon Bonaparte as different embodiments of a single life model, which proclaimed the will of a sinful man as the only driving force of existence. The article also brings to light the originality of Tolstoy’s ideological position, which was based on the principle “There are no guilty people in the world.” The author examines the scenes of “the revolt in Bogucharovo” from the standpoint of the conflict of natural life and civilization, which is present throughout the novel. The poetics of the episode, that is the poetics of spontaneous emotion and action, is derived from the religious and philosophical views of the writer. The scenes of “the revolt in Bogucharovo” in the novel realistically present episodes of Russian history and artistically “darken” the natural course of life. Artistic realism and religiousphilosophical utopianism in Tolstoy’s novel interact in a paradoxical yet productive manner.
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spelling doaj-art-6f458c92c1ba4ceea06d95314646f9cc2025-08-20T01:57:35ZengRussian Academy of Sciences, A.M. Gorky Institute of World LiteratureStudia Litterarum2500-42472541-85642020-03-015116217710.22455/2500-4247-2020-5-1-162-177The “Rebellion” in Bogucharovo in Leo Tolstoy’s War And Peace: Sources, Philosophy, PoeticsAlexander V. Gulin0A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of SciencesThe article attempts to comprehensively analyze the scenes of “the revolt in Bogucharovo,” the only episode in War and Peace devoted to the theme of civil unrest. The study of the historical sources used by Tolstoy allows us to conclude that the literary representation of a failed rebellion was deeply rooted in the realities of 1812. The article reveals a correlation in the national consciousness of the epoch between the figures of Emelyan Pugachev and Napoleon Bonaparte as different embodiments of a single life model, which proclaimed the will of a sinful man as the only driving force of existence. The article also brings to light the originality of Tolstoy’s ideological position, which was based on the principle “There are no guilty people in the world.” The author examines the scenes of “the revolt in Bogucharovo” from the standpoint of the conflict of natural life and civilization, which is present throughout the novel. The poetics of the episode, that is the poetics of spontaneous emotion and action, is derived from the religious and philosophical views of the writer. The scenes of “the revolt in Bogucharovo” in the novel realistically present episodes of Russian history and artistically “darken” the natural course of life. Artistic realism and religiousphilosophical utopianism in Tolstoy’s novel interact in a paradoxical yet productive manner.http://studlit.ru/images/Gulin.pdftolstoypushkinpugachevnapoleoncivilizationnovelhistorypeoplenikolai rostov.
spellingShingle Alexander V. Gulin
The “Rebellion” in Bogucharovo in Leo Tolstoy’s War And Peace: Sources, Philosophy, Poetics
Studia Litterarum
tolstoy
pushkin
pugachev
napoleon
civilization
novel
history
people
nikolai rostov.
title The “Rebellion” in Bogucharovo in Leo Tolstoy’s War And Peace: Sources, Philosophy, Poetics
title_full The “Rebellion” in Bogucharovo in Leo Tolstoy’s War And Peace: Sources, Philosophy, Poetics
title_fullStr The “Rebellion” in Bogucharovo in Leo Tolstoy’s War And Peace: Sources, Philosophy, Poetics
title_full_unstemmed The “Rebellion” in Bogucharovo in Leo Tolstoy’s War And Peace: Sources, Philosophy, Poetics
title_short The “Rebellion” in Bogucharovo in Leo Tolstoy’s War And Peace: Sources, Philosophy, Poetics
title_sort rebellion in bogucharovo in leo tolstoy s war and peace sources philosophy poetics
topic tolstoy
pushkin
pugachev
napoleon
civilization
novel
history
people
nikolai rostov.
url http://studlit.ru/images/Gulin.pdf
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