2020 INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Showcase

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation (UNI Access Only)

Keywords

Serfdom--Russia; Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910--Characters--Peasants; Social classes--Russia;

Abstract

This paper explores and compares the aristocracy's view of the institution of serfdom through the masterworks of Leo Tolstoy, during the institution’s height (War and Peace set from 1805-1812) and after the serfs’ emancipation (Anna Karenina set in 1873). The majority of the paper, however, details how these views came to be so prevalent in the Russian high courts. By tracing back the institution through a thousand years of Russian history it becomes self-evident that the lords’ psyche, fueled by a need to feed their ever hungry egos and affirm their societal relevance at the expense of the peasant, was conditioned to the point where it refused to adapt post-emancipation and must, subsequently, be blamed for the fall of Imperial Russia.

Start Date

17-4-2020 12:00 PM

End Date

17-4-2020 4:00 PM

Faculty Advisor

Fernando Herrera Calderon

Department

Department of History

Student Type

Undergraduate Student

File Format

application/pdf

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Apr 17th, 12:00 PM Apr 17th, 4:00 PM

Tolstoy & The Peasant

This paper explores and compares the aristocracy's view of the institution of serfdom through the masterworks of Leo Tolstoy, during the institution’s height (War and Peace set from 1805-1812) and after the serfs’ emancipation (Anna Karenina set in 1873). The majority of the paper, however, details how these views came to be so prevalent in the Russian high courts. By tracing back the institution through a thousand years of Russian history it becomes self-evident that the lords’ psyche, fueled by a need to feed their ever hungry egos and affirm their societal relevance at the expense of the peasant, was conditioned to the point where it refused to adapt post-emancipation and must, subsequently, be blamed for the fall of Imperial Russia.