Leo Tolstoy and Russian Peasant Sectarian Writers. Selected Correspondence

Andrew Donskov, ed. Tolstoy and Russian Peasant Sectarian Selected Correspondence. Tolstoy Series, vol. 8. Ottawa: Slavic Research Group at the University of Ottawa, 2008. 298 pp. Illustrations. Bibliography. Indexes. $20.00, paper.This volume features in English translation selected correspondence between Lev Tolstoi and four of the major Russian peasant sectarian writers: Timofei Bondarev, the Molokan Fedor Zheltov, the Doukhobor Petr V. Verigin, and Mikhail Novikov. The Russian texts of all four sets of correspondence have appeared in the last decade in Russian, Canadian, and German publications, and, except for the Bondarev letters, which appear in English here for the first time, John Woodsworth's translations of the correspondence have previously been published in the United States and Canada. his preface, the editor informs the reader that all the Russian texts translated in the collection were verified against the manuscripts, a process that helped to correct many earlier oversights and misreadings.The annotated letters, presented in their context of a dialogue, are preceded by Donskov's ninety-three page introduction entitled Leo Tolstoy and Russian Peasant Sectarian Writers. Illustrations include portraits of the five correspondents, a handwritten page from Tolstoi's treatise V chem moia vera [What I Believe], and the front cover of the 1989 publication of this work in Tula. The index of Tolstoi titles, listing the English and then the Russian title, is followed by an index of names.The first part of Donskov's introduction briefly traces the literary interest in the peasant in Russia in the nineteenth century and highlights the role of the peasantry in Tolstoi's writing, his educational and publishing ventures, and his philosophy. Tolstoi's interest in the peasant sectarians and his support of them is examined against the backdrop of persecution by church and government authorities. Donskov then considers Tolstoi's relation with each of the four sectarian writers featured in this volume; prior to his discussion of Tolstoi and Zheltov, Donskov presents a brief outline of the Molokans and, similarly, an outline of the Doukhobors precedes the discussion on Tolstoi and Verigin.The Tolstoi-Bondarev correspondence (1885-1 898) comprises five letters written by the former and seven by the latter. The most prominent topic of discussion is Bondarev 's treatise entitled Torzhestvo zemledel'tsa Ui trudoliubie i tuneiadstvo [The Triumph of the Land-tiller, or Industriousness and Idleness] and his commitment to the Genesis 3:19 injunction: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. . .; for Bondarev, only obethence to this original law, that is, through honest manual labour, could sin be avoided. While scornful of the kid-gloved elite, Bondarev was also committed to fighting the peasants' shortcomings, especially drunkenness. The selected letters touch on Bondarev's Sabbatarian connection, speak eloquently of the strength and comfort he derived from Tolstoi's support, and reveal the delightful logic of his thought process. …

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