Full Description
Based on historical events, Tolstoy's beloved final novella tells the story of the rebel leader Hadji Murat-whom Tolstoy described as 'the leading daredevil of the Caucasus'-and of the precarious alliance he forged with his enemies during his final days. Set during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the 1850s and expressing empathy for the resistance of the native peoples of Dagestan and Chechnya, Hadji Murat raises significant questions of power, imperialism, and betrayal, and remains moving and relevant today. This richly annotated edition features a selection of illuminating background materials that help situate the novella in its historical and literary context.
Contents
IntroductionHadji Murat
Glossary
In Context
Leo Tolstoy on Hadji Murat
Tolstoy's Essays
from The Kingdom of God is Within You (1894)
from What Is Art? (1897)
from Bethink Yourselves! (1904)
Tolstoy's Early Stories about the War in the Caucasus
from 'The Raid' (1853)
from 'The Wood-Cutting Expedition: The Story of a Yunker's Adventure' (1855)
A Review of Hadji Murat
Arnold Zisserman's Memoirs of the Caucasus
from Arnold L. Zisserman, Twenty-Five Years in the Caucasus, Vol. II: 1842-1867 (1879)
Images
Map 1: The Caucasus in the present day
Map 2: Dagestan, Chechnya, and the Caucasian Imamate
