Home from the war

Home from the war, Leo Tolstoy reaches St Petersburg in November 1855. His priority is to meet Ivan Turgenev, who has been very generous in his praise of the fledgling writer. A decade older than him, Turgenev has impressed the intellectual elite with A Sportsman’s Sketches, a collection of short stories about peasant life and nature.

Over the next few days Tolstoy is the centre of attention for most of the writers from The Contemporary, the literary journal in which is work is first published. In his smart officers’ uniform, he charms them, startles them with his need to party and earns the name Troglodyte from Turgenev for his sometimes brutish ways. Few question the quality of his writing but his personality, which includes an eagerness to accuse others of insincerity, draws some negative comment. In fact, he very quickly establishes a reputation for being scornful and contrary, often stirring his contemporaries up by arrogantly voicing his disregard for the exiled philosopher Alexander Herzen and the work of William Shakespeare and Homer. At times his diary says simply: “Insulted everyone”.

Everybody is confused about what he stands for and his lack of consistency. Asks Turgenev: “Sinner that I am, no matter how hard I cudgel my brains, I cannot make out just what you are, if not a writer: An army officer? A landowner? Philosopher? Founder of a new religion? Civil servant? Man of business? Do be kind enough to help me out of my predicament by informing me which of the alternatives I propose suits you best” (p165, Tolstoy, Crankshaw). After their initial honeymoon they repeatedly quarrel and make up. Tolstoy likes to bait Turgenev in front of witnesses and one day they have a particularly heated dispute sparked by a discussion about Turgenev’s illegitimate daughter. Each challenges the other to a duel and they remain estranged for about 17 years until Tolstoy sends a penitent letter to Turgenev about forgiveness.

In January 1856 Tolstoy visits his brother Dmitry, who is extremely ill with tuberculosis. Among those at the sick man’s side is Masha, the prostitute whom he purchased from a brothel a few years earlier. The deathbed scene is used as the basis for a scene in Anna Karenina. Dmitry dies three weeks later. His youngest brother does not go to the funeral because he has a social engagement.

The Crimean War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on March 30, 1856. Seven days later Tolstoy is promoted to lieutenant “for bravery and resolute conduct displayed on August 4 at the battle of the Chernaya”. He immediately requests 11 months of leave and packs his bags for Yasnaya Polyana.

First trip to Europe
Another brother dies