Today, I am sharing some thoughts and opinions on another Russian Literary Classic. It is easy to understand why it has been considered so invaluable to so many people worldwide. The book itself is a testament to the richness of Russian culture. The diversity in terms of themes, scenes, characters, events, and places leaves one stumbling backwards in amazement. How could one mind imagine such a story, so epic and dramatic, yet surprisingly well aligned with history; with reality?
I focus primarily on Tolstoy's ideas concerning history as I believe the subject of history itself is the most prominent and recurring theme throughout the entire book. Tolstoy uses the novel itself combined with his remarks during breaks from the story to communicate something profound about the way we view and understand the past and those who participate in it.
By constructing an epic story involving the lives of hundreds of characters, some fictional, others non-fictional, he conveys that the task of studying and understanding history entails reckoning with an incalculably complex, interconnected, and nuanced web of human lives, thoughts, actions, beliefs, events, places, and so on. History is not merely a series of events unfolding from the consequences of the will of one or a powerful and influential few individuals. No, on the contrary, everyone regardless of their prominence, role, or significance, plays a role in shaping the course of humanity.
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