Two centuries of the Russian classics

2686-7494

IWL RAS

https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-2-320-341

Research Article

Articles

L. N. Tolstoy and the Agrarian Question in Russia at the Beginning of the 20th Century

Khristenko

Dmitrii N.

red@rusklassika.ru

25 06 2026

8 2 320 341

L. N. Tolstoy P. A. Stolypin agrarian question land ownership peasants elections State Duma Henry George

2026

The aim of this work is to examine Tolstoy’s views on land ownership in his dialogue with the authorities, particularly with P. A. Stolypin. Tolstoy’s literary works, journalistic appeals, and clear moral position reveal his understanding of Stolypin’s actions as aimed at maintaining the institutional authority of state power. The work’s novelty lies in its careful consideration of certain historical facts that literary scholars have overlooked when analyzing Tolstoy’s appeals and his dispute with Stolypin, and in its understanding of the role of the Russian classic and the power of his voice, which Russian historians underestimate. The author demonstrates Tolstoy’s activity as an “advocate” for the Russian agricultural people: the writer considered private land ownership unacceptable. The article analyzes Tolstoy’s letters to Stolypin, the minister’s views on the theoretical peasant farmer, and his conservative political stance, which clashed with the peasants’ views, as vividly demonstrated by the elections to the First and Second State Dumas and the ensuing political struggle. The article emphasizes that Tolstoy did not seek controversy, but rather sought to point out to Stolypin the need for an end to the escalation of the internal conflict.

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