Russia (bbabo.net), - Exactly 150 years ago, on Friday, an event occurred that had no historical significance, but had great literary significance.

In mid-February (Old Style 11, New Style 23), 1872, the Austrian envoy to London, Count Friedrich Ferdinand von Beist, was passing through Wiesbaden. And who would remember this today if one of the characters in probably the most famous world novel "Anna Karenina", the kindest Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky, aka Steve, the brother of the title character, had not read about this event in the morning newspaper? None! We forgot about the existence of Count von Beist. And what do we care about the fact that the aforementioned count on this day was impatient to be in the resort town of Wiesbaden?

But this fact got into the news chronicle of one of the Russian newspapers, and Steve read about it over morning coffee. It was on a Friday, because on Fridays a German watchmaker came to the Oblonskys to wind the clock. Of course, Stiva forgot what he had read in a second. He was worried about more serious things. He cheated on his wife Dolly with their children's governess m-lle Roland, and Dolly discovered her note to Steve. What happened next, we remember by heart: "Everything was mixed up in the Oblonskys' house."

This was three days ago, because the guilty Steve, in atonement for his sin, did not find anything better than not spending the night at home for three days. This may seem strange... But the caring author warned us in the very first sentence of the novel that "every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." So there is nothing to find fault with Steve. That is, the beginning of the novel refers to approximately February 8 (20) of the same year. These numbers - February 8 (20) - February 11 (23), 1872 - we date the beginning of the great novel, which Tolstoy began writing in the spring of 1873, a year after Stiva's betrayal and the journey of Count von Beist.

And the action ends on a May evening at the Obiralovka station (now the Zheleznodorozhny district center not far from Moscow), where Anna falls under the wheels of a freight train. I am sure that the investigation qualified this as an accident, otherwise the poor woman could not be buried in an Orthodox cemetery, as happens in the novel. In the summer, Vronsky volunteers for the Balkan War with a desire to die. So this is happening in 1876. In April 1876, the Ottoman Empire brutally suppressed the national liberation uprising in Bulgaria. A year later, on April 12, 1877, Emperor Alexander II officially declared war on Turkey, which ended in Turkey's defeat. But even earlier, in 1876, Russian volunteers began to go to the Balkans, which the authorities did not interfere with, although they did not openly encourage it.

Tolstoy, through the mouth of his hero Konstantin Levin, rather condemns this voluntary movement. Not because he is not a patriot, but because he feels that way. Tolstoy (Levin) was objected in the "Diary of a Writer" by another literary giant - F.M. Dostoevsky. Levin, he writes, although he "says to himself that he is the people himself," does not want to believe in a nationwide movement to support the Slavic cause in the Balkans. The hero of Tolstoy, continues Fyodor Dostoevsky, is of the opinion that all barbarism and unheard-of tortures committed against the Slavs cannot arouse in us Russians an immediate feeling of pity and that "there is no such direct feeling for the oppression of the Slavs and cannot be." "Thus, Levin fell into isolation and parted ways with the vast majority of the Russian people." It was written a hundred and fifty years ago, but it still burns with fiery letters today. Remember the not-so-old events in Yugoslavia.

This is the genius of Leo Tolstoy's novel. Yes, a love story. But not only about love.

It was written a hundred and fifty years ago, but it still burns with fiery letters

What newspaper is Steve reading one hundred and fifty years ago on February 11 (23), 1872? Liberal. Stiva is a liberal. But why is he a liberal? “If there was a reason why he preferred the liberal direction to the conservative ... it did not come from the fact that he found the liberal direction more reasonable, but because it came closer to his way of life. The liberal party said that in Russia everything bad, and indeed, Stepan Arkadyevitch had a lot of debts, but he was definitely short of money.

Doesn't this remind you of anything?

And what about the scene of the provincial elections, in which Vronsky and Levin take part? Read at your leisure.

And just Stiva woke up and opened the newspaper. At this time, the watchmaker was winding the clock. Vladimir Nabokov once said that Tolstoy's clock runs in the same rhythm as the reader's clock of any time.

Direct speech

The book "The True Story of Anna Karenina" by Pavel Basinsky has been published by the AST publishing house in the "Editorial Office of Elena Shubina".

Elena Shubina, publisher:- Pavel Basinsky has a factual and documentary base, but at the same time all his books are written so heartily, with such attention to the characters and penetration into the text! In "The True History of Anna Karenina" there are many chapters devoted to other heroes, he very subtly and accurately enters into their lives and creates a mosaic that eventually develops into this most famous and beloved by the whole world novel.

By the way

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Leo Tolstoy, which will be celebrated in 2028. The government was instructed to develop and approve a plan of festive events. Within six months, the Cabinet of Ministers must form an organizing committee to prepare for the celebrations.

Prepared by Inga Bugulova

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