The Cossacks and The Raid

by Leo Tolstoy

To read Tolstoy's early sketch, The Raid, and his first novel, The Cossacks, is to enter the workshop of a great writer and thinker. In The Raid Tolstoy explores the nature of courage itself, a theme central to War and Peace. In The Cossacks he sets forth all the motifs of his whole future life and his work. The hero is a young man-about-town who has squandered half his fortune - and his life - and retires to the desultory existence of a regiment stationed in mountainous Cossack country, where he takes part in the daily life of a Cossack village. But his love for the beautiful Maryanka precipitates a conflict between the belief that "Happiness lies in living for others" and a passion that sweeps self-abnegation aside. As Romain Roland says, "The full force of Tolstoy's descriptive powers is already expressed in this splendid [novel] and Tolstoy's realism shows itself with equal force in depicting human nature."

Genres: Fiction, Russian Literature, Russia, Historical Fiction, Classics, Literature

224 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 1961

About the author

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой; most appropriately used Liev Tolstoy; commonly Leo Tolstoy in Anglophone countries) was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist fiction. Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.

His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reviews

[gabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

would have given it 3 stars but the last 50 pages of the Cossacks sold me! a story of abandonment into a story of war into love into heartbreak, it’s a classic tolstoy novel; everlastingly beautiful and playing on your heart strings amidst war and scenery like no other

[Henry Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A major part of life is deciding goals for yourself and setting out to reach them. An equally major part is realizing that you've failed to reach those goals, and recognizing they were perhaps never possible in the first place. An early work from the great Tolstoy, The Cossacks follows a young Moscovite noble who, dissatisfied by the dishonest urban life of western Russia, joins the army and is deployed to the eastern Cossack region. There, he believes he can find a true way of living, real living, with actions, thoughts, and people that mean something. Olenin, the protagonist, is disillusioned with who he is and how he lives, but in reaching the fringes of the Russian Empire finds a new way of life, grounded in reality. The Cossack village he takes lodging in is home to several characters Tolstoy uses to explore the different paths of life. The grizzled Eroshka, who always has a tale to spin and a hunt to embark on. The motley Vania, Olenin's lieutenant, always quick to show off his French, a reminder of the land Olenin tried to leave behind. The heroic Luke, the young and heroic raider who is the envy of all in the village. The beautiful Marianka, betrothed to Luke and the object of Olenin's affections. The daily life of these people are the kaleidoscope that Tolstoy hides his autobiography in. Olenin's thoughts and actions are representations of Tolstoy's own during his time in the east. Olenin develops through the novella, integrating himself slowly into life on the frontier. Idealistic pictures of a free rural life are replaced with the daily hardships such life contains, but Olenin believes himself to be happy in this role. The early story is more patchwork than plot, with different episodes focusing on different characters. Most notable is Luke's killing of a Tartar raider, with which his status rises. Olenin's first hunt with Eroshka is also memorable. The function of these early chapters is to set up Olenin for his eventual downfall. Olenin, in his desire to fit in to this different world, falls in love with Marianka, who is promised to Luke, the village jewel. He deludes himself, seeing emotions and hints that do not exist. It is only when Marianka fearfully rebukes a drunk Olenin, emboldened by Luke being perhaps fatally injured in a raid, that he realizes this is true for the majority of his village life. He was always a foreigner to these people. And in an attempt to selfishly seize his own happiness, he loses any friendship developed, friendships he was too absorbed to appreciate. With a sobering sense of reality, Olenin leaves the village. As he leaves he looks back to Eroshka and Marianka talking. Neither look back at him. His place in the village has already dissolved. On top of Tolstoy's musings on human relations and happiness, he also spends much ink on the topic for which he is famous: war. This is more straightforward in the early draft of the story, The Raid, but Tolstoy pines on what it means to kill another. When is it necessary? Is it something to be celebrated or tolerated? Is it brave or foolish to revel in death? Are those who enjoy fighting better soldiers or naive to its horrors? Tolstoy does not give direct answers, but his questions tell of his inner thoughts and turmoil. As an earlier work, there are still flaws in his writing. The pacing is inconsistent. Several chapters were forgettable and didn't add to the plot or characters. Major story events come up from nowhere and felt disconnected from the rest of the book. But Tolstoy's writing prowess was clearly there, with passages as profound as any ever written. Despite the inconsistencies, his ability as one of the greatest writers of all time was visible.

[hannah lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Kim Hoag · Rating 4 out of 5]

To knowingly read a first novel and an early sketch usually means you have to prepare yourself to be disappointed. Not so, here. It may not be up to War and Peace level, but it’s not even close to a thousand pages, either.

In The Cossacks, a Russian wastrel leaves it all behind, except his money, and moves to a wilderness Cossack village. There he hunts, listens to the stories of Eroshka, a still strong but drunken elder, lives with people who work to survive and who fight as a matter of course. The “noble savage” theme is not new, though it might have been “newer” when this was written. Olenin had no metric to define himself by other than his excesses. Attaching himself to a Russian military unit, he goes with his manservant to live with the legendary Cossacks along the frontier. He is filled with admiration and, for the first time, a passionate love.

It is an easy-going novelette full of a culture I knew little of. Tolstoy lived Olenin’s life early on, so he knows of what he speaks. I found it enjoyable to just view the landscape and the people and the worldly truths that the author is a master at digging into and revealing, even at this initial stage. There are wrinkles and bumps for Olenin but no big crescendos, or even surprises in the end. Despite this, I found the book a pleasant history to meander through.

I actually enjoyed the brief The Raid more. The narrator attaches himself to a military raid in order to explore the concept of courage. “I was … interested in … how a soldier kills and what makes him do it.” During the long march of the unit, the narrator is a careful observer floating over all. What sort of people are the officers? How do their qualities make them good or bad leaders. Other than orders, or despite them, what propels either officer or recruit? As an institution, how does the military aid control of both the soldier and the unit? What does the soldier do with the human parts of the self when they must kill?

Much was taken from his own diary entries, and it shows in the clarity and consideration he gives his observations. Morally, he doesn’t take a stance any more than his characters do. Answers to the questions he is exploring are found in the soldier’s actions and reactions to their situations. What Tolstoy mindfully details, is really a dissection of human psychology, and it's all a preparation for the grand philosophies he is really interested in and will expound on in his later books.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this in similar ways as And Quiet Flows the Don. The Terek river instead of the Don.

“It was the busiest time of the year. Villagers teemed in the melon fields and the vineyards. The vineyards were thickly overgrown and were cool and shady. Heavy black clusters of ripe grapes could be seen through gaps in the broad leaves. Creaking oxcarts, heaped high with grapes, moved along the dusty road between the vineyards and the Village. Clusters of grapes, crushed by the wheels, were scattered in the dust. Boys and girls, in shorts stained with grape juice, with clusters of grapes in their hands and in their mouths, ran after their mothers. Along the road one constantly came across ragged laborers carrying baskets of grapes on strong shoulders. Cossack girls, their kerchiefs ties over their foreheads, drove oxcarts laden high with grapes. Soldiers, meeting these carts on the road, asked for grapes and the girls without stopping their carts would climb up and throw them armfuls. The soldiers would catch them in the skirts of their coats. In some households the pressing of the grapes had already begun, and the air was fragrant with the smell of the crushed skins.”

[Loek Skywalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

What gems you discover while digging in other countries. Found this beautiful copy in a shop in Budapest.

The Cossacks and The Raid were among Tolstoy’s first works, largely autobiographical fiction. He was deeply troubled during this period and uncertain of where he belonged in society. In his diary, he often notes that he feels out of place, which is strongly reflected in these two stories. They laid a solid groundwork for War and Peace and Anna Karenina.

I found them somewhat lacking in substance and occasionally repetitive, but certain moments are genuinely stunning. Tolstoy already proves himself to be an exceptional writer.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no writer like Tolstoy. I only wish I knew Russian to read him in his own language. The Cossacks and the short story The Raid is about a minor Moscow aristocrat who goes to find himself in the military and winds up living for several months in a Cossack village. A pretty simple plot but a deep dive into morality, loyalty, courage and bravery. Tolstoy somehow manages to make warfare both appealing and appalling at the same time. A short novel, and good introduction into reading Tolstoy who in my opinion is the master of all writers.

[Anne Elise Teeling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah! Tolstoy is … the writer for me.

In these stories, his descriptions of the landscape were far more vivid and romantic than the stories I previously read. The final, story, “The Raid,” manages to capture so much in its succinct package.

The end of “The Cossacks” coupled with watching past lives on the plane made me very emotional.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Tolstoy's writing, but this is so very Russian. Unsatisfying ending, navel-gazing, the whole shebang. The afterword discussing Tolstoy's tumblr-like whining for his whole life really enhanced the effect.

[Rudy Herrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Masterful, but kind of slow. Definitely a good read though, the anxiety of Tolstoy is relatable and very kind and interesting to read. The ending was melancholic and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The raid was a bit dull compared the Cossacks but still a cool exploration into what bravery is.

[Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book that sadly seems to be out of print.

[Alex Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuously amazed by Tolstoy's ability to convey indescribably subtle & yet infinitely important shifts in worldview.

[Leire Alvarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia diferente a lo que suelo leer. No me ha gustado especialmente. Es lenta y con poco desarrollo. Lo que más me ha gustado ha sido el vocabulario para practicar en inglés.

[Faaqih Irfan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sebuah novel yang menggambarkan secara sosiologis dan antropologis orang-orang Kazak (bukan Kazakh) di Kauskasus. Sebuah cerita tentang pelarian dari kehidupan yang membosankan di Moskow ke Kauskasus meski akhirnya, Olenin, sang tokoh utama, menyadari kehidupan di Kauskasus ternyata lebih tak bersahabat. Penggambaran yang mendetail mengenai Kauskasus bisa jadi berangkat dari latar belakang Tolstoy, yang seperti dikatakan di sampul belakang buku ini, pernah bertugas di sana. Sebuah novel yang boleh dibilang ada sisi religiusnya karena dalam beberapa bagian semua tokohnya masih percaya dan menggunakan nama Tuhan, seperti Eroshka, meski ia sering berbicara kotor. Dan dalam novel ini ada sebuah sindiran yang didengungkan Tolstoy mengenai keberanian. Baginya, jika keberanian itu hanyalah untuk lari dari permasalahan hidup, itu sama dengan pengecut.

[jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

(This is only for The Raid, as I listened to The Cossacks on an audiobook). An early Tolstoy short story, written from the point of view of a reporter, mostly during the preparations and operation of a night military skirmish. Well-written, imaginatively described, and a definite page turner.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating glimpse at life among the Cossacks, in all Tolstoy's realistic magnificence. One of his first novels. "The Raid" raises an interesting phiolospohical question about death and war.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tolstoy is amazing!

[Megan]

The Cossacks and The Raid by Leo Tolstoy (1961)

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Tolstoy. These early stories do not disappoint.

[Jacob Hurley · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute

[Daniel Callister · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh