Responses to the novel War and Peace by L.N. Tolstoy from participants in the patriotic war of 1812

Responses of participants in the war of 1812 are occupying a special place among a significant number of reviews and comments on the novel “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy. A.S. Norov was the first to respond to it. He criticized the work and stated that it was a distorting historical reality, as the battle scenes did not correspond to the actual events, the Russian officer corps was depicted in the negative light, and the highest noble society of St. Petersburg and Moscow was presented disparagingly. In addition, three more veterans of the Patriotic War of 1812 expressed their opinions on the novel: P.A. Vyazemsky, P.S. Demenkov and A.A. Shcherbinin. They also responded negatively blaming L.N. Tolstoy for unreliable depiction of the reality and frivolous treatment of the historical sources. The paper makes an attempt to comparatively analyze reviews by the participants in the war of 1812. Interpretation of the personal sources, newspaper publications of that time, as well as scientific research literature is making it possible to conclude that critics of the novel took a conservative position. They denied the writer, as the creator of a historical and artistic work, from the right to fiction and to present his own vision of historical events, characteristics of their participants and contemporaries.

EDN WXBNZN

References
[1] Norov A.S. Voyna i mir (1805–1812) s istoricheskoy tochki zreniya i po vospominaniyam sovremennika. (Po povodu sochineniya grafa L.N. Tolstogo “Voyna i mir”). [War and Peace (1805–1812) from a historical point of view and according to the memoirs of a contemporary. (Regarding the work of Count L.N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”)]. Voennyi sbornik, 1868, vol. LXIV, no. 11, pp. 189–246.
[2] Nikitenko A.V. Dnevnik [A diary]. In 3 vols. Vol. 3: 1866–1877. Moscow, Gosudarstvennoe Izdatelstvo Khudozhestvennoy Literatury Publ., 1956, 584 p.
[3] Arsenyev I.A. Pismo s vizitnoy kartochkoy A.S. Norova [A letter with a visiting card to A.S. Norov]. Rossijskaya natsionalnaya biblioteka. Otdel rukopisey [The National Library of Russia. Department of Manuscripts]. F. 531 (A.S. Norov), op. 1, d. 459.
[4] Neskolko zametok po povodu kriticheskogo otzyva Avraama Sergeevicha Norova o romane “Voyna i Mir” [A few notes on the Abraham Sergeyevich Norov critical review of the “War and Peace” novel]. Peterburgskaya gazeta, 1869, no. 3, pp. 1–2.
[5] Muravyev A.N. Pisma A.N. Norovu [Letters to A.S. Norov]. Rossijskaya natsionalnaya biblioteka. Otdel rukopisey [National Library of Russia. Department of Manuscripts]. F. 531 (A.S. Norov), op. 1, d. 235.
[6] Tartakovsky A.G. 1812 god i russkaya memuaristika. Opyt istochnikovedcheskogo izucheniya [1812 and the Russian memoiristics. Experience in source studying]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1980, 312 p.
[7] Troitsky N.A. 1812 god. Velikiy god Rossii [1812. The great year of Russia]. Moscow, Mysl Publ., 1988, 348 p.
[8] Norov A.S. Voyna i mir 1805–1812 s istoricheskoy tochki zreniya i po vospominaniyam sovremennika [War and peace of the 1805–1812 from the historical point of view and according to the contemporary reflections]. Moscow, ARCIVE PUBLICA Publ., 2024, 56 p.
[9] Muzey panorama “Borodinskaya bitva” [Museum-panorama “The Battle of Borodino”]. Available at: http://www.1812panorama.ru/virt_lec.html (accessed September 2, 2024).
[10] Vyazemsky P.A. Vospominanie o 1812 gode [Memories of the 1812]. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy [Complete set of works]. In XII vols. Vol. VII: 1855–1877. St. Petersburg, Tipografiya S.S. Stasyulevicha, 1882, pp. 191–213.
[11] Tolstoy L.N. Pisma 1863–1872 [Letters of 1863–1872]. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy [Complete works]. In 90 vols. Vol. 61. Moscow, Gosudarstvennoe Izdatelstvo Khudozhestvennoy Literatury Publ., 1953, 420 p.
[12] De Pulet M.F. Voyna iz-za “Voyny i mira” [War over the “War and Peace”]. In: Roman L.N. Tolstogo “Voyna i mir” v russkoy kritike [L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” in the Russian criticism]. Leningrad, Izdatelstvo Leningradskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta Publ., 1989, 407 p.
[13] Zametki veterana 1812 goda o “Voyne i Mire” grafa L.N. Tolstogo. Pisany v 1876 godu P.S. Demenkovym. [Notes from a veteran of the 1812 about “War and Peace” by Count L.N. Tolstoy. Written in 1876 by P.S. Demenkov]. Russkiy arkhiv — Russian Archive, 1911, book III, issue 11, pp. 385–465.
[14] Shcherbachev Yu.N. Otryvochnye zametki i pisma, kasayushchiesya Otechestvennoy voyny 1812 g. (iz bumag A.A. Shcherbinina). “Voyna i mir”, zamechaniya moi na V-y tom [Fragmentary notes and letters concerning the Patriotic War of 1812 (from the papers of A.A. Shcherbinin). “War and Peace”, my remarks on volume V]. Chteniya v Imperatorskom obshchestve istorii i drevnostey rossiyskikh pri Moskovskom universitete — Readings at the Imperial Society of Russian History and Antiquities at the Moscow University, 1912, book 4, pp. 4–10.
[15] Tolstoy L.N. Neskolko slov po povodu knigi “Voyna i Mir” [A few words on the book “War and Peace”]. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy [Complete works]. In 90 vols. Vol. 16. Moscow, Gosudarstvennoe Izdatelstvo Khudozhestvennoy Literatury Publ., 1955, pp. 7–16.