The Cossacks(1862)

Tolstoy repeatedly addressed the Caucasian theme, including in his novella ‘The Cossacks’. A young Russian aristocrat named Dmitry Olenin, disillusioned with social life, enlists in the Caucasian Infantry Regiment. He finds himself in the world of free Cossacks, living in harmony with nature, tradition and duty…

The story has been adapted for the screen several times in Russia and Vasily Pronin's 1961 movie was nominated for the ‘Palme d'Or’ for ‘Best Director’ at the Cannes Film Festival.

Translated by Leo Wiener, Publisher Collier, 1887