Hadji Murad (1896-1904)

As in ‘Sevastopol Tales’ and ‘The Cossacks’, Tolstoy once again turns to the Caucasian theme and uses a true story as the basis for the plot.

Hadji Murad, the right-hand man of a highlander leader named Imam Shamil, defects to the Russian army. He’s received as an honored guest by the army's commanding officers. He promises the Russians that he will convert all of Dagestan to their side, if they help him rescue his family from Shamil's captivity. However, not everyone believes in the defector's loyalty…

The story is considered Tolstoy's final work of fiction. Writer Mark Aldanov once professed that great Russian literature ended with ‘Hadji Murat’.

Translated by Louise & Aylmer Maude, Publisher Collier, 1887