Who is the author of the story Caucasian prisoner. From the history of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”

"Prisoner of the Caucasus"- a story (sometimes called a story) by Leo Tolstoy, telling about a Russian officer captured by the highlanders. Written for ABC, first published in 1872 in the magazine Zarya. One of the writer’s most popular works, reprinted many times and included in school curriculum.

The title of the story is a reference to the title of Pushkin's poem "Prisoner of the Caucasus".

Story

The plot of the story is partly based on a real event that happened to Tolstoy during his service in the Caucasus in the 1850s. On June 23, 1853, he wrote in his diary: “I almost got captured, but in this case I behaved well, although too sensitive.” According to the memoirs of S. A. Bers, the writer’s brother-in-law,

Tolstoy's daughter talks about this incident as follows:

While actively compiling The ABC, Tolstoy wrote a story about a Caucasian prisoner. Sending the story to N. N. Strakhov in March 1872, Tolstoy noted:

Story " Prisoner of the Caucasus"was published in the magazine "Zarya" (1872, No. 2). It was included in the “Fourth Russian Reading Book,” published on November 1, 1872.

Tolstoy himself highly appreciated his story and mentioned it in his treatise “What is Art? " in the following context:

At the same time, he defines the “second kind” of good art there as “art that conveys the simplest everyday feelings, such as are accessible to all people around the world - world art.”

Commenting on this treatise, the philosopher Lev Shestov notes that “...he actually perfectly understands that his “Caucasian Prisoner” or “God knows the truth, but will not soon tell” (only these two stories of all that he has written, belongs to he to good art) - will not have for readers the meaning that not only his great novels- but even “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.”

Plot

The action takes place during the Caucasian War.

Officer Zhilin serves in the Caucasus. His mother sends a letter asking him to visit her, and Zhilin leaves the fortress along with the convoy. On the way, he overtakes the convoy and comes across several mounted “Tatars” (Muslim mountaineers), who shoot his horse and take him prisoner. Zhilin is brought to a mountain village, where he is sold to Abdul-Murat. The same owner turns out to have Zhilin’s colleague Kostylin, who was also caught by the Tatars. Abdul forces the officers to write letters home so that they can be ransomed. Zhilin indicates the wrong address on the letter, realizing that his mother still cannot collect the required amount.

Zhilin and Kostylin live in a barn; during the day they put pads on their feet. Zhilin makes dolls, attracting local children and, above all, Abdul’s 13-year-old daughter, Dina. While walking around the village and its surroundings, Zhilin wonders in which direction he can run back to the Russian fortress. At night he digs in the barn. Dina sometimes brings him flatbreads or pieces of lamb.

When Zhilin notices that the inhabitants of the village are alarmed because of the death of one of his fellow villagers in a battle with the Russians, he decides to escape. He and Kostylin crawl into a tunnel at night and try to get to the forest, and from there to the fortress. However, due to the slowness of the corpulent Kostylin, they do not have time to get there; the Tatars notice them and bring them back. Now they are put in a pit and the pads are not removed at night. Dina sometimes continues to bring food to Zilina.

Realizing that the mountaineers are afraid of the arrival of the Russians and could kill the prisoners, Zhilin one day, at nightfall, asks Dina to bring him a long stick, with the help of which he climbs out of the hole (the sick and soggy Kostylin remains behind). He tries to knock the lock off the blocks, but cannot do this, including with the help of Dina. Having made his way through the forest, at dawn Zhilin goes to the location of the Russian troops. Subsequently, Kostylin is ransomed from captivity.

Reviews

Film adaptations

• "Prisoner of the Caucasus" - a classic 1975 film adaptation; director Georgiy Kalatozishvili, in the role of Zhilin Yuri Nazarov

• "Prisoner of the Caucasus" - a 1996 film in which the motives of the story are used, but the action is moved during Chechen war 1990s; director Sergei Bodrov Sr. , in the role of Zhilin Sergei Bodrov Jr.

Audio performances

There are several audio versions of the story:

Vladimir Makanin's story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (1994) in its title contains a reference to several works of Russian classics called “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, including Tolstoy’s story. Also in Makanin’s novel “Asan” (2008), dedicated to the events of the Chechen War of the 1990s, the main character’s name is Alexander Sergeevich Zhilin.

Notes

Links

• “Prisoner of the Caucasus” in the Collected Works of Leo Tolstoy in 22 volumes (“Russian Virtual Library”)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

While staying in the Caucasus in the mid-19th century, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy became involved in a dangerous event, which inspired him to write “Prisoner of the Caucasus.” While escorting the convoy to the Grozny fortress, he and his friend fell into a trap among the Chechens. The life of the great writer was saved by the fact that the mountaineers did not want to kill his companion, so they did not shoot. Tolstoy and his partner managed to gallop to the fortress, where the Cossacks covered them.

The key idea of ​​the work is the contrast of an optimistic and strong-willed person with another - sluggish, lack of initiative, grumpy and compassionate. The first character retains courage, honor, courage and achieves release from captivity. The main message: under no circumstances should you give up and give up; hopeless situations exist only for those who do not want to act.

Analysis of the work

Story line

The events of the story unfold in parallel with the Caucasian War and tell the story of officer Zhilin, who at the beginning of the work, at the written request of his mother, leaves with a convoy to visit her. On the way, he meets another officer - Kostylin - and continues the journey with him. Having met the mountaineers, Zhilin’s fellow traveler runs away, and the main character is captured and sold to the rich man Abdul-Marat from a mountain village. The fugitive officer is caught later and the prisoners are kept together in a barn.

The mountaineers strive to obtain a ransom for the Russian officers and force them to write letters home, but Zhilin writes a false address so that his mother, who is unable to raise so much money, does not find out about anything. During the day, prisoners are allowed to walk around the village in stocks and main character makes dolls for local children, thanks to which he wins the favor of 13-year-old Dina, daughter of Abdul-Marat. At the same time, he plans an escape and prepares a tunnel from the barn.

Having learned that the villagers are worried about the death of one of the highlanders in battle, the officers decide to flee. They leave through a tunnel and go towards the Russian positions, but the mountaineers quickly discover and return the fugitives, throwing them into a pit. Now the prisoners are forced to sit in stocks around the clock, but Dina from time to time brings Zhilin lamb and flat cakes. Kostylin finally loses heart and begins to get sick.

One night, the main character, with the help of a long stick brought by Dina, gets out of the hole and, right in the stocks, runs away through the forest to the Russians. Kostylin remains in captivity until the end until the mountaineers receive a ransom for him.

Main characters

Tolstoy portrayed the main character as an honest and authoritative person who treats his subordinates, relatives and even those who captivated him with respect and responsibility. Despite his obstinacy and initiative, he is careful, calculating and cold-blooded, has an inquisitive mind (he navigates by the stars, learns the language of the mountaineers). He has self-esteem and demands from the “Tatars” respectful attitude to the prisoners. A jack of all trades, he repairs guns, watches, and even makes dolls.

Despite Kostylin’s meanness, because of whom Ivan was captured, he does not hold a grudge and does not blame his neighbor in captivity, plans to escape together and does not abandon him after the first almost successful attempt. Zhilin is a hero, noble towards enemies and allies, who preserves human face and honor even in the most difficult and insurmountable circumstances.

Kostylin is a wealthy, overweight and clumsy officer, whom Tolstoy portrays as weak both physically and morally. Because of his cowardice and meanness, the heroes are captured and fail their first attempt to escape. He meekly and unquestioningly accepts the fate of a prisoner, agrees to any conditions of detention and does not even believe Zhilin’s words that he can escape. All day long he complains about his situation, sits inactive, and becomes more and more “loose” from his own pity. As a result, Kostylin is overtaken by illness, and at the time of Zhilin’s second attempt to escape, he refuses, saying that he does not even have the strength to turn around. He is brought back from captivity barely alive a month after the ransom from his relatives arrives.

Kostylin in the story of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a reflection of cowardice, meanness and weakness of will. This is a person who, under the pressure of circumstances, is unable to show respect for himself and, especially, for others. He fears only for himself, not thinking about risk and brave actions, which is why he becomes a burden for the active and energetic Zhilin, prolonging his joint imprisonment.

General analysis

One of the most famous stories by Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” is based on a comparison of two extremely opposing characters. The author makes them antagonists not only in character, but even in appearance:

1. Zhilin is not tall, but has great strength and dexterity, and Kostylin is fat, clumsy, overweight.
2. Kostylin is rich, and Zhilin, although he lives in abundance, cannot (and does not want) to pay the mountaineers a ransom.
3. Abdul-Marat himself speaks about Zhilin’s obstinacy and the meekness of his partner in a conversation with the main character. The first optimist expects to escape from the very beginning, and the second says that escaping is reckless because they do not know the area.
4. Kostylin sleeps for days on end and waits for a reply letter, while Zhilin works on needlework and repairs.
5. Kostylin abandons Zhilin at their first meeting and runs away to the fortress, but during the first escape attempt he drags a comrade with wounded legs on himself.

Tolstoy appears in his story as a bearer of justice, telling a parable about how fate rewards an initiative and brave person with salvation.

An important idea is contained in the title of the work. Kostylin is a prisoner of the Caucasus in the literal sense of the word even after the ransom, because he did nothing to deserve his freedom. However, Tolstoy seems to be ironic about Zhilin - he showed his will and broke out of captivity, but does not leave the region, because he considers his service to be fate and duty. The Caucasus will captivate not only Russian officers forced to fight for their homeland, but also the mountaineers, who also have no moral right to give up this land. In a certain sense, everyone here remains Caucasian captives characters, even the generous Dina, who is destined to continue to live in her native society.

And the story of L.N. Tolstoy.
According to the plot, Russian is captured by Caucasians and evokes good feelings on the part of a young female person (in the first two cases - a romantic narrative and love from the outside adult girl, in the third case, the events are depicted in a realistic manner - the sympathy of a teenage girl).
Leo Tolstoy himself served in the Caucasus; the material for the story was events from the life of the writer and stories he heard during his service. Pushkin was also in the Caucasus, where he began his poem, inspired by the beauty of the Caucasus and the stories of the mountaineers.

"Prisoner of the Caucasus" Pushkin is a romantic poem written in 1821. The plot is based on the romantic topos of the passionate love of a disappointed, rebellious hero (a captured Russian officer) for “children of nature” who have not been spoiled by civilization (they are represented by a beautiful Circassian woman). This lyrical theme is presented against an epic background: the beauty of the boundless Caucasus, the exotic life of the highlanders, the successes of Russian weapons. Pushkin does not indicate the name of the hero or his past, but we can learn a little about the hero from hints and understatements. The hero of the poem is severely disappointed, dissatisfied with reality and gripped by a thirst for freedom. He went to the Caucasus - a land of strong and freedom-loving people - to find the freedom of spirit he desired and needed, but was captured.
“Prisoner of the Caucasus” remained his most popular work during the poet’s lifetime.
The enormous success of the poem is evidenced by the fact that among numerous imitations, the poem of the same name by 14-year-old Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, borrowing entire fragments of the text from the original source, is noteworthy.
Plot.
In the village, where Circassians sit on the thresholds in the evening and talk about their battles, a horseman appears dragging a Russian prisoner on a lasso, who seems to have died from his wounds. But at noon the prisoner comes to his senses, remembers what is wrong with him, where he is, and discovers shackles on his legs. He's a slave!
With a dream he flies to Russia, where he spent his youth and which he left for the sake of freedom. He dreamed of finding her in the Caucasus, but he found slavery. Now he only wants death.
At night, when the village has calmed down, a young Circassian woman comes to the captive and brings him cool kumiss to quench his thirst. It becomes clear that she is in love with him. For many days in a row, the chained captive grazes his flock in the mountains, and every night a Circassian woman comes to him, brings kumis, wine, honey and millet, shares a meal with him and sings the songs of the mountains, teaches the captive her native language. She fell in love with the prisoner with her first love, but he is unable to reciprocate her feelings, fearing to disturb the sleep of forgotten love. Slowly but surely the prisoner began to get used to such a life. His eyes were delighted by the majestic mountains of the Caucasus and Elbrus in an icy crown. He often found special joy in the storms that raged on the mountain slopes, not reaching the heights where he was.
A Circassian woman in love, who recognized the delights of his heart, tries to persuade the captive to forget his homeland and freedom. She is ready to despise the will of her father and brother, who want to sell her to an unloved person in another village, persuade them, or commit suicide. She only loves the prisoner. But her words and caresses do not awaken the soul of the captive. He indulges in memories and one day, crying, he opens his soul to her, he begs the Circassian woman to forget him, who became a victim of passions that deprived him of his raptures and desires. He laments that he recognized her so late, when there is no longer hope and dreams and he is unable to respond to her love, his soul is cold and insensitive, and another image lives in it, forever sweet, but unattainable.
In response to the prisoner’s confessions, the Circassian woman reproaches him and says that he could, at least out of pity, deceive her inexperience. She asks him to be lenient towards her mental anguish. The prisoner tells her that their fates are similar, that he, too, did not know reciprocity in love and suffered alone. The prisoner says that he perceives her as a kindred spirit, which is why he talks about everything. At dawn, sad and silent, they part, and from then on the captive spends time alone, dreaming of freedom.
One day he hears a noise and sees that the Circassians are going on a raid. Only women, children and elders remain in the village. The prisoner dreams of escape, but the heavy chain and deep river are insurmountable obstacles. And when it got dark, she came to the prisoner, holding a saw and a dagger in her hands. She cuts the chain herself. The excited young man invites her to run away with him, but the Circassian woman refuses, knowing that he loves someone else. She says goodbye to him, and the prisoner throws himself into the river and swims to the opposite bank. Suddenly he hears the sound of waves and a distant groan behind him. Having reached the shore, he turns around and does not find the Circassian woman on the abandoned shore. The prisoner understands what this splash and groan meant. He looks with a farewell glance at the abandoned village, at the field where he grazed his flock, and goes to where Russian bayonets sparkle and the leading Cossacks call out. Freedom and his native Russian land await him ahead.
The poem ends with a poetic epilogue praising Russian conquest Caucasus and especially the valor of commander Ermolov.
"Prisoner of the Caucasus" Tolstoy - a story telling about a Russian officer captured by the highlanders. This is one of the most popular works of Leo Tolstoy, reprinted many times and included in the school curriculum. The title of the story is a reference to the title of Pushkin's poem "Prisoner of the Caucasus".
Plot.
The action takes place during the Caucasian War.
The main character is Russian officer Zhilin. His character corresponds to his surname: he is strong, persistent, and wiry.
He received a letter from his mother, and he decided to go home on vacation. But on the way, he and another Russian officer Kostylin were captured by “Tatars” (in fact, Muslim mountaineers, but in those days all Muslims were called “Tatars”, because “Tatar” is not a nationality). This happened due to Kostylin’s fault. He was supposed to cover Zhilin, but he saw the Tatars, got scared and ran away from them. The Tatar who captured the Russian officers sold them to another Tatar. The prisoners were shackled and kept in the same barn.
The Tatars forced the officers to write letters to their relatives demanding a ransom. Kostylin obeyed, and Zhilin specially wrote a different address, because he knew: there was no one to buy him, Zhilin’s old mother lived very poorly. Zhilin and Kostylin sat in the barn for a whole month. The owner's 13-year-old daughter Dina became attached to Zhilin. She secretly brought him cakes and milk, and he made dolls for her. Zhilin began to think about how he and Kostylin could escape from captivity. Soon he began digging in the barn.
When Zhilin notices that the village residents are alarmed because of the death of one of their fellow villagers in a battle with the Russians and can easily take out their anger on prisoners, he decides to escape. He and Kostylin crawl into a tunnel at night and try to get to the forest, and from there to the fortress. However, when they entered the forest, Kostylin began to lag behind and whine - his boots had rubbed his feet. Because of Kostylin, they did not go far; they were noticed by a Tatar who was driving through the forest. He told the owners of the hostages, they took the dogs and quickly caught up with the prisoners. The shackles were put on them again and they were not removed even at night. Instead of a barn, the hostages were put in a hole five arshins deep. Dina sometimes continues to bring food to Zilina. Realizing that the mountaineers are afraid of the arrival of the Russians and could kill the prisoners, Zhilin one day, at nightfall, asks Dina to bring him a long stick, with the help of which he climbs out of the hole (the sick and soggy Kostylin remains there). Dina gave him some flatbread for the journey and cried, saying goodbye to Zhilin. He was kind to the girl, and she became very attached to him. Having made his way through the forest, at dawn Zhilin goes to the location of the Russian troops.
Zhilin told them about his adventures, and then said: “So I went home and got married! No, apparently it’s not my destiny.” And Zhilin remained to serve in the Caucasus. “And Kostylin was bought out only a month later for five thousand. They brought me barely alive.”
Relationship between Zhilin and Dina. Was there love between them?
-Dina - maybe she fell in love with Zhilin - the way little girls fall in love with adult men: teachers, friends of their parents or older brothers of their friends. If this was love, then it was childish love. And it is unlikely that she herself realized the nature of her feelings for this strange man, and certainly could not have expressed it in words, neither in Russian nor in her own language.
-For Zhilin, Dina became a true friend. Zhilin treated her like a little girl. He saw her as a child, and if he loved her, then as a child. Like the daughter he never had. But when he was freed, he changed his mind about getting married (his mother picked a bride for him) - why? Firstly, he felt that it was “not his destiny” to get married. Secondly, he realized that he was unlikely to find a wife who would be a true friend to him, like Dina. And in any case, he could not marry Dina. Of course, they could not run away together and did not think about it, neither he nor she.

"Prisoner of the Caucasus"- a story (sometimes called a story) by Leo Tolstoy, telling about a Russian officer captured by the highlanders. Written for ABC, first published in 1872 in the magazine Zarya. One of the most popular works of the writer, reprinted many times and included in the school curriculum.

The title of the story is a reference to the title of Pushkin's poem "Prisoner of the Caucasus".

Story

The plot of the story is partly based on a real event that happened to Tolstoy during his service in the Caucasus in the 1850s. On June 23, 1853, he wrote in his diary: “I almost got captured, but in this case I behaved well, although too sensitive.” According to the memoirs of S. A. Bers, the writer’s brother-in-law,

Tolstoy's daughter talks about this incident as follows:

While actively compiling The ABC, Tolstoy wrote a story about a Caucasian prisoner. Sending the story to N. N. Strakhov in March 1872, Tolstoy noted:

The story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was published in the magazine “Zarya” (1872, No. 2). It was included in the “Fourth Russian Reading Book,” published on November 1, 1872.

Tolstoy himself highly appreciated his story and mentioned it in his treatise “What is Art? " in the following context:

At the same time, he defines the “second kind” of good art there as “art that conveys the simplest everyday feelings, such as are accessible to all people around the world - world art.”

Commenting on this treatise, the philosopher Lev Shestov notes that “...he actually perfectly understands that his “Caucasian Prisoner” or “God knows the truth, but will not soon tell” (only these two stories of all that he has written, belongs to he is for good art) - will not have for readers the meaning that not only his great novels have - but even “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.”

Plot

The action takes place during the Caucasian War.

Officer Zhilin serves in the Caucasus. His mother sends a letter asking him to visit her, and Zhilin leaves the fortress along with the convoy. On the way, he overtakes the convoy and comes across several mounted “Tatars” (Muslim mountaineers), who shoot his horse and take him prisoner. Zhilin is brought to a mountain village, where he is sold to Abdul-Murat. The same owner turns out to have Zhilin’s colleague Kostylin, who was also caught by the Tatars. Abdul forces the officers to write letters home so that they can be ransomed. Zhilin indicates the wrong address on the letter, realizing that his mother still cannot collect the required amount.

Zhilin and Kostylin live in a barn; during the day they put pads on their feet. Zhilin makes dolls, attracting local children and, above all, Abdul’s 13-year-old daughter, Dina. While walking around the village and its surroundings, Zhilin wonders in which direction he can run back to the Russian fortress. At night he digs in the barn. Dina sometimes brings him flatbreads or pieces of lamb.

When Zhilin notices that the inhabitants of the village are alarmed because of the death of one of his fellow villagers in a battle with the Russians, he decides to escape. He and Kostylin crawl into a tunnel at night and try to get to the forest, and from there to the fortress. However, due to the slowness of the corpulent Kostylin, they do not have time to get there; the Tatars notice them and bring them back. Now they are put in a pit and the pads are not removed at night. Dina sometimes continues to bring food to Zilina.

Realizing that the mountaineers are afraid of the arrival of the Russians and could kill the prisoners, Zhilin one day, at nightfall, asks Dina to bring him a long stick, with the help of which he climbs out of the hole (the sick and soggy Kostylin remains behind). He tries to knock the lock off the blocks, but cannot do this, including with the help of Dina. Having made his way through the forest, at dawn Zhilin goes to the location of the Russian troops. Subsequently, Kostylin is ransomed from captivity.

Reviews

Film adaptations

• "Prisoner of the Caucasus" - a classic 1975 film adaptation; director Georgiy Kalatozishvili, in the role of Zhilin Yuri Nazarov

• "Prisoner of the Caucasus" - a 1996 film that uses motifs from the story, but the action is moved during the Chechen War of the 1990s; director Sergei Bodrov Sr. , in the role of Zhilin Sergei Bodrov Jr.

Audio performances

There are several audio versions of the story:

Vladimir Makanin's story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (1994) in its title contains a reference to several works of Russian classics called “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, including Tolstoy’s story. Also in Makanin’s novel “Asan” (2008), dedicated to the events of the Chechen War of the 1990s, the main character’s name is Alexander Sergeevich Zhilin.

Notes

Links

• “Prisoner of the Caucasus” in the Collected Works of Leo Tolstoy in 22 volumes (“Russian Virtual Library”)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Many poems, poems and stories are dedicated to the Caucasus, but many are not in vain interested in the work “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Who wrote it, let's try to figure it out further. Once upon a time, the literary critic Belinsky wrote that the Caucasus for Russians has become a cherished country of “free will and inexhaustible poetry, ebullient life and bold dreams.” Today it is not for nothing that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov and Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy are considered three Caucasian captives. The Caucasus left an indelible mark on their souls, because since the 18th century, this wonderful region in itself began to arouse great interest among writers, historians, and researchers, as a result of which numerous historical, scientific and literary works began to appear.

“Prisoner of the Caucasus”: who wrote it?

Pushkin is considered the discoverer of the Caucasus in Russian poetry. It was here that he drew his inspiration, communicating through poetry with the romantic landscapes of majestic mountains, green valleys and fast rivers. And the acute and dangerous events (1816-1964) and the life of the highlanders began to serve as sources of various literary subjects. It was here that the poet plunged into the atmosphere of various dramatic stories and legends about military confrontation and the heroism of Russian officers in captivity and irreconcilable highlanders.

Pushkin began writing his poem “Prisoner of the Caucasus” in August 1820 in Gurzuf, Crimea. It became the first work dedicated to the Caucasus, which was a huge success among readers. According to the author himself, the character of the captive hero did not turn out very well, but he described the mountains of the fertile region with extraordinary admiration, and the love of the Circassian woman also deeply touched his soul.

"Prisoner of the Caucasus". Lermontov

Throughout his, unfortunately, short life, he felt a reverent love for the Caucasus and M. Yu. Lermontov. In 1825 he visited this fabulously beautiful region. It greatly excited his imagination and subsequently took a central place in his work. He received all information about the Caucasus from his relatives living in Mineralnye Vody. In addition, Pushkin’s “prisoner” made an indelible impression on him. Therefore, already at the age of 14 (1818), Mikhail Yuryevich began to write his “Prisoner of the Caucasus.” The plots have a strong similarity and tell how a Russian serviceman is captured by the Circassians. A Circassian woman fell in love with him very much, who later helped him escape. Only Lermontov gave this plot his own unique and inimitable facet.

Tolstoy

And other authors had the work “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Who wrote a story on this topic? Of course, the “third prisoner” is Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. He came to the Caucasus when he was 23 years old. And fell in love with these lands. He didn’t know what to do with himself, so he started writing a story about local beauties, people’s lives, and traditions. After more than three years (1851-1854) of living here, he left this region famous writer. Many years later, in his memoirs, he emphasized that the Caucasus became a school of life for him. Here he first learned what it was fighting, danger and death.

As a child, Tolstoy read Lermontov's fascinating Caucasian works, which he enjoyed. Then Chechen mountaineers appeared among his acquaintances, and he recorded their stories and songs, especially about the war. This is how the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was born in his head. The author describes in it the life of two Russian prisoners - Zhilin and Kostylin, who ended up in the Caucasus. For Tolstoy, his young years spent in the Caucasian War will evoke the best memories. Here he was lonely and unhappy, so it was the most painful, but good time for reflection, the beginning of writing and the achievement of high thought.

Now, I think, the confusion regarding the question of what “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is, who wrote it and what it tells about, will disappear by itself. As it turned out, there are already three similar works, and not just one.