1/6/2019 Online Lesson on Cossacks This Lesson is courtesy of Anna Oldfield. Much thanks to her! 1. The Cossacks Photograph of Cossack Men (Source: Russia Beyond) By now you have a pretty good idea in your head of what a Cossack looks like, but here is a picture from about 1900 I'm thinking Uncle Eroshka would look like the guy on the left. You can find a lot of information about Cossacks and their histories on the Internet. If you want to get a modern overview, check out this article: The Free Cossacks: A Special Breed of Russians in Russia Beyond What I like about Tolstoy's book Cossacks is his eyewitness observations from being there as a young soldier. We can learn a lot about Cossack culture in 1850 from his descriptions. I also like how Olenin felt a lot like Tolstoy felt overeducated, awkward, and unable to join into the society fully even though he admired it very much. I felt similar when I visited my relatives in Ukraine. Left: Cossack on a Horse, with weapons (Cossacks, www.russepedia.org) Below are two pictures of Cossack Women the first one solves the mystery of Maryanka's scarf (see chapter 5, page 21 and chapter 10, page 45), which is described as covering her face in such a way that only her eyes show. The bold, laughing expression on the young Cossack woman's face also reminds me of Maryanka. I find it interesting that both women are photographed wearing Cherkessas (Caucasian jackets with bullet holders) and holding daggers. I [Anna https://moodle2018.coastal.edu/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=236211 1/6
Transcript
1/6/2019 Online Lesson on Cossacks
This Lesson is courtesy of Anna Oldfield. Much thanks to her!
1. The CossacksPhotograph of Cossack Men (Source:
RussiaBeyond)
By now you have a pretty good idea in your head of what a Cossack looks like, but here is a picture from about 1900 I'm thinking Uncle Eroshka would look like the guy on the left.
You can find a lot of information about Cossacks and their histories on the Internet. If you want to get a modern overview, check out
this article: The Free Cossacks: A Special Breedof Russians in Russia Beyond
What I like about Tolstoy's book Cossacks is his eyewitness observations from being there as a young soldier. We can learn a lot about Cossack culture in 1850 from his descriptions.
I also like how Olenin felt a lot like Tolstoy felt overeducated, awkward, and unable to join into the society fully even though he admired it very much. I felt similar when I visited my relatives in Ukraine.
Left: Cossack on a Horse, with weapons (Cossacks, www.russepedia.org)
Below are two pictures of Cossack Women the first one solves the mystery of Maryanka's scarf (see chapter 5, page 21 and chapter 10, page 45), which is described as covering her face in such a way that only her eyes show.
The bold, laughing expression on the young Cossack woman's face also reminds me of Maryanka. I find it interesting that both women are photographed wearing Cherkessas (Caucasian jackets with bullet holders) and holding daggers. I [Anna Oldfield] put a photograph of an upper class Russian woman below so you can compare the styles. Russian women wouldn't think of carrying weapons.
Cossack women (Source: Photo Vault Cossack
Women at Tresbohemes.com)
One of the main themes in Cossacks is Olenin's love for Maryanka. It is easy to see why he admires her, becomes infatuated with her, and maybe loves her she is dynamic, active, healthy and straightforward.
Like Pechorin [the main character in Lermantov’s Hero of Our Time, who, like Olenin, is a “superfluous man.”] Olenin has a fantasy to marry a Cossack girl and "go native" get a house, start farming, and give up all his Moscow city life. It
would be like if a suburban American man sold his house, quit his job, and went to live on a farm with no Internet with a beautiful country woman.
What gets in the way of his ability to at least try to compete for Maryanka with Luka? We see her parents like the idea of her marrying a super-rich Russian officer, but we get that as a good match for her he can't hold a candle to Luka.
While Luka sneaks up to her window to demand attention, Olenin is so worshipful of Maryanka that he can barely talk to her, and in the end when he leaves she doesn't even look at him. The other Russian officer there has a different approach. He drinks and messes around with girls with no thought of any consequences, more like Pechorin. But they like him better than they like Olenin, whom they find strange and unapproachable.
Its a funny irony Olenin, who loves and respects Cossack culture so much, trie to become one of them by following Uncle Eroshka. But he is always separate from them and just cannot join in their straightforward, direct approach to life.Nonetheless, in Olenin we see a totally different attitude to a different, unknown culture than we saw in Pechorin. Where Pechorin sees himself as superior to the Caucasian girl Bela and obviously doesn't try to learn anything from her, Olenin sees Maryanka as superior, and wants to learn about her culture and be more like her.
He sees in her the majesty of the mountains that impress him so greatly when he first sees them (see chapter 3, pages 14 and 15 and page 45). –Ray Moye’s addition.
Cross cultural encounters, especially romantic ones, are exciting but challenging. In the end, Olenin realizes he is too different, too educated, and too awkward for Maryanka he could never make her happy. Now he has to go back to his former life. Sadly, Luka is injured and we don't know if he will live or not. Not a happy ending, but more like real life.
Pechorin went to the Caucasus to take whatever he could get to help his boredom. Olenin went to the Caucasus to learn from a different way of life. So has Olenin learned something from his experiences? Does he have a better idea of "How to Live" then when he arrived?
Ray Moye adds: And what is the problem with Tolstoy’s focus here? What is his major consideration, Olenin’s development in the course of his exposure to this “exotic” culture or the culture itself and the people who endure so much more than a “superfluous” Russian gentleman will ever even imagine?
https://moodle2018.coastal.edu/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=236211 2/4 How to Live2.
1/6/2019 Online Lesson on Cossacks
Dmitri Olenin is Tolstoy’s most autobiographical character, and that one thing “makes this often-overlooked work so important to understanding him and the religious philosophies he would adopt throughout his life” (flavorwire.com).
Upper Class Russian Woman, c. 1900 Olenin's Moscow woman (his love affair gone wrong) would dress more like this In Flavorwire's "Leo Tolstoy's top five characters, Ranked," Olenin comes in at number 2.
2. Dmitri Olenin, The Cossacks
Tolstoy was the original rich kid who wasn’t satisfied with the wealth and power he was born into, so in 1851, he journeyed to Caucasus and joined the army to try and find a different way of life.
The Russian writer Lev Tolstoy is still considered one of the most important thinkers of the modern world. He founded a philosophy of life that sought to reject the artificial qualities of social life and find what is real, authentic and important in being human. He advocated a classless society (no rich/poor division), civil disobedience against war and all forms of state violence (such as police, army), animal rights (that animals should get equal dignity and respect, not be killed or tortured to serve us). He felt that organized religion set people against each other, when all people were equal before God. He felt women worked harder and deserved more respect than men especially rich men who did nothing but play. He was totally disgusted the way rich people lived off of their servants' labor. He worked along with his peasants in the fields and founded a civil disobedience movement against Russia's manyImperial Wars. His thinking has hugely influenced modern ethics the sense of what is right and wrong, and "How toLive."
Reading Cossacks, Tolstoy's very first book, we can really see the origin of all of these ideas that he would become famous for, and the amazing thing is that they all come from his young experiences with the Cossacks and a real life Uncle Eroshka who he met and went hunting with. Encountering that new culture changed him forever. At the end ofCossacks, we don't know if Olenin has changed or not, but we know from Tolstoy's life and writings that living with the Cossacks transformed him.
Compare Tolstoy as a young officer, all dolled up in his fancy clothes, and then as an older man in his simple peasant clothes:
Some places you can find Tolstoy's Philosophy in Cossacks include:
Uncle Eroshka's philosophy of life Eroshka has a live for today approach eat, drink (drink lots of chikr) and enjoy life. At times he hardly seems like a role model, especially since he's obviously mooching off Olenin (though Olenin is cool with it) but he actually does have a coherent philosophy that is based in respect for all life. He talks of people as part of nature, feels we are in the world to enjoy it, and is against war in his words "Your people kill our people, our people put yours in coffins, its all the same khurdamurda" (67).
Olenin's experience in the "Stag's Grove" in chapter 20. Olenin has a wild experience in a Stag's Grove, where he begin's to feel one with the gnats and bugs and animals it becomes a spiritual experience of oneness with nature, and has a huge effect on him.
Olenin's experiences After the Stag's Grove Olenin decides the only happiness is to "live for others" and he gives Luka his horse (which totally backfires, since Luka is suspicious of why). Later, influenced by Prince Beletsky, he decides to be happy you should "live for yourself" that's when he tries to steal Maryanka from Luka, which also fails. In the end, he hasn't figured out "How to Live" but just like real life, he is on a path to trying to figure it out as he grows up and learns more.
