Yasnaya Polyana

Going to Ясная Поляна today gave me mixed feelings, since it was Pentecost, but it still was very peaceful, and extremely beautiful. One of my first impressions, before we even entered the estate, was from Andy. I thought it extremely interesting that he mentioned that many Russians were conflicted over Tolstoy because of how non-Orthodox his beliefs were, believing that he perhaps could not fully understand the Russia identity if he could not understand Orthodoxy. I thought that the scene we faced in front of us provided the perfect answer to the dilemma. Today was both Pentecost, tied for the second most important Orthodox feast in the Russian consciousness, and Russia Day. And Yasnaya Polyana was packed. It seems like people came from church, from celebrations, from everywhere. They specifically chose today, so important to both secular and religious Russian culture, to honor Tolstoy. I think that this says volumes more than a textbook curriculum ever could. Even if the Russians acknowledge the truth that Tolstoy was not and cannot be cast as an Orthodox Christian, I don’t think that the people are prepared to reject him so neatly. Tolstoy had great meaning in his literature, and this meaning has universal significance, if not specifically for the Russian people. I haven’t read enough Tolstoy yet to give a better or more specific opinion than this, but perhaps in time.

I just wish we had more time to wander around the grounds and the fields. I loved the aura of Tolstoy’s home, and I could really get more of a sense there of the scenes I imagine of the Russian country side from all of those wonderful 19^th century novels. The cat wandering around Tolstoy’s grave was another one of those wonderful Russian coincidences that I loved. Tolstoy would have loved people to be paying attention to one of his beloved animals by his grave. It really seemed to enjoy being there, and enjoy the presence of the people surrounding it. And it was so cute.

Tolstoy’s ethics and ideals are really quite interesting. He was a moralist, and clearly a good man who took his beliefs very seriously, and tried to live them to the full. I can understand how he thought that being kind in this life was mattered, and I agree with him. I just don’t understand how he discounted any higher meaning that instituted that. Does introducing a god imply that humans don’t matter? I never thought so, but apparently Tolstoy saw an implication of that in his religion. I’m really going to enjoy tracing his ethics throughout his works next semester. Visiting the estate before I actually read large amounts of Tolstoy is probably a wonderful thing. I feel like I’ll have a more integral understanding of his works than I otherwise would have, just because I could so clearly see how he lived.

Walking around Tula was pretty fun, too. It was relaxing, and was a much calmer place than Moscow. Virginia and I actually got to talk a lot about the merits of intellectual history, as well as internal consistency within an ethical system. We have decided that we respect one another greatly precisely because we can have such conversations. It made for a very relaxing stop, and I felt like with all of the interesting talk, I had finally started to recover from the exhaustion of the last few days.