The Cossacks

The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy is a short novel published in 1863 in the popular literary magazine The Russian Messenger. The novel is believed to be somewhat autobiographical, with many believing that the character of Olenin, a wealthy Muscovite who joins the army in search of a more authentic life, was inspired by the author’s own wild ways when he was a young man. The events of the book are loosely based on Tolstoy’s experiences in the Caucasus during the Caucasian war.

The novel follows the young Russian aristocrat Olenin. After growing bored with his daily life and squandering a large part of his estate, as well as getting into an embarrassing situation with a woman whereby he could not return her affections, he decides to leave Moscow to enter the army as a junior officer and to serve in the Caucasus.

After his farewell party on a cold winter’s night, Olenin leaves the city. Together with his servant, Vanyusha, he travels south toward the land of the Cossacks, Caucasus. As he makes headway on his journey, Olenin feels increasingly hopeful about the possibilities that lie ahead in the year to come. He believes that he will be able to save money, and to recalibrate his mindset, hoping to open up enough to be able to love. He believes that a change of environment will allow him to learn to love others and become less egocentric.



Shortly after joining the force, he is sent out along the Terek River to guard against tribes who live in the mountains. Olenin and his unit are stationed in a small village called Novomlin, which consists of a small settlement of farms and houses made up of less than 2000 people. The village is mainly populated by Cossacks; the men spend their time hunting and guarding the border while the women tend to the homes and farms.

After arriving in the village, Olenin has lots of free time. Due to his aristocratic status, he is not assigned duties with the troops. The Cossacks do not get along with the Russian troops due to a long history of animosity that has never been resolved. While staying in a house with a Cossack family, Olenin soon realizes that he is not welcome there.

He is living with an ensign, his wife, and their daughter, Maryanka, who is engaged to a young village hero Lukasha who once saved a boy from drowning and defended his village by killing a mountain tribesman who attempted to swim across the river during a raid. Olenin quickly falls in love with Maryanka, but is bewildered by this new set of emotions he is experiencing and unsure how to act on them. He is also taken aback by his own attraction to such a young and uncultured individual.



Olenin eventually makes friends with Lukasha when they meet at an outpost while hunting. Olenin spends most of his days hunting with Uncle Yeroshka, an old Cossack man as he does not enjoy the other activities pursued by the soldiers, such as drinking, playing cards and pursuing the women of the village. He prefers to spend his time by himself or hunting with Yeroshka. While he is immersed in nature, in the woods or along the Terek River, he feels that he has the opportunity to work out his emotional problems.

Olenin discovers the joy associated in giving to others when he gives a horse to Lukasha and presents some small gifts to Yeroshka which are of little value to Olenin but mean a great deal to the old man. He earns respect among the Cossacks of the village with his ability to shoot pheasants on the wing, a feat that they have never before seen accomplished.

When the engagement of Lukasha and Maryanka is officially announced, it spurs Olenin to examine his own true feelings, leading him to the realization that he is in love with Maryanka. Still, he cannot imagine what that love would mean for them as a couple and how their lives together would unfold. He cannot fathom returning with her to Moscow, but the idea of remaining in the small Cossack village is equally unimaginable. He knows that, although he has enjoyed his stay there and learned a lot about himself, he could never be happy living such a rural existence.



While they are picking grapes in the vineyards together, Olenin sees an opportunity to confess his love to Maryanka and seizes it. Her reaction is underwhelming, leaving Olenin confused.

Lukasha is mortally wounded in a battle against marauders in the village. With the death of her fiancé, Maryanka realizes that she could never really love Olenin and that their lives are just too different for them to be together. She delivers this news to Olenin, who requests a change of unit, leaving the village with his servant and his life there behind.