New British Biography About Leo Tolstoy

New British Biography About Leo Tolstoy
TT
20

New British Biography About Leo Tolstoy

New British Biography About Leo Tolstoy

Andrei Zorin, professor of history and Russian literature at the University of Oxford, has recently published a new book titled "Leo Tolstoy…Critical Lives," exploring the life of the famous Russian Novelist.

The new book shed lights on many aspects in the life of Tolstoy who treated his novels as one complete indivisible unit. The geniality of the Russian novelist according to Zorin "lies in combining the truth and depth; he was ready for any event, no matter how silly it seemed, to make major conclusion about humanity."

Then, he explores the relationship of the "War and Peace" writer with Gorky, Turgenev, Chekhov, and Dostoevsky. He also discusses the political turmoil, mainly the Emancipation of Serfs, which dominated the context of Tolstoy's novels about a country where the authorities lost all aspects of integrity.

But Tolstoy didn't see novels writing as a way to improve the world, according to Zorin. His chaotic political, ethical, radical, anti- modernization views were mixed in a new form of Christian heresy and movements opposing the popular views at the time. According to the Economist magazine, "Leo Tolstoy…Critical Lives" is a book that "doesn't only narrate the life of Tolstoy in a clear and accurate way in the course of the Russian history, but it also focuses on his personality, values, and emotions. It provides new views on how his personal life shaped his literary creations as well."

Commenting on the new book, Donald Rayfield, professor of Russian and Georgian studies at the University of London, said: "I didn't see other biographies written about Tolstoy that are brief, objective, enjoyable, and interesting like this."



Centuries-old Monasteries Damaged in Greece Quake

(FILES) This general view shows the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery in Mount Athos on May 28, 2016. (Photo by SAKIS MITROLIDIS / AFP)
(FILES) This general view shows the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery in Mount Athos on May 28, 2016. (Photo by SAKIS MITROLIDIS / AFP)
TT
20

Centuries-old Monasteries Damaged in Greece Quake

(FILES) This general view shows the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery in Mount Athos on May 28, 2016. (Photo by SAKIS MITROLIDIS / AFP)
(FILES) This general view shows the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery in Mount Athos on May 28, 2016. (Photo by SAKIS MITROLIDIS / AFP)

At least three centuries-old Greek monasteries in the religious enclave of Mount Athos were damaged in an earthquake over the weekend, the culture ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry said the 5.3-magnitude undersea quake that struck Saturday in the northern Halkidiki peninsula had left structural and decorative damage at the 10th-century Xenophontos and Dochiari monasteries, and the 14th-century Simonos Petras monastery.

There were large cracks in church domes at Xenophontos, and further damage to frescoes that had been weakened by a February quake, AFP quoted the ministry as saying.

Similar damages were noted at Dochiari monastery, and more limited at Simonos Petras.

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni in the statement said a team of Greek archaeologists and conservators would remain in the area to complete a damage inspection.

The undersea quake had a depth of just 12.5 kilometers (7.7 miles) and struck northwest of the enclave's administrative capital of Karyes.

An Orthodox spiritual center since 1054, Mount Athos has enjoyed an autonomous statute since Byzantine times.

Known in Greece as the Holy Mountain, the community has around 20 inhabited monasteries, some of whom are over 1,000 years old.