And the The Welcome to Russian History Retold.

Episode 160 Leo Tolstoy, Manhood, part one.

To all my regular listeners, I want to apologize for not getting out a podcast in quite a long time,

but my family and I have moved to a new house and we had to set up things like the internet,

find an office so I could record the podcast, get everything actually working and finding everything for that matter. But we've got it done and

we're going to get back to a regular schedule of pretty much every other week

getting out another episode. So here we go. Last time we recounted the teenage

in early adulthood of Leo Tolstoy. Today we're going to delve into the

beginning of his literary career, his time in the

Caucasus, and the beginning of his service in the Crimean War. Now in his 20s, Leo

had what we would call in German, Vanandelust. He won an adventure but didn't know where to go or what to do.

Now his brother Nicholas on the other hand did. He joined the army and being a Tolstoy was able to pull some strings

and got a commission as an officer. Leo though, he wasn't sure if the army life was for

him so he joined his brother but as

a civilian and the rough and tumble territory we now know of today as Chechnya.

There alongside fellow Cossacks, they were in a constant tussle with the local Chechen Muslims, who,

while not very fond of the Ottoman Turks, hated the Russian incursions into their territory even more.

Tolstay, though, was rarely in much danger, except for one incident where he and a friend

had wrote a little too far ahead of the men, but he was okay.

He got away safely.

But he saw the countryside he knew little about, but would help him base some of his future writings on.

His keen observational skills were one of his most important abilities.

...