Reading Russian Philosophy in the Age of Putin: The Reception of Tolstoy

Tatyana Gershkovich
Clemena Antonova

Wednesday, 26 April 2023, 18:00 CET
SPITTELAUER LÄNDE 3, IWM Library, VIENNA, 1090

This event was part of the series “Reading Russian Philosophy in the Age of Putin,” which started in January 2023. Tatyana Gershkovich presented her findings regarding the question of what Tolstoy meant during the Russian revolution and today. Her talk considered the uses and misuses of Tolstoy.

What Tolstoy Meant During the Russian Revolution and Today
Lecture by Tatyana Gershkovich

The Russo-Ukrainian War has compelled a reckoning with the legacy of Russian Imperialism. In navigating these debates, there are lessons to be learned from a similar reckoning a hundred years ago, after the Revolution of 1917. This lecture will focus specifically on the dispute between the Soviets and the Russophone emigres in Europe over the legacy of Leo Tolstoy. How did readers in Russia and abroad read, reevaluate, and lay claim to Tolstoy? Where did they succeed in bending Tolstoy’s texts to their ideological purposes, and where did they fail? By examining this history, we will address a question that once again has come urgently to the fore: Are authors responsible for the afterlife of their works?

Tatyana Gershkovich is William S. Dietrich Associate Professor of Russian Studies at the Carnegie Mellon University.

The afternoon was moderated by Clemena Antonova, Research Director at the IWM - The World in Pieces.