L. N. TOLSTOY’UN DÜNYASINDA KÖYLÜ OLMAK: POLİKUŞKA (ПОЛИКУШКА)
BEING A PEASANT IN THE WORLD OF L. N. TOLSTOY: “POLIKUSHKA (ПОЛИКУШКА)”

Summary/Abstract: The Russian Empire has been a nation of many social classes since day one. Despite its ancient past, its people have faced many problems in terms of the living conditions and wars abroad. Peasants/land slaves make up the majority of its demagogic structure, and pose the biggest issue – one so important that This issue, it was widely handled and criticized by 19th century Russian writers. Moreover, the abolition of land slavery in 1861 still did not resolve it either. Moreover, reforms made to the tsarist manifesto did not improve people’s lives. According to one source, slaves in the village have the right to buy land. However, in reality the conditions offered were heavy and the prices high, thus forcing many to migrate to major cities for work, and in turn shifting slavery from the village to the city, where the same vicious cycle continued. Tolstoy penned a novella in 1863 on the developments of that era. His keen observation skills enabled him to accurately portray and reveal what villagers in cities were up against in the period, their living conditions, lack of education, and consequently the moral corruption in Russian society. In this study, we shall examine L. N. Tolstoy’s book in depth structurally and thematically. Markedly, he very much defended their (i.e. peasants) rights and freedoms for most of his life.

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