The Tolstoy Library

In which two disguised riders, cloaked in borrowed uniforms and shroud of night, boldly infiltrate an enemy camp, engaging with wary officers around a campfire whilst masking their true intentions ben...

26 Sep 8min

In which young Pétya returns from a daring reconnaissance and spends the early morning in a half-dream, half-waking state among the Cossack camp, steeped in the magic and mystery of the forest and the...

26 Sep 10min

In which Denísov, the esaul, and Pétya stealthily observe the French from a forest edge and plan a coordinated attack, while the brave and resourceful peasant Tíkhon Shcherbáty endeavours to capture a...

25 Sep 8min

In which the young and eager Pétya, newly commissioned and brimming with heroic aspirations, finds himself amidst the rustic camaraderie of Denísov’s guerrilla detachment, struggling to balance his yo...

25 Sep 9min

In which Denísov converses with Tíkhon, whose bold and comical recounting of capturing a French soldier invites both amusement and mild reprimand among the Cossacks, revealing the spirited yet rough c...

25 Sep 5min

In which the nature of guerrilla warfare is examined as a departure from traditional military doctrine, revealing that an army’s strength lies not merely in its numbers but in the collective spirit an...

24 Sep 6min

In which a damp and dreary autumn day finds a band of Russian cavalrymen, weary and soaked, preparing with wary anticipation to seize an opportunity against the enemy’s transport, while a young office...

24 Sep 8min

In which the nascent art of partisan warfare takes shape amidst the march of the French, as brave Cossacks and peasants, led by the undaunted Denís Davýdov and his comrades, learn to wield guerrilla t...

24 Sep 7min