The Artistic Dialogue between A. P. Chekhov and L. N. Tolstoy: “The Cossack” and “The Cossacks”

Purpose. This article examines the thematic continuity of Chekhov’s story “The Cossack” in relation to that of Tolstoy’s story, and also substantiates the possibility of a genetic link between the works. The stage works dedicated to the contacts and creative connections between Chekhov and Tolstoy are outlined. Results. The story of the creation of Chekhov’s story “The Cossack”, written under the influence of Tolstoy, is presented. A position has been put forward and substantiated as to why Chekhov did not include the story in the collection of his works. Chekhov’s story differs from Tolstoy's novella in the scope of the artistic world presented in it, its emblematic nature. Chekhov singles out a separate problem from Tolstoy’s major work and transposes it into another genre’s framework, which makes its own demands on its design. In Tolstoy’s story, the contradiction between the noble society and the Cossacks is shown dynamically. Chekhov, unlike his predecessor, only outlines it, but does not resolve it. According to the conditions of the genre, the author of the story is constrained by tight constrained, so he is forced to resort to means that allow him to expand the artistic world of the work. For Chekhov, such means were allusions and intertext. In the story “The Cossack” there are obvious intertextual references not only to Tolstoy’s story, but also to his story “What People Live By”. Conclusion. The fusion of the two precedent texts and references to them reflect Chekhov’s ambivalent combination of studying with Tolstoy and polemics with him.