“I expected him to lead me to faith”: A. S. Khomyakov and religious pursuits of L. N. Tolstoy

The article deals with L. N. Tolstoy’s perception of personality and religious convictions of A. S. Khomyakov. The research is based on Tolstoy’s diary entries and correspondence, his literary works and memoirs of his contemporaries. Tolstoy’s acquaintanceship with Khomyakov took place in May, 1856. As Tolstoy admits he respected Khomyakov’s Slavophiles views and valued his poetry. Since early years till his last days Tolstoy had faith in God as the central issue of his life which however was never settled and the long way of religious pursuits resulted in spiritual tragedy. At different times Tolstoy turned to theological tracts by Khomyakov and even made them brochures read by Konstantin Levin - a character from «Anna Karenina» novel (1873-1877). In 1877-1878 Tolstoy was working on two unfinished writings and «Interlocutors» where Khomyakov made his appearance as well. The presence of Khomyakov in Tolstoy’s inner world and artistic space of his literary works is not limited by the period of 1856-1860. Being a philosopher and a creatively gifted person Khomyakov had always been Tolstoy’s irreplaceable interlocutor.