The peculiarities of Leo Tolstoy`s novel "War and peace" in literature critics of the 1860s

In the article the perception of Leo Tolstoy`s novel “War and Peace” in literature criticism of the 1860s is defined. Based on the material of the reviews of aesthetic approach by N.D. Akhsharumov, P.V. Annenkov, N.I. Solovyev, the writer I.S. Turgenev the question of the role of one`s lifetime criticism in formation of genre-history of epic novel “War and Peace” is under study. Some peculiarities of literature-critical writers` views in the dispute concerning Tolstoy`s genre innovation are cleared out: the acknowledgement of the differences between “War and Peace” and genre canon according to the historical novels of Sir Walter Scott; defining the features which make genre differentiation of the novel difficult. It is stated that community of aesthetic views of critics stipulated the concentration on defining Tolstoy`s artistic discoveries - the skill of creating “scenic pictures” of historical, military and family life. The meaning of Turgenev`s perception as the fore-runner in the solution of the epic character of “War and Peace” is defined.