‘Now for me you are exactly this, and not not that’: correspondence between Leo Tolstoy and Pavel Annenkov

The article deals with the brief but significant correspondence between Tolstoy and Annenkov, analyzes the attitude of the writer and the critic to each other, emphasizing the most important moments of the letters that provide the understanding of the holistic position of the correspondents. The work presents the history of the interaction between Tolstoy and Annenkov, noting the critic’s deep understanding of the reasons for the emergence of certain ideas in Tolstoy. It is shown that the correspondence contains valuable statements and comments that are not found in the critic’s articles. In his correspondence with Tolstoy, Annenkov emphasizes the scale of the individual’s path and the hidden forces contained in an individual. The writer’s attention, according to Annenkov, should be directed not only to the outside world but also to the depths of his spiritual life. Passed through the mind and soul, this external world was presented to the reader transformed. The author of the article pays special attention to the different views of Turgenev and Annenkov, both of whom were Tolstoy’s friends, on the creative evolution of the writer. The influence that the critic had on the young writer is noted, as well as the divergence of their views. ‘Swarm life’ did not attract Annenkov, his attention was directed toward the individual, often ignored in Russia. Annenkov did not deny the clear thought necessary in literary works, he tried to rely on reason himself, complained about the lack of system and order in Russia. The critic saw the tasks of art not in discussing problems of a national scale, but in finding the best path for an individual. The author of the article comes to a conclusion that Annenkov understood Tolstoy better than Botkin and Druzhinin (who together constituted, in Tolstoy’s words, an ‘aesthetic triumvirate’). The writer and the critic did not discuss an idea of creating something together; Annenkov, unlike Botkin and Druzhinin, was not the first reader of Tolstoy's works; but it was Annenkov who was able to understand the peculiarities of Tolstoy's nature that left an imprint on the writer’s literary talent. Annenkov’s letters and his thoughts about the writer were always aimed at serving Tolstoy and art.