The ''Sevastopol Sketches'', called in English translations the ''Sebastopol Sketches'' ( pre-reform rus, Севастопольскіе разсказы, Sevastópolʹskiye razskázy; post-reform rus, Севастопольские рассказы, Sevastópolʹskiye rasskázy), also published in English as ''Sevastopol'', are three short stories written by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

and published in 1855 to record his experiences during the

Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) The siege of Sevastopol (at the time called in English the siege of Sebastopol) lasted from October 1854 until September 1855, during the Crimean War. The allies (French, Sardinian, Ottoman, and British) landed at Eupatoria on 14 September ...

. The name originates from

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, a city in

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

. The book has also sometimes been entitled ''Sebastopol Stories''. These brief "sketches" formed the basis of many of the episodes in Tolstoy's

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

, ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

.''

Sketches

Sevastopol in December

In ''Sevastopol in December,'' Tolstoy uses second person narrative (with the pronoun 'you') in an introductory tour of life in Sevastopol. The detailed tour is arguably similar to one Tolstoy may have been given upon arrival in Sevastopol in November, 1854. As part of the tour, the narrator takes you through the dressing station, which is a makeshift hospital in the Assembly Hall. Here you find wounded soldiers, amputees, "some of them on camp beds, but most of them lying on the floor".Tolstoy, Leo. ''The Cossacks and Other Stories.'' London, New York. Penguin, 2006. 188. Print. Tolstoy also uses ''Sevastopol in December'' to introduce the reader to the settings, mannerisms, and background he uses in ''Sevastopol in May'' and ''Sevastopol in August.'' For example, when referring to the enemy, either the British or the French, only the French are featured in the Sketches; they are referred to as "'him', as both soldiers and sailors say" (Tolstoy 198).

Sevastopol in May

In ''Sevastopol in May,'' Tolstoy examines the senselessness and vanity of war. The story examines many aspects of the psychology of war, heroism, and the misleading presence of humanism in truces (misleading because countries continuously go to war with one another, despite past truces). Tolstoy concludes by declaring that the only hero of his story is truth.

Sevastopol in August

''Sevastopol in August'' depicts the conclusion of the siege of Sevastopol and the eventual defeat and withdrawal of the Russian forces. The narrative alternates between following Mikhail and Vladimir Kozeltsov, two brothers who both fight and eventually die for the Russian side of the conflict.

References

External links

* English Text *
''Sevastopol''
from

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*
''Sevastopol''
from RevoltLib.com *
''Sevastopol''
from TheAnarchistLibrary.org *
English translation
at

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