Alexandre Christoyannopoulos - Tolstoys Political Thought: Christian Anarcho-Pacifist Iconoclasm Then and Now

This book provides a much-needed comprehensive analysis of Tolstoys writings on a range of interconnected and vitally important topics, such as his unequivocal opposition to violence at multiple levels, his challenge to the role of the state in imposing order and control on society, and constructive nonviolent possibilities for political activism. Tolstoys contribution to the discussion of such seminal issues has been marginalised for far too long, and this thorough and provocative examination of Tolstoys thought demonstrates not only its historical importance but its continuing intellectual and practical relevance.

Iain Atack, University of Dublin, Ireland

Tolstoys Political Thought is a really terrific and timely book. Clearly and eloquently written, it fills a real gap in Tolstoy studies by systematising the iconoclasts prolific, eclectic and often confronting works. In the process, Alexandre Christoyannopoulos powerfully demonstrates that Tolstoys thought on pacifism, anarchism, anticlericalism, asceticism and activism is as relevant today as when it was first published. This book will speak to a wide audience. Highly recommended.

Richard Jackson, University of Otago, New Zealand

In this thoughtful and engaging study, Alexandre Christoyannopoulos carefully unpicks key strands of Tolstoys political thought pacifism, anarchism, anti-clericalism, asceticism locating them in their proper context, exploring both their influence and their contemporary relevance, and setting out the counter-arguments that can and have been put forward to challenge them. This important volume is based on deep engagement with Tolstoys work, and with Christian anarchist thought more broadly. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the development and application of Tolstoys ideas.

Charlotte Alston, Northumbria University, UK

As time goes on, many of Tolstoys uncompromising ideas about violence have proved to be remarkably prescient. Alexandre Christoyannopoulos has written a lucid study of his political thought which is particularly valuable in its systematic approach and its twenty-first century viewpoint.

Rosamund Bartlett, author of Tolstoy: a Russian Life

Leo Tolstoy (18281910), besides writing famous novels such as War and Peace, also wrote on political issues, especially later in his life, putting forward a political philosophy which might be termed Christian anarchism. This book provides a comprehensive overview of Tolstoys political thought. It outlines in a systematic way Tolstoys thought, which was originally articulated unsystematically in diverse, often informal writing, such as pamphlets, letters, and speeches, as well as books, and in his novels, where Tolstoys thinking is put forward implicitly through the novels characters. The book sets out the basic themes of Tolstoys political thought: his acceptance of the teachings of Jesus, his criticism of the way in which Jesus teachings have been relayed by the church through traditional creeds and dogma, his passionate rejection of political violence by both the state and those working for reform, his plea for a nonviolent response to violence and injustice, and his call for society to forgo its institutional shackles and enact a community of peace, love, and justice. The book also includes background information on the Russia of Tolstoys time, including the religious context, and a discussion of how Tolstoys political thought has been received by his admirers, who included Gandhi, and his critics.

Alexandre Christoyannopoulos is a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities of Loughborough University.

Series editors:

Sociology and anthropology: Judith Pallot (President of BASEES and Chair), University of Oxford

Economics and business: Richard Connolly, University of Birmingham

Media and cultural studies: Birgit Beumers, University of Aberystwyth

Politics and international relations: Andrew Wilson, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London

History: Matt Rendle, University of Exeter

This series is published on behalf of BASEES (the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies). The series comprises original, high-quality, research-level work by both new and established scholars on all aspects of Russian, Soviet, post-Soviet and East European Studies in humanities and social science subjects.

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Simon Lewis

Russian Culture in the Age of Globalization

Edited by Vlad Strukov and Sarah Hudspith

Security, Society and the State in the Caucasus

Edited by Kevork Oskanian and Derek Averre

Memory, the City and the Legacy of World War II in East Central Europe

The Ghosts of Others

Uilleam Blacker

US Foreign Policy Towards Russia in the Post-Cold War Era

Ideational Legacies and Institutionalised Conflict and Co-operation

David Parker

Tolstoys Political Thought

Christian Anarcho-Pacifist Iconoclasm Then and Now

Alexandre Christoyannopoulos

For a full list of available titles please visit: https://www.routledge.com/BASEES-Routledge-Series-on-Russian-and-East-European-Studies/book-series/BASEES

Alexandre Christoyannopoulos

First published 2020

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2020 Alexandre Christoyannopoulos

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This book has been a long time coming. Soon after I started my PhD in 2002, I decided I would write about Tolstoys political thought. For several reasons, after having spent considerable effort working towards that aim, the doctoral project was reframed to focus on Christian anarchism more generally, not just Tolstoy, even though Tolstoy remained central to the new project. Upon completion in 2008, the vicissitudes of postdoctoral casualisation restricted what time I had to devote to Tolstoy, though I did work on articles and chapters concerned with particular aspects of Tolstoys political thought. I started my contract at Loughborough University in 2010 with every intention to return to and finish the book within a couple of years. Little did I realise that several new modules to teach, a pathological inclination to try to make helpful contributions to the collegial administration of university life, various smaller but time-consuming research projects, and the birth of two children would all contribute to extensive and increasingly frustrating delays. In 2016, with the help of some study leave, I finally turned back to the project. Teaching terms paused much progress again, but two further summers gave me enough time to finally submit a full manuscript to Routledge with seven minutes to spare on my end of September 2018 deadline, though still seven years late compared to the original deadline.