Khodynka: An Incident of the Coronation of Nicholas II

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"Khodynka: An Incident of the Coronation of Nicholas II" ("Ходынка") is an unfinished short story by Leo Tolstoy written in 1898.[1] It is about the Khodynka Tragedy, where 1,300 people were crushed to death in a stampede at the coronation of Nicholas II in 1896. It is loosely based on the story Khodynka: The story of one not trampled to death by V.F. Krasnov.[2] According to award-winning biographer Alexandra Popoff, Leo Tolstoy frequently talked with his wife, Sophia Tolstoy, about the tragedy and how it weighed on his heart.[3] According to Ronald Hingley, it was only published posthumously in 1912.[4]

The story focuses on the protagonist, Emelian, who arrives at the coronation to feast, but soon finds that he must flee the disaster.[5]

Nina Kosterina has compared in her Diary the work to Gorky's The Life of Klim Samgin.[6]

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References[edit]

  1. ^ Tolstoy Studies Journal. Tolstoy Society. 2001. p. 115.
  2. ^ Leo Tolstoy (2015). R. F. Christian (ed.). Tolstoy's Diaries Volume 2: 1895-1910. Faber & Faber.
  3. ^ Alexandra Popoff (2010). Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography. Free Press. p. 216. ISBN 9781416559900.
  4. ^ Ronald Hingley (1967). Russian Writers and Society, 1825-1904. McGraw Hill. p. 105.
  5. ^ I︠A︡kov Solomonovich Lurʹe (2002). After Lev Tolstoi: Tolstoi's Views about History and Issues Facing the XX Century. Dimitrij Bulanin. p. 34. ISBN 9785860073548.
  6. ^ Nina Kosterina (1968). The Diary of Nina Kosterina. Crown Publishers. p. 129.

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