The Journal of Leo Tolstoi (First Volume — 1895–1899) · 69

298. When What Is Art? was already printed in the Problems of Philosophy and Psychology and submitted to the censorship there came an order from Petrograd to submit it to the theologic censorship. The theologic censor not only crossed out many passages, but in some places made changes which perverted the very thought of the author. In the preface to the English translation of this work, Tolstoi expressed regret that, contrary to his custom, he consented at the request of N. Y. Grot to print this work with the censor deletions and softenings. And he also speaks about the harm of every kind of compromise.... This preface was printed in Russian in The Free Press, No. 1.

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299. At this place in the Journal there was a diagram composed of flowing lines, irregularly drawn. As the editors did not have the original of the Journal, but used the copy made by Prince Obolensky, it was impossible to make an exact facsimile of the original diagram.

300. In his letter to V. G. Chertkov, Tolstoi wrote: “... This happened: In the morning they told me that two men came from the Caucasus. They were the Dukhobors, P. V. Planidin, an acquaintance of yours, and Chernov. They came, naturally, without passports to give me information and to find out everything pertaining to their affair. After talking with these dear friends and finding out everything, I decided to send them to Petersburg.... They went, spent the day there, and returned.... They are touchingly instructive.” “The principal reason for Planidin’s and Chernov’s coming,” Tolstoi wrote April 6th, “was to ask some one of our friends to go to visit Verigin in Obdorsk.”

301. Ivan Petrovich Brashnin, a typical old-fashioned Moscow merchant, a dealer in raw silks; his family consisted of his wife and two sons. A. N. Dunaev introduced him to Tolstoi in the eighties. He was then over 60. He had wanted to make his acquaintance, because the views of Tolstoi were near to his soul; in spite of his former strict orthodoxy he warmly accepted the views of Tolstoi. Being sincere and straight-forward, he rejected the... teaching and became a convinced follower of the pure Christian teaching. He spoke with great pleasure and emotion about his visits and talks with Tolstoi, which gave him the greatest joy.

A few years prior to his death he became a strict vegetarian.[366] Before his death he refused the viaticon of the priest and the rites of confession and the sacrament.

In his letter to A. C. Chertkov of March 30, 1898, Tolstoi wrote him about his last visit to Brashnin:

“You know there is an old man, a rich merchant, Brashnin, who is near to us in spirit. I have already known him for about fifteen years. He has cancer of the liver, so the doctors have found out. I visited him once in the winter. He was very weak, thin, yellow, but on his feet. One morning about a week ago A. N. Dunaiev came to me with the news that Brashnin is dying and that he had sent a boy to ask that I take leave of him. We went and found him dying. My first words were: ‘Is he calm?’ Absolutely. He was in full possession of his memory, had a clear mind, thanked me, and took leave of me and I of him, as people do before going on a journey. With sadness we spoke about the... I said that we will see each other again. He calmly answered, ‘No more.’ He took leave and thanked us for our visit. Everything was so simple, peaceful and earnest.”

302. The article on war and on military service was called forth by the request of two foreign papers to the representatives of political and social workers, and the representatives of science and art, to express themselves on whether war was necessary in our time, what were the consequences of militarism and what were the means that led the quickest way to a realisation of universal peace.

303. The former estate of Count I. L. Tolstoi in Cherni, the province of Tula, to which Tolstoi went to[367] help the famine-stricken peasants. As in the year 1891 when Tolstoi helped the famine-stricken peasants of the province of Riazan, he considered the establishment of soup-kitchens as the most sensible form of help, for which he set himself to work upon his arrival in Grinevka. On May 2, 1898, in his letter to the Countess S. A. Tolstoi, Tolstoi wrote in reference to his activity that “the work which was being done was necessary and is advancing. There is no famine, but the need is killing, cropless, very difficult, and it helps us to see it.” (Letters of Tolstoi to his Wife, Moscow, 1913, pages 542 and 543.)

304. April 21, 1898, by order of the Minister of the Interior, the Russkia Viedomosti was suspended for two months “for the collection of contributions in aid of the Dukhobors and for evading the executive orders of the Moscow Governor-General.” The regulation of the Moscow Governor-General which the newspaper did not fulfil was to give over for disposal to the authorities the money contributed through the editorial offices for the aid of the Dukhobors. The editors could not do that, because the money had already been sent to Tolstoi.

305. Lopashino, as well as Sidorovo, Kamenka, Gubarevka, Bobriki, Michails Ford, Kukuevka, which are mentioned below, are villages near to Grinevka where Tolstoi established soup-kitchens for the famine-stricken.

306. For an orderly organisation of aid for the needy, Tolstoi had collected the necessary detailed information concerning the number of souls and the economic condition of each household in the suffering villages.

307. See Note 136.

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308. The Tsurikovs and Ilinskys—neighbouring landlords.

309. Tolstoi wrote to V. G. Chertkov on that day: “I haven’t written for a whole week, but I feel pretty well. It seems to me that after the Moscow bustle my impressions are finding their place, the necessary thoughts are coming forth.”

310. See Letters of Count L. N. Tolstoi to his Wife, March, 1913, pages 543 and 544.

311. I.e., at his son’s, Count S. L. Tolstoi, on his estate of Nicholskoe, near the station of Bastyevo.

312. V. G. Chertkov then wrote an article, “Where is Thy Brother? About the attitude of the Russian Government to the People Who Cannot Become Murderers,” in the defence of the oppressed Dukhobors. This article was published in The Free Press (England, 1898).

313. G. R. Lindenberg, one of Tolstoi’s co-workers in aid of the famine-stricken, an artist.

314. The name of this teacher is Gubonin. Together with Lindenberg he came to Tolstoi from Poltava.

315. The Appeal served as the beginning of two articles on the labour question: Should it really be so, and Where is the way out? upon which Tolstoi worked during the year 1898 and revised it once again for printing in 1900.

316. The deceased, N. N. Strakhov.

317. The county seat of the province of Orel.

318. A railroad station on the Moscow-Kursk Railroad.

319. Tolstoi speaks here of gymnastic exercises which he sometimes took (see entry of May 11, 1898).

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320. Tolstoi used to receive contributions in aid of the famine-stricken from various people.

321. In this article under the title, “Is There Famine or No Famine?” Tolstoi answers the following questions: 1. Is there in the current year a famine or is there not a famine? 2. To what is due the oft-repeated need of the people? 3. What is to be done in order that this need be not repeated? These were printed with omissions in the newspaper, Russ, of July 2 and 3, of 1898 and in full in Leaflets of The Free Press, No. 2 (England, 1898).