Peasants and the “peasantly” in the focus of L. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov, P. Romanov, V. Shukshin: the problem of communication

The question of the essence of national consciousness, of the methods of communication between an intellectual city dweller and a villager does not lose its relevance today. The purpose of the research is to consider the writing attitudes of L.N. Tolstoy, A.P. Chekhov, P.S. Romanov, V.M. Shukshin on the possibility/impossibility of mutual understanding between representatives of urban and rural cultures. The author analyzes the lifetime criticism of Chekhov’s story “Peasants”, which invariably referred to the comparison of writers’ approaches to the problem of the village and the techniques of Tolstoy and Chekhov’s poetics. The distinctiveness of the conflict in Chekhov’s short story “New Dacha”, as well as in “Peasants” and “In the Ravine”, is highlighted, emphasizing the breakdown of communication. This disconnection is not primarily characterized by social differences between different classes or even between urban and rural dwellers. Instead, it is portrayed as interpersonal disconnect, a kind of “arithmetic,” as coined by P.B. Struve. In addition, a search is being carried out for elements of Chekhov’s approach to the problem in Russian literature of the 20th century. The observation is made that the drama of mutual misunderstanding artistically reproduced by Chekhov occurred in Tolstoy’s life, that Tolstoy, a philosopher, ideologist and thinker, ends up losing the battle to himself, the artist. The continuation of the Chekhovian tradition is observed in the works of Panteleimon Romanov, a writer of the 20s and 30s in the 20th century. In the latter half of the century Vasily Shukshin, a writer, screenwriter, and a film director, also addressed the issue of the breakdown in communication between the intelligentsia and the common people. However, Shukshin approached the eternal problem from a different angle, looking at it through the “looking glass” - the reverse side - from the perspective of a peasant.