Religious and ethical foundations of the A.K. Tolstoy's tragedy "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich"

the relevance of defining the national identity foundations determines of the constant research interest in the artistic texts, which pose philosophical (historiosophical) issues. The A.K. Tolstoy's dramaturgy refers to such texts. The article solves the research task of showing that Tolstoy's understanding of human nature and the historical process nature, on the one hand, is determined by the inclusion of Russian noble culture in the pan-European cultural process (primarily it is rooted in the romantic tradition). On the other hand, the article demonstrates the stability of the religious and ethical foundations of Russian national culture, formed in the bosom of the Eastern Christian Orthodoxy. The medieval monastic ideal of a harmonious synthesis of penitential prayer practice and active love became no longer popular in the Russian culture of Modern times. However, hermeneutic analysis of texts from the 19th century shows that concepts such as sin, death, punishment, mercy and salvation in their Orthodox interpretation remain fundamental in the Russian culture. Comparison of the A.K. Tolstoy's tragedy "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich" with the F.M. Dostoevsky's novel "The Idiot" allows us to fit Tolstoy's work into a wide artistic and philosophical context and identify one of the key philosophical issues of Russian history and culture. It is a tense choice between active action for the moral world transformation and contemplation of the beauty of the world, already transformed by God's providential plan for man.

A.K. Tolstoy, drama trilogy, tragedy, historiosophy, Orthodox anthropology