Resurrection: Leo Tolstoy's Story Of Identity

Published by Stephen Milward in Culture · Tuesday 16 Jun 2026 · 2 minutes
Tags: Resurrection, Leo, Tolstoy, Identity, Literature, Classic, Russian, Literature, Themes, Self, Discovery, Redemption, Morality

Hypocrisy surrounds us. We see it in the behaviours of politicians, friends, work colleagues. Say one thing, do another. I've no doubt that I am a hypocrite. One cannot behave otherwise given our mode of living.

Leo Tolstoy's (i) last novel 'Resurrection' (1899) (ii) shines a light on the hypocrisy of the church and the cruel injustices of laws made by men to provide cover and protection for their class. By the relationship between Nekhlyudov and Maslova, economics, politics, law, religion, historical development and morality all collide to produce a novel of intense power. Indeed, Tolstoy was excommunicated from the Orthodox church in 1901 because of it.

The imagery created by Tolstoy with his descriptions of prisons, poverty, the ruling class and officials is very powerful and can be seen today with people changing their character when putting on a uniform and neglecting basic humanity. Though not as famous as his 'War and Peace' (iii) and 'Anna Karenina' (iv), 'Resurrection' is an excellent novel which I recommend you read. I've been surprised how relevant it is for today's world, and it makes you examine yourself and what really matters in life.

You can read 'Resurrection', translated by Louise Maude (v) here.

(i) Wikipedia: Leo Tolstoy

(ii) Wikipedia: Resurrection

(iii) Wikipedia: War and Peace

(iv) Wikipedia: Anna Karenina

(v) Wikipedia: Aylmer and Louise Maude