Basinsky, P. (2024). The true story of Konstantin Levin. Moscow: AST: Redaktsiya Eleny Shubinoy. (In Russ.)

The review considers the latest book by the Russian literary critic P. Basinsky: yet another study in the long list of his works devoted to L. Tolstoy’s life and oeuvre. It is an anticipated follow-up to the successful The True Story of Anna Karenina [Podlinnaya istoriya Anny Kareninoy], the winner of the 2022 Big Book readers’ choice award, with partially overlapping themes. These two installments in Basinky’s ‘Tolstovian’ series are referred to by their author as ‘literary investigations’ and, although written in the genre of popularized scholarly research, rely on the author’s solid culturological erudition. The review discusses the role of longstanding Basinky’s research in furthering Tolstoy studies and boosting interest in Tolstoy’s oeuvre among a broader audience of Russian readers.

1. Basinsky, P. (2022). The true story of Anna Karenina. Moscow: АSТ: Redaktsiya Eleny Shubinoy. (In Russ.)