Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 16 - From Marx to Mao

330L. N. TOLSTOYAND THE MODERN LABOUR MOVEMENT 129The Russian workers in practically all the large cities ofRussia have already made their response in connection withthe death of L. N. Tolstoy and, in one way or another, expressedtheir attitude to the writer who produced a numberof most remarkable works of art that put him in the ranksof the great writers of the world, and to the thinker whowith immense power, self-confidence and sincerity raiseda number of questions concerning the basic features of themodern political and social system. All in all, this attitudewas expressed in the telegram, printed in the newspapers,which was sent by the labour deputies in the Third Duma. 130L. Tolstoy began his literary career when serfdom stillexisted but at a time when it had already obviously come tothe end of its days. Tolstoy’s main activity falls in thatperiod of Russian history which lies between two of its turningpoints, 1861 and 1905. Throughout this period tracesof serfdom, direct survivals of it, permeated the whole economic(particularly in the countryside) and political lifeof the country. And at the same time this was a periodof the accelerated growth of capitalism from below andits implantation from above.In what were the survivals of serfdom expressed? Mostof all and clearest of all in the fact that in Russia, mainlyan agricultural country, agriculture at that time was inthe hands of a ruined, impoverished peasantry who wereworking with antiquated, primitive methods on the oldfeudal allotments which had been cut in 1861 for the benefitof the landlords. And, on the other hand, agriculture wasin the hands of the landlords who in Central Russia culti-