The issue of interfaith interaction between the Old Believers and Islam in the works of A.S. Pushkin and L.N. Tolstoy
Abstract
The issue of reflecting the ethno-cultural interaction between the Old Believers and Muslims in regions with a traditional prevalence of Islamic culture in the 18th—19th centuries is considered in the works of A. S. Pushkin and L. N. Tolstoy. The conclusion is substantiated that both writers leaned towards the necessity of uniting Christianity and Islam based on common moral principles inherent in these religions. The continuity of the artistic tradition of the 19th century is emphasized, and similar trends in the perception of confessional issues are identified, characteristic of both the early development of Russian classical literature and the turn of the 19th—20th centuries. Along with this, fundamental differences in the views of the two writers are clarified. In particular, A. S. Pushkin assigned a leading role in interreligious integration to official Orthodoxy, seeing in Old Believers purely destructive traits. L. N. Tolstoy, on the other hand, considered Old Believers as the best example of religious tolerance (despite the negative traits inherent in his followers), capable of productive and lasting interfaith collaboration.