War & Peace Podnotes, A Study Guide

After Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury in late 2024 for the heavyweight championship, the Ukrainian boxer held up a sabre that once belonged to the 17th Century Ukrainian Cossack Hetman,  Ivan Mapeza, who this episode is dedicated to.    Usyk’s fortitude spoke to Ukraine’s resilience against a larger foe who initiated the type of vainglorious War Tolstoy condemns, with all of his soul, in W&P.Showcasing the weapon was a transcendent moment of Usyk bringing history to Life.  This ability is something Tolstoy shares given who often he reaches into the past to make literary points. In W&P, for example, Tolstoy cites the Classical world and more recent influences. He skillfully adapts the famous quote from Voltaire: "If god did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him." The Frenchman also had a well-known correspondence with Catherine II, who some of W&P’s characters look to as illustrative of an idealized past. Yet part of her reputation involves keeping so many under serfdom. Voltai