Anglo-Boer War as Perceived by Leo Tolstoy

The Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902 prompted an unusually robust response from representatives of all social groups in the Russian Empire. A discussion was held concerning the ethical implications of the armed conflict. The reasons for Russia’s enthusiasm regarding the South African war, which appears to be a distant one, are yet to be revealed. The views of Leo Tolstoy, one of the most influential Russian writers and thinkers of the turn of the twentieth century, are indicative in this sense. Until the last years of his life, Tolstoy drew on the experience of the Anglo-Boer War and used South African material to perfect his doctrine of non-violent resistance to evil. Meanwhile, his followers developed his ideas in their publications. Tolstoy condemned both sides for resorting to violence in their attempts to resolve their differences. However, he was known to express his sympathy for the defenders of the Boer Republics in private conversations. The discrepancies between his public and non-public statements were revealed to the community. As the Republican militias shifted to guerrilla warfare, Tolstoy, despite his disapproval of military tactics, expressed his support for the Boers in his journalistic writings, recognizing their moral superiority over the invaders. He viewed the South African conflict in a global context, as a typical new age war. Conflicts of this nature were marked by unethical objectives and methods of warfare, as well as by the non-participation of the parties for whom they were fought (i.e., major investors manipulating the state). Tolstoy and his associates believed that the immorality of the South African war and other armed conflicts of the time signaled a spiritual crisis of the European powers, which was to lead to their weakening and social upheaval. According to Tolstoy, the Russian people should have learned from the Anglo-Boer War to avoid tragedy.