Count Pyotr "Petya" Ilyich Rostov (1797–1812) is a character in
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
's 1869 novel ''
War and Peace
''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...
''. The youngest member of the Rostov family, Petya is initially a minor character; however, towards the end of the novel, Petya's importance to the plot increases as he joins the Russian army in their defence against the
French invasion of 1812. In the latter stages of the book Petya takes part in an attack on a French corps and is fatally wounded. This scene, along with the death of Prince
Andrei Nikolaeitch Bolkonski is one of the most famous (and shocking) in classical Russian literature.
Reception
George R. Clay asserts that Tolstoy's "choice of fifteen-year old Petya Rostov as the one through whom to dramatize Moscow's response to the arrival of Emperor Alexander is masterful for the number of effects it accomplishes simultaneously".
See also
*
List of characters in ''War and Peace''
References
External links
Petya Rostov (Character) from ''War and Peace'' (1956)" IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rostov, Petya
Fictional counts and countesses
Fictional soldiers
Characters in War and Peace
Fictional Russian people in literature
Male characters in literature
Literary characters introduced in 1869