Anatole Vasilyevich Kuragin (russian: Анатолий (Анатоль) Васильевич Курагин) is a fictional character in

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

's 1869 novel ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'', its various cinematic adaptations, and an operatic adaptation as well.

Description

Anatole is

Hélène Kuragina Princess Yelena "Hélène" Vasilyevna Kuragina (russian: Елена "Эле́н" Васи́льевна Кура́гина) is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace'' and its various cinematic adaptations. She is playe ...

's wild-living brother and a soldier, although he is rarely seen out of Russia in the book. It is rumoured that he has had an incestuous affair with his sister, and he tries to elope with

Natasha Rostova Natasha (russian: Наташа) is a name of Slavic origin. The Slavic name is the diminutive form of Natalia. Notable people * Natasha, the subject of ''Natasha's Story'', a 1994 nonfiction book * Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican sw ...

despite being secretly married to a Polish woman during his time in the army. Later in the book, he gets his leg amputated at the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napole ...

, where he is treated next to Andrei Bolkonsky, Rostova's former betrothed.

Development

While developing the novel, Tolstoy sketched a character named "Petr", "who passed through a complex evolution" and "was a precursor of both

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

and Anatole Kuragin".

Anatoly Shostak Anatoly (russian: Анато́лий, Anatólij , uk, Анато́лій, Anatólij ) is a common Russian and Ukrainian male given name, derived from the Greek name ''Anatolios'', meaning "sunrise." Other common Russian transliterations are Ana ...

served as the real life inspiration for the fictional Anatole.

Reception

Esther Polianowsky Salaman writes that what "is so interesting about Anatole Kuragin are the many characteristics Tolstoy gives us about him all at once: something he seldom does".

Screen portrayals

Anatole is played in the 1956 American film by

Vittorio Gassman Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...

; in the 1966-67 Soviet film, by

Vasili Lanovoy Vasily Semyonovich Lanovoy (russian: Василий Семёнович Лановой; (16 January 1934 – 28 January 2021) was a Soviet and Ukrainian Russian actor who worked in the Vakhtangov Theatre, Moscow. He was also known as the Preside ...

;

Frank Northen Magill Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

, ''Magill's Survey of Cinema, Foreign Language Films'' (Salem Press, 1985)
p. 3327
/ref> in the 1972-73 BBC miniseries, by

Colin Baker Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor who played Paul Merroney in the BBC drama series '' The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series ''Docto ...

. In the 2007 version, he is portrayed by German actor Ken Duken, and in the 2016 BBC series by

Callum Turner Callum Robilliard Turner (born 15 February 1990) is a British actor and model. He is known for his roles as Theseus Scamander in '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'' and '' Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'', Bill Rohan in ...

. He was also portrayed by

Lucas Steele Lucas Steele is an American stage actor best known for his role as Anatole in ''Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.'' Early life Steele was raised in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania. He began learning piano by ear at age 3, and violin at ...

, in the musical ''

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 ''Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812'' (or simply ''The Great Comet'') is a sung-through musical adaptation of a 70-page segment from Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace'' written by composer/lyricist Dave Malloy and directed by Rac ...

''.

References

External links