Kutuzov in Tolstoy’s War and Peace: A Rare Historical Figure Who Escaped the Illusion of “I Can Do Anything”?

Lev Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace is not only a historical account of the Napoleonic Wars, but also a profound philosophical critique of the modern understanding of history, the myth of heroism, and the will of the subject. One of the central figures in this critique is Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. Tolstoy deliberately avoids glorifying Kutuzov as a “great commander” in the classical sense; instead, he portrays him as a subject who accepts the limitations of the historical process and does not absolutize his will.

1. Tolstoy’s Philosophy of History and Critique of Will

Tolstoy, as he explicitly states in the epilogues of War and Peace , rejects historiography that explains history through the conscious decisions of “great men” (Tolstoy, 1869/2007). According to him, history is a complex process arising from the intersection of countless individual wills, material conditions, and necessities. In this context, the illusion of “I can do anything” is a product of the modern subject’s—especially military and political leaders’—desire to position themselves as the agent of history.

Tolstoy presents the figure of Napoleon as a paradigmatic example of this illusion. While Napoleon interprets every action with the belief that he is shaping history, Tolstoy, through his narrator’s voice, insists that this belief is in reality a “narrative construct” (Tolstoy, 1869/2007).

2. Kutuzov’s Ethics of Silence and Inaction

One of Kutuzov’s most striking characteristics throughout the novel is that he is not a constantly decision-making, authoritarian, and explanatory leader. On the contrary, Kutuzov often remains silent, sleeps, cries, or waits without intervening in the course of events. While this attitude might seem like passivity or weakness at a superficial reading, in a Tolstoyan context it points to a radical form of consciousness.

As Isaiah Berlin points out, Kutuzov is the closest figure to Tolstoy’s “fox” consciousness: a subject who knows that history is too complex to be reduced to a single principle and therefore does not absolutize his will (Berlin, 1953). Kutuzov’s conscious abandonment of the claim “I can do anything” places him outside the modern fantasy of dominance.

3. Rejecting Illusion: Letting Go of the Fantasy of Control

One of the fundamental illusions of the modern subject is the belief that it can completely control the process. This illusion manifests itself in the context of military strategy as the claim of rational planning, precise calculation, and absolute foresight. Kutuzov, however, knows that war cannot be managed with such rationality. The decision to retreat after Borodino is presented not as an act of military genius, but as an acceptance of historical necessity (Tolstoy, 1869/2007).

The realm of uncertainty that Clausewitz defines in war with his concept of “friction” is embodied in Kutuzov’s practice; however, unlike Clausewitz, Tolstoy treats this uncertainty not as something to be managed, but as something to be accepted (Clausewitz, 1832/1984).

4. Kutuzov as a Mature Subject

From a psychoanalytic and philosophical perspective, abandoning the illusion of “I can do anything” can be seen not as a weakness, but rather as a sign of maturity . Freud’s definition of a mature ego refers to a subject who can recognize the limitations of reality and relinquish the fantasy of omnipotence (Freud, 1914/2001). In this sense, Kutuzov emerges as a figure opposed to Napoleon’s narcissistic subject structure.

Kutuzov’s authority stemmed not from commanding, but from accepting limitations, striving to minimize troop losses, and refusing to transform the weight of history into narratives of individual glory. As Hannah Arendt noted, the most dangerous aspect of modern power is its claim to “ability to do anything” (Arendt, 1963). Kutuzov is one of the rare leaders who rejected this claim.

In summary;

In Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace , Kutuzov is represented as one of the rare historical figures who has freed himself from the illusion of “I can do anything.” His greatness stems not from his claim to control history, but from his courage to acknowledge history’s judgment. Through Kutuzov, Tolstoy radically questions the myths of control, progress, and heroism held by the modern subject. In this context, Kutuzov is not only a historical figure but also an ethical and philosophical counter-model that exposes the limitations of modernity.

Source

• Arendt, H. (1963). On Revolution . New York: Viking Press.
• Berlin, I. (1953). The Hedgehog and the Fox . London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
• Clausewitz, C. von (1832/1984). On War . Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Freud, S. (1914/2001). On Narcissism: An Introduction . London: Penguin.
• Tolstoy, L. (1869/2007). War and Peace . (Trans. R. Pevear & L. Volokhonsky). New York: Vintage.