The Power of Darkness (1886) is Tolstoy’s stark peasant tragedy, depicting a spiral of adultery, murder, and moral collapse in a Russian village. Written in authentic peasant dialect and drawing on a real criminal case, it confronts the darkness that Tolstoy believed lurked beneath the surface of rural life. The play was initially banned by tsarist censors before being staged to great acclaim.
One of the most powerful dramatic works in Russian literature, this public-domain text is now available as a free EPUB download for theatre lovers and Tolstoy readers alike.