Christmas Stories

Such heroes, about whom Leskov writes in Christmas stories: meek, valiant, soulful, - seem not to exist in the world. The tamer of the ominous bear, the boy with the unchangeable ruble, the father with the pearl necklace – all embody the «humanizing power of Christianity», as Maya Kucherskaya notes in her biographical novel about Leskov «The Overlooked Genius». Idealist Leskov, finding plots in old fairy tales, places «icon-people» - in modernity, preventing them from becoming embittered and bestial. He blesses with faith to make the world friendlier and more merciful to each other.