Hadji Murád · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Hadji Murád by Leo Tolstoy.

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Chapter 1
Hadji Murád
The chapter introduces Hadji Murád, a renowned Avar leader who has defected from Shamil's forces and seeks refuge with the Russians. He arrives at Sado's aoul, where he is hosted and protected despite the danger. The chapter sets the stage for the cultural and political tensions between the Russian imperial forces and the Chechen and Avar peoples, highlighting themes of honor, betrayal, and the brutal realities of war in the Caucasus.
Chapter 2
I
Hadji Murád, a former naïb of Shamil, arrives as a fugitive at a hostile Chechen aoul and seeks refuge in the home of Sado. Despite the danger of harboring him, Sado welcomes him and pledges to protect him at the risk of his own life. Hadji Murád arranges for his murid Bata to guide Khan Mahomá to the Russian commander Prince Vorontsóv, and gives Sado a note to be forwarded to his son. The chapter establishes the tension of Hadji Murád's flight and the loyalty of his hosts.
Chapter 3
II
Russian soldiers on ambush duty at a plane tree discuss the commander's gambling debts and the tedium of service. Avdéev laments his voluntary enlistment in place of his brother. Two Chechen scouts, Bata and a companion, arrive seeking Prince Vorontsóv, and are escorted to the fort.
Chapter 4
Chapter III
Late at night in the fortress, Prince Vorontsóv and his wife Márya Vasílevna host a card game with officers Poltorátsky and the regimental adjutant. The Princess's presence distracts Poltorátsky, causing him to play poorly. After the game, Vorontsóv is called away by an officer on duty and returns visibly pleased, ordering champagne. He hints at a meeting the next day during a wood-cutting expedition. Later, Márya Vasílevna presses her husband for details and correctly guesses that the visitor was an emissary from Hadji Murád, though Vorontsóv confirms only that Hadji Murád will meet him the next day. The chapter ends with Poltorátsky returning home in an ecstatic mood, while his serf Vovílo reflects bitterly on his own life.
Chapter 5
IV
Hadji Murád, after three sleepless nights fleeing Shamil's murids, rests at Sado's aoul. Warned that the village elders plan to detain him, he and his murid Eldár escape under cover of darkness, pursued by mounted villagers. He fires a warning shot and gallops into the forest, where his loyal followers await. After performing his nightly prayer, he falls into deep thought, dreaming of revenge against Shamil and future glory under the Russian Tsar.

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Hadji Murád

I

II

Chapter III

IV