Debates around animal rights in 19th-century Russia?

[Amanda Ewington]

A student of mine had an interesting question about debates on animal rights 
in 19th-century Russia.

Does anyone out there have any information about this?

Here's the question: 

"I had a brief contextual question about Russian culture and history. As we 
have seen throughout War and Peace, there have been continual links between 
humanity and some perceived connection with animal physiognomy. In the 
opening lines of part four, Tolstoy makes this connection more explicit as he 
describes: "When a man sees a dying animal, horror comes over him: that 
which he himself is, his essence, is obviously being annihilated before his 
eyes--is ceasing to be. But when the dying one is a person, and a beloved 
person, then, besides a horror at the annihilation of life, there is a feeling of 
severance and a spiritual wound which, like a physical wound, sometimes kills 
and sometimes heals, but always hurts and fears any external, irritating 
touch." (1075). While Tolstoy does seem to draw a distinction between harm 
to an animal and to a human, he makes a connection explicit and blurs the 
boundaries between the empathy for man and empathy for animals. In 
England, leading up to the abolition of Slavery in 1833, there were concerted 
efforts on the part of animal-rights activists to analogize the emancipation of 
slaves with the necessity for protections against animal cruelty. Is there any 
sort of similar movement or debate in Russia surrounding the end of serfdom 
and a correlation with Tolstoy's seeming call for animal-rights?"

Thank you!

Amanda Ewington
(Davidson College)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------