In The Cossacks, Tolstoi provides a rich and vivid description with meticulous detail of Cossack appearance, everyday life, and its society, showing its warmth and unity all set against the backdrop of the Caucasus. And in true Tolstoi fashion it deals with matters of the human heart, the author's abilities to present and translate the intangible feelings and transfer them to print has long been acknowledged as one of his gifts. We are shown Olyenin's yearning for Maryanushka and his feelings of futility towards the betrothed maiden coupled with the universal indecisiveness that exists within us all and the inner struggle of human nature. He yearns for but lacks the strength even to approach her, only watching from afar, feeling worthless against her and at the same fighting a conflict within him to acknowledge his feelings. Each character is well developed, embodying human shortcomings and the disappointments of real life (we never get what we want). We see the young arrogance of Lushkashka, the snobbery of Vasilyevitch and the old sage Cossack 'uncle' Yeroshka with his stubborn old ways. All of this we are invited to watch by the author without prejudice, for Tolstoi writes without judging.

The theme of "love for all" that runs through so many of Tolstoi's books is by no means absent here, with a love triangle between Olyenin, Maryanushka and Lushkashka. Olyenin is willing to abandon his philosophy of self renunciation for Maryanushka, he as an outsider desperately wanting to be integrated and accepted into this society. And in surrendering to his feelings would go against Cossack tradition and run the risk of being ostracised with Maryanushka, a theme explored more in depth in his later work Anna Karenina.

Tolstoi served as a yunker (Olyenin is also one) in the Caucasus in 1851, there he met the Cossacks and later becoming the subject of this book, their simplicity of life used as a comparison to the decadence of Russian society. The character Olyenin is a reflection of his own quest for happiness through self sacrifice and self renunciation, trying to escape the shallow empty meaningless existence of a Russian gentleman in Moscow society.

In conclusion, this book provides a rich and lush description based upon his encounter. The characters are human, flawed, rounded and real with depth, this is what he does best, his favoured themes such as the complexity of love, finding true happiness through a simple existence and the shunning of the aristocratic society are all included, this will not disappoint his followers.