War and Peace (Russian Война и мир, Voyna i mir) is a monumental epic by Leo Tolstoy, originally published between 1865 and 1869 in Russki Vestnik. This remarkable novel captures the essence of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era, intertwining the lives of a vast array of characters amid the tumult of war and peace. Often hailed as one of Tolstoy’s masterworks—alongside Anna Karenina—it stands as one of the greatest novels in literary history. War and Peace redefines fiction, delving into grand themes of conflict, love, youth, and the passage of time. Despite its classification as a novel today, it defied many conventions of its era, leading some contemporary critics to question its form. Tolstoy himself viewed Anna Karenina as his first true attempt at a novel in the European tradition.