The Gun before the Lyre

This chapter explores the three most prevalent kinds of sport hunting pursued in nineteenth-century Russia — coursing, hounding, shooting — and suggests that their essential differences pointed to very distinct modes of interacting with nature. Illustrative examples of Ivan Turgenev's zealous devotion to shooting are taken from memoir accounts of his actual hunting praxis. The chapter discusses Turgenev's hunting experience and proclivities. Hunting became one of the most important aspects of Turgenev's existence, even an obsession. The chapter mentions Turgenev's close friend Dmitrii Iakovlevich Kolbasin's memoir, which gives us a glimpse of Turgenev as a hunting tutor. It also discusses Turgenev's afield in memoirs and letters.