At the Edge of the World

2 hrs. 41 min.

Romance & Prose

Language Russian

Author Nikolai Leskov

Narrator Mikhail Bashakov

Description

The story “At the Edge of the World” tells of a trip by a newly appointed bishop to a “distant Siberian diocese,” where a Russian missionary becomes acquainted with the difficult life of peoples who have accepted baptism. After a pagan native saved him from death in the winter taiga, the bishop becomes convinced of what truly Christian feats the unbaptized “savages” are capable of—guided only by their own conscience, the voice of God in every human soul. The main character of the work is the Bishop of Irkutsk—later Archbishop Nil of Yaroslavl—according to whose memoirs the story was written. Leskov’s unique tone and original language add an unmistakable flavor to the narrative.