One night after a long day of ruler's duties, the young Tsar is visited in his sleep by a mysterious man whom he has never seen before. This man takes him on a dream journey to see all the evil reigning unabated throughout his empire.

Although the young Tsar is skeptical at first, it begins to dawn on him that he could indeed use his power in a radically different way. But will he?

A short story that strikes a similar chord to Charles Dickens’ 'A Christmas Carol'. 'The Young Tsar' ponders a great deal about the responsibility of leadership in just a few pages.

Recommended for fans of the 2012 film 'Anna Karenina' depicting the eponymous aristocrat's romantic tragedy set against the backdrop of Tsarist Russia. Starring Kiera Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.


Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian author, a master of realistic fiction and one of the world’s greatest novelists. Tolstoy’s major works include 'War and Peace' (1865–69) and 'Anna Karenina' (1875–77), two of the greatest novels of all time and pinnacles of realist fiction. Beyond novels, he wrote many short stories and later in life also essays and plays.