In "Sebastopol in December," Tolstoy creates the collective character of the sailors, soldiers, unit commanders, and residents of the city, who bravely defended it against the pressure of superior enemy forces. To this day, this story is considered a war report about the heroic city that withstood an eleven-month enemy siege. "Sebastopol in May," written in a different tone, harshly condemns the officers and aristocrats who moved to Sebastopol for selfish purposes, seeking to "catch crosses and rubles," that is, to obtain scavengers and money. The Russian forces were forced to abandon Sebastopol, a tragedy for its defenders. In "Sebastopol in August 1855," Tolstoy depicts the bitterness and pain with which its defenders left it, and how confident they were that the enemy would not hold it for long! The story "The Cossacks" is considered in the history of his life and works a turning point and a transition from one era to another. A whole period of exhausting and extremely fruitful investigation and research came to an end, and after accumulating an extremely rich experience, he entered a stage of fully mature creativity, the outcome of which were the two epic works "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina."