The reading of the four-volume novel set during Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia is being broadcast live on national television and radio as well as on a special website, voinaimir.com. "My favourite character is Natasha Rostova, because like me, she made her own journey from a thoughtless young girl to a mother of a family who has learnt how to be happy," said one listener, 35-year-old Anastasia, referring to one of the novel's main heroines. The readings are taking place in some of the settings of the novel, including Tolstoy's country estate in Yasnaya Polyana south of Moscow, as well as in cities across the country including Grozny in Chechnya.
