The relationship between man and nature in the novel is studied. It is noted in the pathos and the specifics of the novel genre, on the complex and polemical, encrypted and intricate artistic thinking of the author and the book-style markedly affected philosophical subtext, manifested in the structure of the “Russian forest” and methods of narration, in a ratio of two storylines; in the polar alignment of characters and ideas with a view to knowing the ontology of existence and its basic categories; in the image of the two world outlook, the two ideological positions. Derivative components of the philosophical idea of focusing on foundations of art disclosure of national life, made symbolism thought the sign system of the novel and its metaphor, the origins of which the artist saw in the cultural heritage of civilization, in the works of various genres of folklore. Strong and uncompromising position of the author-narrator in the evaluation of the problem of “Man and Nature” is identified. It’s intellectual orientation, concentrated is the artist''s thoughts and reflections on human existence and the laws of nature, monological narrative and ingenious architectonic. Novel of the L. Leonov heterogeneous work in which plot-centers have become seemingly incompatible problems of social, cultural and spiritual life of the people the fate of Russian forests and the future of Russia, a struggle between two directions in the study of forest science and pseudoscience, fascism and humanism. The author skillfully constructed, put together into a whole material of different character, turning it into an art system. Poetic world of “Russian forest” is the life of nature; the novel shows its diverse manifestations, shows generalized pictures and images deployed or concise; the main conflict in the evolution of mankind is identified the confrontation philosophy of life and philosophy of death. The idea of the rebirth of nature and not conquering of it is dominating in the book. The basis of “natural” and social conflict of “Russian forest” is duplicity the universal acceptance of the disclosure of personal contradictions complicated collisions heroes on a professional level, the polarity of their ethical and ecological views. The binary nature of the characters is also revealed through the historical, socio-political and ideological clashes. “Russian forest” is a philosophical novel, tending to the conventions; its plot is subordinated to the development of philosophical thought, which lie at the basis of the myth-making, symbolism and historical reminiscences. Artistically interpreting the being, the novelist claimed harmonious unity of a man and nature, man and earth, man and the space, fixed their attention on the symptoms of the crisis of the traditional humanistic consciousness.

В статье исследуются взаимоотношения человека и природы, анализируется главный конфликт в романе Л. М. Леонова «Русский лес», система его образов и характеры-антиподы, изучается своеобразие художественного мышления Л. М. Леонова.