This essay focuses on the role played by Tolstoyans on the spread of the Vegetarian principles in the second half of 19th century. Their major instrument was the publisher «Posrednik» (The Mediator, established in 1885 by Vladimir Tchertkov e Lev Tolstoy). Actually, from 1893 to 1916, Posrednik published some thirty issues on the Vegetariansm with a highly reduced price. Those texts had the aim of legitimating Vegetarianism on a medical and physiological ground, as well as increasing its attraction (e.g. by publishing large volumes of recipes); however, their primary goal was to provide a support to a life conception based, according to Tolstoy's teaching, on love to any living being, on reciprocal help, and consequently execrating hunt, slaughtering, war, death penalty and any other form of violence.
