Loyalty
The question of loyalty in Hadji Murat surrounds the characters during this time of war and strife. Murat, a ruthless warrior for the Chechen people, switches to the Russian side to protect his family and hurt Shamil, who has kidnapped them. Murat must decide between his nationality and his own family, both of which demand his loyalty. Many of the Caucasian mountain people also remain faithful to Murat despite his transfer to the Russian side, even as they are threatened and killed by Shamil. The concept of loyalty is presented as murky: those on the Russian side sometimes show signs of disloyalty towards their reckless Tsar, and the Caucasian Muslims sometimes display unlikely loyalties as well. Tolstoy seems to suggest that loyalty does not equate to morality, and that there is often great nuance beneath the surface of a conflict.
Leadership
Of the leaders we meet in Hadji Murat, there are strong, caring, moral leaders and ruthlessly cruel ones. Leadership is presented as a skill, possessed by some with empathy and insight. Most notably, Tsar Nicholas I is expressed as deeply unfit for the demands of wartime leadership, showing little interest in strategy and making decisions based on moody whims. The consequences of such autocracy are shown in the horrors of war and the unnecessary tragedy that occurs as a result of the tsar's negligence and cruelty. Similarly, Shamil is a ruthless and cruel leader, but possesses a passion and charisma that the tsar lacks. This amounts to immense slaughter in the name of his cause, as he carries out a personal vendetta against Murat. These men pose a stark contrast to Murat.
Warfare
The evils of war are expressed in the novel by the innocent parties who suffer as the Russians and the Chechens battle on. Tolstoy, once a soldier himself, personalizes the horrors of war. He wrote this novel about half a century on from his wartime experience, and uses the story as a warning about the toll war takes on a society. The reader experiences violence up close through Murat's personal story: his brother was killed by Shamil's predecessor Hamzad, and several young friends of his were also murdered. This backstory explains how violence has shaped Murat's and many other Chechens' lives, and how it continues to cost them. The combat scenes are violent and personal, and the final death of Hadji Murat himself makes a powerful image for the destruction that war causes.
