Count Leo Tolstoy, a classic of Russian and world literature, is called a master of psychologism, the creator of the epic novel genre, an original thinker and teacher of life. Works brilliant writer- Russia's greatest asset.

In August 1828, a classic of Russian literature was born on the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Tula province. The future author of War and Peace became the fourth child in a family of eminent nobles. On his father's side, he belonged to the old family of Count Tolstoy, who served and. On the maternal side, Lev Nikolaevich is a descendant of the Ruriks. It is noteworthy that Leo Tolstoy also has a common ancestor - Admiral Ivan Mikhailovich Golovin.

Lev Nikolayevich’s mother, nee Princess Volkonskaya, died of childbirth fever after the birth of her daughter. At that time, Lev was not even two years old. Seven years later, the head of the family, Count Nikolai Tolstoy, died.

Caring for the children fell on the shoulders of the writer’s aunt, T. A. Ergolskaya. Later, the second aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Sacken, became the guardian of the orphaned children. After her death in 1840, the children moved to Kazan, to a new guardian - their father’s sister P. I. Yushkova. The aunt influenced her nephew, and the writer called his childhood in her house, which was considered the most cheerful and hospitable in the city, happy. Later, Leo Tolstoy described his impressions of life at the Yushkov estate in his story “Childhood.”

Silhouette and portrait of Leo Tolstoy's parents

Primary education the classic received at home from German and French teachers. In 1843, Leo Tolstoy entered Kazan University, choosing the faculty oriental languages. Soon, due to low academic performance, he transferred to another faculty - law. But he did not succeed here either: after two years he left the university without receiving a degree.

Lev Nikolaevich returned to Yasnaya Polyana, wanting to establish relations with the peasants in a new way. The idea failed, but the young man kept a diary regularly, loved social entertainment and became interested in music. Tolstoy listened for hours, and...

Disillusioned with the life of the landowner after spending the summer in the village, 20-year-old Leo Tolstoy left the estate and moved to Moscow, and from there to St. Petersburg. The young man rushed between preparing for candidate exams at the university, studying music, carousing with cards and gypsies, and dreams of becoming either an official or a cadet in a horse guards regiment. Relatives called Lev “the most trifling fellow,” and it took years to pay off the debts he incurred.

Literature

In 1851, the writer’s brother, officer Nikolai Tolstoy, persuaded Lev to go to the Caucasus. For three years Lev Nikolaevich lived in a village on the banks of the Terek. The nature of the Caucasus and the patriarchal life of the Cossack village were later reflected in the stories “Cossacks” and “Hadji Murat”, the stories “Raid” and “Cutting the Forest”.

In the Caucasus, Leo Tolstoy composed the story “Childhood,” which he published in the magazine “Sovremennik” under the initials L.N. Soon he wrote the sequels “Adolescence” and “Youth,” combining the stories into a trilogy. The literary debut turned out to be brilliant and brought Lev Nikolaevich his first recognition.

The creative biography of Leo Tolstoy is developing rapidly: an appointment to Bucharest, a transfer to besieged Sevastopol, and command of a battery enriched the writer with impressions. From the pen of Lev Nikolaevich came the series “Sevastopol Stories”. The works of the young writer amazed critics with their bold psychological analysis. Nikolai Chernyshevsky found in them a “dialectic of the soul,” and the emperor read the essay “Sevastopol in December” and expressed admiration for Tolstoy’s talent.

In the winter of 1855, 28-year-old Leo Tolstoy arrived in St. Petersburg and entered the Sovremennik circle, where he was warmly welcomed, calling him “the great hope of Russian literature.” But over the course of a year, I got tired of the writing environment with its disputes and conflicts, readings and literary dinners. Later in Confession Tolstoy admitted:

“These people disgusted me, and I disgusted myself.”

In the fall of 1856, the young writer went to the Yasnaya Polyana estate, and in January 1857 he went abroad. Leo Tolstoy traveled around Europe for six months. Visited Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland. He returned to Moscow, and from there to Yasnaya Polyana. On the family estate, he began arranging schools for peasant children. In the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana, with his participation, twenty educational institutions. In 1860, the writer traveled a lot: in Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium he studied pedagogical systems European countries to apply what we saw in Russia.

A special niche in the work of Leo Tolstoy is occupied by fairy tales and works for children and teenagers. The writer has created hundreds of works for young readers, including good and cautionary tales“Kitten”, “Two Brothers”, “Hedgehog and Hare”, “Lion and Dog”.

Leo Tolstoy wrote the school textbook “ABC” to teach children writing, reading and arithmetic. The literary and pedagogical work consists of four books. The writer included instructive stories, epics, fables, as well as methodological advice for teachers. The third book includes the story “ Caucasian prisoner».

Leo Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina"

In the 1870s, Leo Tolstoy, while continuing to teach peasant children, wrote the novel Anna Karenina, in which he contrasted the two storylines: the family drama of the Karenins and the domestic idyll of the young landowner Levin, with whom he identified himself. The novel only at first glance seemed to be a love affair: the classic raised the problem of the meaning of existence of the “educated class”, contrasting it with the truth of peasant life. "Anna Karenina" was highly appreciated.

The turning point in the writer’s consciousness was reflected in the works written in the 1880s. Life-changing spiritual insight occupies a central place in the stories and stories. “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, “The Kreutzer Sonata”, “Father Sergius” and the story “After the Ball” appear. The classic of Russian literature paints pictures of social inequality and castigates the idleness of the nobles.

In search of an answer to the question of the meaning of life, Leo Tolstoy turned to the Russian Orthodox Church, but even there he did not find satisfaction. The writer came to the conclusion that the Christian church is corrupt, and under the guise of religion, priests are promoting false teaching. In 1883, Lev Nikolaevich founded the publication “Mediator,” where he outlined his spiritual beliefs and criticized the Russian Orthodox Church. For this, Tolstoy was excommunicated from the church, and the writer was monitored by the secret police.

In 1898, Leo Tolstoy wrote the novel Resurrection, which received favorable reviews from critics. But the success of the work was inferior to “Anna Karenina” and “War and Peace”.

For the last 30 years of his life, Leo Tolstoy, with his teachings on non-violent resistance to evil, was recognized as the spiritual and religious leader of Russia.

"War and Peace"

Leo Tolstoy did not like his novel “War and Peace,” calling the epic “ verbose rubbish" The classic writer wrote the work in the 1860s, while living with his family in Yasnaya Polyana. The first two chapters, entitled “1805,” were published by Russkiy Vestnik in 1865. Three years later, Leo Tolstoy wrote three more chapters and completed the novel, which caused heated controversy among critics.

Leo Tolstoy writes "War and Peace"

The novelist took the features of the heroes of the work, written during the years of family happiness and spiritual elation, from life. In Princess Marya Bolkonskaya, the features of Lev Nikolaevich’s mother are recognizable, her penchant for reflection, brilliant education and love of art. The writer awarded Nikolai Rostov with his father’s traits - mockery, love of reading and hunting.

When writing the novel, Leo Tolstoy worked in the archives, studied the correspondence of Tolstoy and Volkonsky, Masonic manuscripts, and visited the Borodino field. His young wife helped him, copying his drafts out clean.

The novel was read avidly, striking readers with the breadth of its epic canvas and subtle psychological analysis. Leo Tolstoy characterized the work as an attempt to “write the history of the people.”

According to the calculations of literary critic Lev Anninsky, by the end of the 1970s, only works abroad Russian classic filmed 40 times. Until 1980, the epic War and Peace was filmed four times. Directors from Europe, America and Russia have made 16 films based on the novel “Anna Karenina”, “Resurrection” has been filmed 22 times.

“War and Peace” was first filmed by director Pyotr Chardynin in 1913. The most famous film was made by a Soviet director in 1965.

Personal life

Leo Tolstoy married 18-year-old in 1862, when he was 34 years old. The count lived with his wife for 48 years, but the couple’s life can hardly be called cloudless.

Sofia Bers is the second of three daughters of the Moscow palace office doctor Andrei Bers. The family lived in the capital, but in the summer they vacationed on a Tula estate near Yasnaya Polyana. For the first time Leo Tolstoy saw his future wife as a child. Sophia was educated at home, read a lot, understood art, and graduated from Moscow University. The diary kept by Bers-Tolstaya is recognized as an example of the memoir genre.

At the beginning of his married life, Leo Tolstoy, wanting there to be no secrets between him and his wife, gave Sophia a diary to read. The shocked wife learned about her husband’s stormy youth, passion for gambling, wild life and the peasant girl Aksinya, who was expecting a child from Lev Nikolaevich.

The first-born Sergei was born in 1863. In the early 1860s, Tolstoy began writing the novel War and Peace. Sofya Andreevna helped her husband, despite her pregnancy. The woman taught and raised all the children at home. Five of the 13 children died in infancy or early childhood childhood.

Problems in the family began after Leo Tolstoy finished working on Anna Karenina. The writer plunged into depression, expressed dissatisfaction with the life that he had so carefully arranged in family nest Sofya Andreevna. The count's moral turmoil led to Lev Nikolayevich demanding that his relatives give up meat, alcohol and smoking. Tolstoy forced his wife and children to dress in peasant clothes, which he made himself, and wanted to give his acquired property to the peasants.

Sofya Andreevna made considerable efforts to dissuade her husband from the idea of ​​​​distributing goods. But the quarrel that occurred split the family: Leo Tolstoy left home. Upon returning, the writer entrusted the responsibility of rewriting drafts to his daughters.

Death last child– seven-year-old Vanya – brought the spouses closer together for a short time. But soon mutual grievances and misunderstandings alienated them completely. Sofya Andreevna found solace in music. In Moscow, a woman took lessons from a teacher for whom romantic feelings developed. Their relationship remained friendly, but the count did not forgive his wife for “half-betrayal.”

The couple's fatal quarrel occurred at the end of October 1910. Leo Tolstoy left home, leaving Sophia farewell letter. He wrote that he loved her, but could not do otherwise.

Death

82-year-old Leo Tolstoy, accompanied by his personal doctor D.P. Makovitsky, left Yasnaya Polyana. On the way, the writer fell ill and got off the train at the Astapovo railway station. Lev Nikolaevich spent the last 7 days of his life in the house stationmaster. The whole country followed the news about Tolstoy’s health.

The children and wife arrived at the Astapovo station, but Leo Tolstoy did not want to see anyone. The classic died on November 7, 1910: he died of pneumonia. His wife survived him by 9 years. Tolstoy was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.

Quotes by Leo Tolstoy

• Everyone wants to change humanity, but no one thinks about how to change themselves.
• Everything comes to those who know how to wait.
• All happy families are similar to each other, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
• Let everyone sweep in front of his own door. If everyone does this, the whole street will be clean.
• It's easier to live without love. But without it there is no point.
• I don't have everything I love. But I love everything I have.
• The world moves forward because of those who suffer.
• The greatest truths are the simplest.
• Everyone is making plans, and no one knows whether he will survive until the evening.

Bibliography

• 1869 – “War and Peace”
• 1877 – “Anna Karenina”
• 1899 – “Resurrection”
• 1852-1857 – “Childhood”. "Adolescence". "Youth"
• 1856 – “Two Hussars”
• 1856 – “Morning of the Landowner”
• 1863 – “Cossacks”
• 1886 – “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”
• 1903 – “Notes of a Madman”
• 1889 – “Kreutzer Sonata”
• 1898 – “Father Sergius”
• 1904 – “Hadji Murat”

Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in the Tula province (Russia) into a family belonging to the noble class. In the 1860s he wrote his first great novel- “War and Peace”. In 1873, Tolstoy began work on the second of his most famous books, Anna Karenina.

He continued to write fiction throughout the 1880s and 1890s. One of his most successful later works is “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.” Tolstoy died on November 20, 1910 in Astapovo, Russia.

First years of life

September 9, 1828, in Yasnaya Polyana (Tula province, Russia) was born future writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. He was the fourth child in a large noble family. In 1830, when Tolstoy’s mother, née Princess Volkonskaya, died, cousin father took over the care of the children. Their father, Count Nikolai Tolstoy, died seven years later, and their aunt was appointed guardian. After the death of his aunt, Leo Tolstoy, his brothers and sisters moved to their second aunt in Kazan. Although Tolstoy experienced many losses in early age, he later idealized his childhood memories in his work.

It is important to note that the primary education in Tolstoy’s biography was received at home, lessons were given to him by French and German teachers. In 1843, he entered the Faculty of Oriental Languages ​​at the Imperial Kazan University. Tolstoy failed to succeed in his studies - low grades forced him to transfer to an easier law faculty. Further difficulties in his studies led Tolstoy to eventually leave the Imperial Kazan University in 1847 without a degree. He returned to his parents' estate, where he planned to start farming. However, this endeavor also ended in failure - he was absent too often, leaving for Tula and Moscow. What he really excelled at was keeping his own diary - it was this lifelong habit that inspired much of Leo Tolstoy's writing.

Tolstoy was fond of music, his favorite composers were Schumann, Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Mendelssohn. Lev Nikolaevich could play their works for several hours a day.

One day, Tolstoy’s elder brother, Nikolai, came to visit Lev during his army leave, and convinced his brother to join the army as a cadet in the south, in Caucasus mountains where he served. After serving as a cadet, Leo Tolstoy was transferred to Sevastopol in November 1854, where he fought in the Crimean War until August 1855.

Early publications

During his years as a cadet in the army, Tolstoy had a lot of free time. During quiet periods he worked on autobiographical story entitled "Childhood". In it, he wrote about his favorite childhood memories. In 1852, Tolstoy sent a story to Sovremennik, the most popular magazine of the time. The story was happily accepted, and it became Tolstoy's first publication. From that time on, critics put him on a par with already famous writers, among whom were present Ivan Turgenev (with whom Tolstoy became friends), Ivan Goncharov, Alexander Ostrovsky and others.

After completing his story “Childhood,” Tolstoy began writing about his daily life at an army outpost in the Caucasus. The work “Cossacks”, which he began during his army years, was completed only in 1862, after he had already left the army.

Surprisingly, Tolstoy managed to continue writing while actively fighting in the Crimean War. At this time he wrote “Boyhood” (1854), a continuation of “Childhood”, the second book in autobiographical trilogy Tolstoy. At the height of the Crimean War, Tolstoy expressed his views on the startling contradictions of the war through a trilogy of works, Sevastopol Tales. In the second book of Sevastopol Stories, Tolstoy experimented with relatively new technology: Part of the story is presented as a narration from the soldier's point of view.

After the end of the Crimean War, Tolstoy left the army and returned to Russia. Arriving home, the author enjoyed great popularity on the literary scene of St. Petersburg.

Stubborn and arrogant, Tolstoy refused to belong to any particular school of philosophy. Declaring himself an anarchist, he left for Paris in 1857. Once there, he lost all his money and was forced to return home to Russia. He also managed to publish Youth, the third part of an autobiographical trilogy, in 1857.

Returning to Russia in 1862, Tolstoy published the first of 12 issues of the thematic magazine Yasnaya Polyana. That same year he married the daughter of a doctor named Sofya Andreevna Bers.

Major Novels

Living in Yasnaya Polyana with his wife and children, Tolstoy spent much of the 1860s working on his first famous novel“War and Peace.” Part of the novel was first published in “Russian Bulletin” in 1865 under the title “1805”. By 1868 he had published three more chapters. A year later, the novel was completely finished. Both critics and the public argued about historical justice Napoleonic Wars in the novel, combined with the development of stories that are thoughtful and realistic, but still fictional characters. The novel is also unique in that it includes three long satirical essays on the laws of history. Among the ideas that Tolstoy also tries to convey in this novel is the belief that a person’s position in society and the meaning of human life are mainly derived from his daily activities.

After the success of War and Peace in 1873, Tolstoy began work on the second of his most famous books, Anna Karenina. It was based in part on real events period of the war between Russia and Turkey. Like War and Peace, this book describes some biographical events from the life of Tolstoy himself, this is especially noticeable in romantic relationships between the characters Kitty and Levin, which is said to be reminiscent of Tolstoy's courtship of his own wife.

The first lines of the book “Anna Karenina” are among the most famous: “All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Anna Karenina was published in installments from 1873 to 1877, and was highly acclaimed by the public. The royalties received for the novel quickly enriched the writer.

Conversion

Despite the success of Anna Karenina, after the completion of the novel, Tolstoy experienced a spiritual crisis and was depressed. The next stage of Leo Tolstoy's biography is characterized by the search for the meaning of life. The writer first turned to the Russian Orthodox Church, but did not find answers to his questions there. He concluded that Christian churches were corrupt and, instead of organized religion, promoted their own beliefs. He decided to express these beliefs by founding a new publication in 1883 called The Mediator.
As a result, for his unconventional and controversial spiritual beliefs, Tolstoy was excommunicated from the Russian Orthodox Church. He was even watched by the secret police. When Tolstoy, driven by his new conviction, wanted to give away all his money and give up everything unnecessary, his wife was categorically against this. Not wanting to escalate the situation, Tolstoy reluctantly agreed to a compromise: he transferred the copyright and, apparently, all royalties on his work until 1881 to his wife.

Late fiction

In addition to his religious treatises, Tolstoy continued to write fiction throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Among the genres of his later works were moral stories and realistic fiction. One of the most successful of his later works was the story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” written in 1886. Main character struggling to fight the death hanging over him. In short, Ivan Ilyich is horrified by the realization that he wasted his life on trifles, but the realization of this comes to him too late.

In 1898, Tolstoy wrote the story “Father Sergius,” a work of fiction in which he criticizes the beliefs he developed after his spiritual transformation. The following year he wrote his third voluminous novel, Resurrection. Got the job good reviews, but it is unlikely that this success corresponded to the level of recognition of him previous novels. Other late works of Tolstoy are essays on art, these are satirical play entitled “The Living Corpse,” written in 1890, and a story called “Hadji Murat” (1904), which was discovered and published after his death. In 1903 Tolstoy wrote short story“After the Ball,” which was first published after his death, in 1911.

Old age

During it later years, Tolstoy reaped the benefits international recognition. However, he still struggled to reconcile his spiritual beliefs with the tensions he created in his family life. His wife not only did not agree with his teachings, she did not approve of his students, who regularly visited Tolstoy on the family estate. In an effort to avoid his wife's growing discontent, in October 1910 Tolstoy and his youngest daughter Alexandra went on pilgrimage. Alexandra was the doctor for her elderly father during the trip. Trying not to show off your privacy, they traveled incognito, hoping to evade unnecessary questions, but sometimes this was to no avail.

Death and legacy

Unfortunately, the pilgrimage proved too onerous for the aging writer. In November 1910, the head of the small Astapovo railway station opened the doors of his house to Tolstoy so that the ailing writer could rest. Shortly after this, on November 20, 1910, Tolstoy died. He was buried in the family estate, Yasnaya Polyana, where Tolstoy lost so many people close to him.

To this day, Tolstoy's novels are considered one of the best achievements literary art. “War and Peace” is often cited as greatest novel ever written. In the modern scientific community, Tolstoy is widely recognized as having a gift for describing the unconscious motives of character, the subtlety of which he championed by emphasizing the role of everyday actions in determining the character and goals of people.

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Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is the greatest Russian writer, writer, one of the world's greatest writers, thinker, educator, publicist, corresponding member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Thanks to him, not only works appeared that are included in the treasury of world literature, but also an entire religious and moral movement - Tolstoyism.

Tolstoy was born on the Yasnaya Polyana estate, located in the Tula province, on September 9 (August 28, O.S.), 1828. Being the fourth child in the family of Count N.I. Tolstoy and Princess M.N. Volkonskaya, Lev was left an orphan early and was raised by a distant relative T. A. Ergolskaya. Childhood years remained in the memory of Lev Nikolaevich as a happy time. Together with his family, 13-year-old Tolstoy moved to Kazan, where his relative and new guardian P.I. lived. Yushkova. After receiving home education Tolstoy becomes a student at the Faculty of Philosophy (Department of Oriental Languages) at Kazan University. Studying within the walls of this institution lasted less than two years, after which Tolstoy returned to Yasnaya Polyana.

In the fall of 1847, Leo Tolstoy moved first to Moscow, later to St. Petersburg - to take university candidate exams. These years of his life were special, priorities and hobbies replaced each other like in a kaleidoscope. Intense study gave way to revelry, gambling in cards, a passionate interest in music. Tolstoy either wanted to become an official, or saw himself as a cadet in a horse guards regiment. At this time, he incurred a lot of debts, which he managed to pay off only after many years. Nevertheless, this period helped Tolstoy better understand himself and see his shortcomings. At this time, for the first time he had a serious intention to engage in literature, he began to try himself in artistic creativity.

Four years after leaving the university, Leo Tolstoy succumbed to the persuasion of his older brother Nikolai, an officer, to leave for the Caucasus. The decision did not come immediately, but a large loss in cards contributed to its decision. In the fall of 1851, Tolstoy found himself in the Caucasus, where for almost three years he lived on the banks of the Terek in Cossack village. Subsequently he was admitted to military service, participated in hostilities. During this period, the first published work appeared: the Sovremennik magazine published the story “Childhood” in 1852. She was part of the plan autobiographical novel, for which the stories “Adolescence” (1852-1854) and composed in 1855-1857 were subsequently written. "Youth"; Tolstoy never wrote the “Youth” part.

Having received an appointment in Bucharest, in the Danube Army, in 1854, Tolstoy, at his personal request, was transferred to the Crimean Army, fought as a battery commander in besieged Sevastopol, receiving medals and the Order of St. for valor. Anna. The war did not prevent him from continuing his studies in the literary field: it was here that he was written throughout 1855-1856. “Sevastopol Stories” were published in Sovremennik, which had enormous success and secured Tolstoy’s reputation as a prominent representative of the new generation of writers.

As the great hope of Russian literature, as Nekrasov put it, he was greeted in the Sovremennik circle when he arrived in St. Petersburg in the fall of 1855. Despite the warm welcome, active participation in readings, discussions, and dinners, Tolstoy did not feel like he belonged in the literary environment. In the fall of 1856, he retired and after a short stay in Yasnaya Polyana, he went abroad in 1857, but in the fall of that year he returned to Moscow, and then to his estate. Disappointment in the literary community, social life, dissatisfaction with creative achievements led to the fact that in the late 50s. Tolstoy decides to leave writing and gives priority to activities in the field of education.

Returning to Yasnaya Polyana in 1859, he opened a school for peasant children. This activity aroused such enthusiasm in him that he even made a special trip abroad to study advanced pedagogical systems. In 1862, the count began publishing the Yasnaya Polyana magazine with pedagogical content with supplements in the form of children's books for reading. Educational activities were suspended due to an important event in his biography - his marriage in 1862 to S.A. Bers. After the wedding, Lev Nikolaevich transported his young wife from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana, where he was completely absorbed family life and household chores. Only in the early 70s. he will briefly return to educational work, write “The ABC” and “The New ABC.”

In the fall of 1863, he conceived the idea of ​​a novel, which in 1865 would be published in the Russian Bulletin as “War and Peace” (the first part). The work caused a huge resonance, the skill with which Tolstoy painted a large-scale epic canvas, combining it with amazing accuracy with psychological analysis, did not escape the public, and entered the private lives of the heroes into the outline historical events. Lev Nikolaevich wrote the epic novel until 1869, and during 1873-1877. worked on another novel that was included in the golden fund of world literature - “Anna Karenina”.

Both of these works glorified Tolstoy as greatest artist words, but the author himself in the 80s. loses interest in literary work. A very serious change occurs in his soul and in his worldview, and during this period the thought of suicide comes to him more than once. The doubts and questions that tormented him led to the need to begin with the study of theology, and works of a philosophical and religious nature began to appear from his pen: in 1879-1880 - “Confession”, “Study of Dogmatic Theology”; in 1880-1881 - “Connection and translation of the Gospels”, in 1882-1884. - “What is my faith?” In parallel with theology, Tolstoy studied philosophy and analyzed the achievements of the exact sciences.

Outwardly, the change in his consciousness manifested itself in simplification, i.e. in refusing the opportunities of a prosperous life. The Count dresses in common clothes, refuses food of animal origin, the rights to his works and his fortune in favor of the rest of the family, and works a lot physically. His worldview is characterized by a sharp rejection of the social elite, the idea of ​​statehood, serfdom and bureaucracy. They are combined with the famous slogan of non-resistance to evil by violence, the ideas of forgiveness and universal love.

The turning point was also reflected in Tolstoy’s literary work, which takes on the character of denouncing the existing state of affairs with a call on people to act according to the dictates of reason and conscience. His stories “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, “The Kreutzer Sonata”, “The Devil”, dramas “The Power of Darkness” and “Fruits of Enlightenment”, and the treatise “What is Art?” belong to this time. Eloquent evidence of a critical attitude towards the clergy, the official church and its teachings was the novel “Resurrection” published in 1899. Complete divergence from the position of the Orthodox Church resulted in Tolstoy’s official excommunication from it; this happened in February 1901, and the decision of the Synod led to a loud public outcry.

On turn of the 19th century and 20th centuries V works of art Tolstoy’s theme is dominated by the theme of radical life changes, departure from the previous way of life (“Father Sergius”, “Hadji Murat”, “The Living Corpse”, “After the Ball”, etc.). Lev Nikolaevich himself also came to the decision to change way of life, to live the way he wanted, in accordance with current views. Being the most authoritative writer, head national literature, he breaks with his environment, worsens relationships with his family and loved ones, experiencing a deep personal drama.

At the age of 82, secretly from his household, on an autumn night in 1910, Tolstoy left Yasnaya Polyana; his companion was his personal physician Makovitsky. On the way, the writer was overtaken by illness, as a result of which they were forced to get off the train at Astapovo station. Here he was sheltered by the station chief, and the last week of the life of a world-famous writer, known among other things as a preacher of a new doctrine and a religious thinker, passed in his house. The whole country monitored his health, and when he died on November 20 (November 7, O.S.), 1910, his funeral turned into an all-Russian event.

The influence of Tolstoy, his ideological platform and artistic manner on the development of realistic direction in world literature is difficult to overestimate. In particular, its influence can be traced in the works of E. Hemingway, F. Mauriac, Rolland, B. Shaw, T. Mann, J. Galsworthy and others prominent figures literature.

Biography and episodes of life Leo Tolstoy. When born and died Leo Tolstoy, memorable places and dates important events his life. Writer quotes, photos and videos.

Years of Leo Tolstoy's life:

born September 9, 1828, died November 20, 1910

Epitaph

“I hear the sound of his speeches...
In the midst of general confusion
The Great Elder of Our Days
Calls you to the path of non-resistance.
Simple, clear words -
And who was imbued with their rays,
As if touched by a deity
And he speaks through his mouth.”
From a poem by Arkady Kots, dedicated to memory Tolstoy

Biography

The biography of Leo Tolstoy is the biography of the most famous Russian writer, whose works are still read all over the world. Even during Tolstoy's lifetime, his books were translated into many languages, and today his immortal works are included in the golden fund of world literature. But no less interesting is the personal, non-writer’s biography of Tolstoy, who spent his whole life trying to understand what the essence of man’s destiny was.

He was born on the Yasnaya Polyana estate, which today houses the Tolstoy Museum. The writer, who comes from a wealthy and noble count family, lost his mother as a child, and when it was time to go to university, he also lost his father, who left the family’s financial affairs in poor condition. Before entering Kazan University, Leo Tolstoy was raised by his relatives in Yasnaya Polyana. Studying was easy for Tolstoy; after Kazan University he studied Arabic-Turkish literature, but a conflict with one of the teachers forced him to quit his studies and return to Yasnaya Polyana. Already in those years, Tolstoy began to think about what his purpose was, what he should become. In his diaries, he set himself goals for self-improvement. He continued keeping diaries all his life, trying to answer important questions in them, analyzing his actions and judgments. Then, in Yasnaya Polyana, he began to develop a feeling of guilt towards the peasants - for the first time he opened a school for serf children, where he often taught classes himself. Soon Tolstoy went to Moscow again to prepare for his candidate exams, but the young landowner was carried away by social life And card games, which inevitably led to debt. And then, on the advice of his brother, Lev Nikolaevich left for the Caucasus, where he served for four years. In the Caucasus he began to write his famous trilogy"Childhood", "Adolescence" and "Youth", which later brought him great fame in literary circles Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Despite the fact that Tolstoy was warmly received upon his return and was included in all the secular salons of both capitals, over time the writer began to experience disappointment in his surroundings. His trip to Europe did not bring him any pleasure either. He returned to Yasnaya Polyana and began to improve it, and soon married a girl who was much younger than him. And at the same time he finished his story “Cossacks”, after which Tolstoy’s talent as a brilliant writer was recognized. Sofya Andreevna Bers gave birth to Tolstoy 13 children, and over the years he wrote Anna Karenina and War and Peace.

In Yasnaya Polyana, surrounded by his family and his peasants, Tolstoy again began to think about the purpose of man, about religion and theology, about pedagogy. His desire to get to the very essence of religion and human existence and the theological works that followed caused a negative reaction in the Orthodox Church. The writer's spiritual crisis affected everything - both his relationships with his family and his success in writing. Count Tolstoy's well-being ceased to bring him joy - he became a vegetarian, walked barefoot, did manual labor, and renounced the rights to his literary works, gave all his property to the family. Just before his death, Tolstoy quarreled with his wife and, wanting to live recent years life in accordance with his spiritual views, secretly left Yasnaya Polyana. On the way, the writer became seriously ill and died.

The funeral of Leo Tolstoy took place in Yasnaya Polyana, several thousand people came to say goodbye to the great writer - friends, fans, peasants, students. The ceremony did not take place according to the Orthodox rite, since the writer was excommunicated from the church in the early 1900s. Tolstoy's grave is located in Yasnaya Polyana - in the forest where once, as a child, Lev Nikolaevich was looking for the “green stick” that kept the secret of universal happiness.

Life line

September 9, 1828 Date of birth of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.
1844 Admission to Kazan University at the Department of Oriental Languages.
1847 Dismissal from the university.
1851 Departure for the Caucasus.
1852-1857 Writing an autobiographical trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence” and “Youth”.
1855 Moving to St. Petersburg, joining the Sovremennik circle.
1856 Resignation, return to Yasnaya Polyana.
1859 Tolstoy opens a school for peasant children.
1862 Marriage to Sophia Bers.
1863-1869 Writing the novel "War and Peace".
1873-1877 Writing the novel Anna Karenina.
1889-1899 Writing the novel "Resurrection".
November 10, 1910 Tolstoy's secret departure from Yasnaya Polyana.
November 20, 1910 Date of death of Tolstoy.
November 22, 1910 Farewell ceremony for the writer.
November 23, 1910 Tolstoy's funeral.

Memorable places

1. Yasnaya Polyana, estate of L. N. Tolstoy, state memorial and nature reserve where Tolstoy is buried.
2. Museum-estate of L. N. Tolstoy in Khamovniki.
3. Tolstoy’s house in childhood, the writer’s first Moscow address, where he was brought at the age of 7 and where he lived until 1838.
4. Tolstoy’s house in Moscow in 1850-1851, where it began literary activity.
5. The former Chevalier Hotel, where Tolstoy stayed, including shortly after his marriage with Sofia Tolstoy.
6. State Museum L.N. Tolstoy in Moscow.
7. Tolstoy Center on Pyatnitskaya, former house Vargina, where Tolstoy lived in 1857-1858.
8. Monument to Tolstoy in Moscow.
9. Kochakovsky necropolis, Tolstoy family cemetery.

Episodes of life

Tolstoy married Sofya Bers when she was 18 years old and he was 34. Before they got married, he confessed to his bride about his premarital affairs - the same thing that the hero of his work “Anna Karenina” Konstantin Levin later did. In letters to his grandmother, Tolstoy admitted: “I constantly feel as if I had stolen undeserved happiness that was not assigned to me. Here she comes, I hear her, and it’s so good.” For many years Sofya Tolstaya was her husband’s friend and ally, they were very happy, but with Tolstoy’s passion for theology and spiritual quests, omissions began to arise more and more often between the spouses.

Leo Tolstoy did not like War and Peace, his greatest and significant work. Once, in correspondence with Fet, the writer even called his famous epic “wordy rubbish.”

It is known that in the last years of his life Tolstoy gave up meat. He believed that meat-eating was not humane, and hoped that one day people would look at him with the same disgust as they now look at cannibalism.

Tolstoy believed that education in Russia was fundamentally wrong, and tried to contribute to changing it: he opened a school for peasant children, published a pedagogical magazine, wrote “ABC”, “New ABC” and “Books for Reading”. Despite the fact that he wrote these textbooks primarily for peasant children, more than one generation of children, including nobles, learned from them. The Russian poetess Anna Akhmatova taught Tolstoy letters using the ABC.

Covenant

“Everything comes to those who know how to wait.”

“Beware of everything that your conscience does not approve of.”

Documentary film "Living Tolstoy"

Condolences

“On November 7, 1910, not only did the life of one of the most extraordinary people who ever lived in the world end at the Astapovo station, but also some extraordinary human feat, a struggle extraordinary in its strength, length and difficulty...”
Ivan Bunin, writer

“The remarkable thing is that not a single one, not only from the Russians, but also from foreign writers, did not and now does not have such global significance as Tolstoy. None of the writers abroad was as popular as Tolstoy. This one fact in itself indicates the significance of this man’s talent.”
Sergei Witte, statesman

“I sincerely regret the death of the great writer, who, during the heyday of his talent, embodied in his works the images of one of the glorious times of Russian life. May the Lord God be his merciful judge.”
Nicholas II Alexandrovich, Russian Emperor

The great Russian writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is known for the authorship of many works, namely: War and Peace, Anna Karenina and others. The study of his biography and creativity continues to this day.

The philosopher and writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born into a noble family. He inherited from his father count's title. His life began on a large family estate in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, which left a significant imprint on his future fate.

Classmates

Life of L. N. Tolstoy

He was born on September 9, 1828. While still a child, Leo experienced many difficult moments in life. After his parents died, he and his sisters were raised by their aunt. After her death, when he was 13 years old, he had to move to Kazan to be under the care of a distant relative. Lev's primary education took place at home. At the age of 16 he entered the philological faculty of Kazan University. However, it was impossible to say that he was successful in his studies. This forced Tolstoy to transfer to an easier, law faculty. After 2 years, he returned to Yasnaya Polyana, never fully mastering the granite of science.

Due to Tolstoy's changeable character, he tried himself in different industries, interests and priorities often changed. The work was interspersed with protracted sprees and revelry. During this period, they incurred a lot of debts, which they had to pay off for a long time. The only passion of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, which remained stable throughout his life, was conducting personal diary. From there he later drew the most interesting ideas for your works.

Tolstoy was partial to music. His favorite composers are Bach, Schumann, Chopin and Mozart. At a time when Tolstoy had not yet formed main position regarding his future, he succumbed to his brother's persuasion. At his instigation, he went to serve in the army as a cadet. During his service he was forced to participate in 1855.

Early works of L. N. Tolstoy

Being a cadet, he had enough free time to start his creative activity. During this period, Lev began to study history of an autobiographical nature called Childhood. For the most part, it contained facts that happened to him when he was still a child. The story was sent for consideration to Sovremennik magazine. It was approved and released into circulation in 1852.

After the first publication, Tolstoy was noticed and began to be equated with significant personalities of that time, namely: I. Turgenev, I. Goncharov, A. Ostrovsky and others.

During those same army years, he began work on the story Cossacks, which he completed in 1862. The second work after Childhood was Adolescence, then Sevastopol Stories. He was engaged in them while participating in the Crimean battles.

Traveling around Europe

In 1856 L.N. Tolstoy left military service with the rank of lieutenant. I decided to travel for a while. First he went to St. Petersburg, where he was given a warm welcome. There he established friendly contacts with popular writers of that period: N. A. Nekrasov, I. S. Goncharov, I. I. Panaev and others. They showed genuine interest in him and took part in his fate. The Blizzard and Two Hussars were written at this time.

Having lived a cheerful and carefree life for 1 year, having ruined relations with many members of the literary circle, Tolstoy decides to leave this city. In 1857, his journey through Europe began.

Leo did not like Paris at all and left a heavy mark on his soul. From there he went to Lake Geneva. Having visited many countries, he returned to Russia with a load of negative emotions. Who and what amazed him so much? Most likely, this is too sharp a polarity between wealth and poverty, which was covered with feigned splendor European culture. And this could be seen everywhere.

L.N. Tolstoy writes the story Albert, continues to work on the Cossacks, wrote the story Three Deaths and Family happiness. In 1859 he stopped collaborating with Sovremennik. At the same time, Tolstoy began to notice changes in his personal life, when he planned to marry the peasant woman Aksinya Bazykina.

After the death of his older brother, Tolstoy went on a trip to the south of France.

Returning home

From 1853 to 1863 his literary activity was suspended due to his departure to his homeland. There he decided to do farming. At the same time, Leo himself carried out an active educational activities among the village population. He created a school for peasant children and began teaching according to his own methods.

In 1862, he himself created a pedagogical magazine called Yasnaya Polyana. Under his leadership, 12 publications were published, which were not appreciated at the time. Their nature was as follows - he alternated theoretical articles with fables and stories for children entry level education.

Six years from his life from 1863 to 1869, went to write the main masterpiece - War and Peace. Next on the list was the novel Anna Karenina. It took another 4 years. During this period, his worldview was fully formed and resulted in a movement called Tolstoyism. The foundations of this religious and philosophical movement are set out in the following works of Tolstoy:

• Confession.
• Kreutzer Sonata.
• A Study of Dogmatic Theology.
• About life.
• Christian teaching and others.

Main accent they are based on moral dogmas human nature and their improvement. He called for forgiveness of those who bring us harm and renunciation of violence when achieving our goals.

The flow of admirers of L.N. Tolstoy’s work did not stop coming to Yasnaya Polyana, looking for support and a mentor in him. In 1899, the novel Resurrection was published.

Social activities

Returning from Europe, he received an invitation to become the bailiff of the Krapivinsky district of the Tula province. He actively joined the active process of protecting the rights of the peasantry, often going against the tsar's decrees. This work broadened Leo's horizons. Closer encounter with peasant life, he began to better understand all the subtleties. The information received later helped him in his literary work.

Creativity flourishes

Before starting to write the novel War and Peace, Tolstoy began writing another novel, The Decembrists. Tolstoy returned to it several times, but was never able to complete it. In 1865, a small excerpt from War and Peace appeared in the Russian Bulletin. After 3 years, three more parts were released, and then all the rest. This created a real sensation in Russian and foreign literature. In the novel the most in detail different segments of the population are described.

TO latest works writers include:

• stories Father Sergius;
• After the ball.
• Posthumous notes of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich.
• drama Living Corpse.

The character of his latest journalism can be traced conservative attitude. He harshly condemns idle life upper strata who do not think about the meaning of life. L.N. Tolstoy harshly criticized state dogmas, rejecting everything: science, art, court, and so on. The Synod itself reacted to such an attack and in 1901 Tolstoy was excommunicated from the church.

In 1910, Lev Nikolaevich left his family and fell ill on the way. He had to get off the train at Astapovo Uralskaya station railway. He spent the last week of his life in the house of the local station master, where he died.