The classic of Russian literature, Leo Tolstoy, was born on September 9, 1828, into the noble family of Nikolai Tolstoy and his wife Maria Nikolaevna. The father and mother of the future writer were nobles and belonged to revered families, so the family lived comfortably in their own estate, Yasnaya Polyana, located in the Tula region.
Leo Tolstoy spent his childhood in the family estate. In these places, he first saw the course of the life of the working people, heard the abundance of old legends, parables, fairy tales, and here his first attraction to literature arose. Yasnaya Polyana is a place to which the writer returned at all stages of his life, drawing wisdom, beauty, and inspiration.
Despite his noble origin, Tolstoy had to learn the bitterness of orphanhood since childhood, because the mother of the future writer died when the boy was only two years old. The father passed away not much later, when Leo was seven years old. First, the grandmother took custody of the children, and after her death - aunt Palageya Yushkova, who took the four children of the Tolstoy family with her to Kazan.
growing up
Six years of living in Kazan became the informal years of the writer's growing up, because at this time his character and worldview are formed. In 1844, Leo Tolstoy entered Kazan University, first at the eastern department, then, not finding himself in the study of Arabic and Turkish, at the Faculty of Law.
The writer did not show significant interest in studying law, but he understood the need for a diploma. After passing the exams externally, in 1847 Lev Nikolayevich received a long-awaited document and returned to Yasnaya Polyana, and then to Moscow, where he began to engage in literary work.
Military service
Not having time to finish the two conceived stories, in the spring of 1851 Tolstoy went to the Caucasus with his brother Nikolai and began military service. The young writer takes part in the military operations of the Russian army, acts among the defenders of the Crimean peninsula, liberates his native land from Turkish and Anglo-French troops. Years of service gave Leo Tolstoy invaluable experience, knowledge of the life of ordinary soldiers and citizens, their characters, heroism, aspirations.
The years of service are vividly reflected in Tolstoy's stories "The Cossacks", "Hadji Murad", as well as in the stories "Degraded", "Cutting the Forest", "Raid".
Literary and social activities
Returning to St. Petersburg in 1855, Leo Tolstoy was already well-known in literary circles. Remembering the respectful attitude towards serfs in his father's house, the writer strongly supports the abolition of serfdom, clarifying this issue in the stories "Polikushka", "Morning of the landowner", etc.
In an effort to see the world, in 1857 Lev Nikolayevich went on a trip abroad, visiting the countries of Western Europe. Getting acquainted with the cultural traditions of the peoples, the master of the word fixes the information in his memory in order to display the most important moments in his work later.
Actively engaged in social activities, Tolstoy opens a school in Yasnaya Polyana. The writer strongly criticizes corporal punishment, which was widely practiced at that time in educational institutions in Europe and Russia. In order to improve the educational system, Lev Nikolaevich publishes a pedagogical magazine called Yasnaya Polyana, and in the early 70s he compiled several textbooks for younger students, including Arithmetic, ABC, Books for Reading. These developments were effectively used in the education of several more generations of children.
Personal life and creativity
In 1862, the writer connected his fate with the daughter of the doctor Andrei Bers, Sophia. The young family settled in Yasnaya Polyana, where Sofya Andreevna diligently tried to provide an atmosphere for her husband's literary work. At this time, Leo Tolstoy is actively working on the creation of the epic "War and Peace", and also, reflecting life in Russia after the reform, writes the novel "Anna Karenina".
In the 1980s, Tolstoy moved with his family to Moscow, seeking to educate his growing children. Observing the hungry life of ordinary people, Lev Nikolayevich contributes to the opening of about 200 free tables for those in need. Also at this time, the writer publishes a number of topical articles about the famine, vividly condemning the policies of the rulers.
The period of literature of the 80-90s includes: the story "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", the drama "The Power of Darkness", the comedy "The Fruits of Enlightenment", the novel "Sunday". For a bright attitude against religion and autocracy, Leo Tolstoy is excommunicated from the church.
last years of life
In 1901-1902 the writer was seriously ill. For the purpose of a speedy recovery, the doctor strongly recommends a trip to the Crimea, where Leo Tolstoy spends six months. The prose writer's last trip to Moscow took place in 1909.
Beginning in 1881, the writer seeks to leave Yasnaya Polyana and retire, but remains, not wanting to hurt his wife and children. On October 28, 1910, Leo Tolstoy still decides to take a conscious step and live the rest of the years in a simple hut, refusing all honors.
An unexpected illness on the road becomes an obstacle to the writer's plans and he spends his last seven days of his life in the house of the head of the station. The day of death of an outstanding literary and public figure was November 20, 1910.
Lev Tolstoy- the most famous Russian writer, famous throughout the world for his works.
short biography
Born in 1828 in the Tula province in a noble family. He spent his childhood in the Yasnaya Polyana estate, where he received his primary education at home. He had three brothers and a sister. His guardians raised him, so in early childhood, at the birth of his sister, his mother died, and later, in 1840, his father, because of which the whole family moved to relatives in Kazan. There he studied at Kazan University at two faculties, but decided to quit his studies and return to his native places.
Tolstoy spent two years in the army in the Caucasus. Bravely participated in several battles and was even awarded the Order for the defense of Sevastopol. He could have had a good military career, but he wrote several songs that made fun of the military command, as a result of which he had to leave the army.
At the end of the 50s, Lev Nikolaevich set off to travel around Europe and returned to Russia after the abolition of serfdom. Even during his travels, he was disappointed with the European way of life, as he saw a very large contrast between rich and poor. That is why, when he returned to Russia, he was glad that the peasants had now risen.
He married, 13 children were born in marriage, 5 of whom died in childhood. His wife, Sophia, helped her husband by rewriting all the creations of her husband in neat handwriting.
He opened several schools, in which he furnished everything according to his desire. He himself compiled the school curriculum - or rather, the lack of it. Discipline did not play a key role for him, he wanted the children themselves to be drawn to knowledge, so the main task of the teacher was to interest the students so that they wanted to learn.
He was excommunicated because Tolstoy put forward his theories about what the church should be like. Just a month before his death, he decided to secretly leave his native estate. As a result of the trip, he became very ill and died on November 7, 1910. The writer was buried in Yasnaya Polyana near the ravine, where he loved to play with his brothers as a child.
Literary contribution
Lev Nikolaevich began to write while still studying at the University - basically these were homework assignments comparing various literary works. It is believed that it was because of literature that he dropped out - he wanted to devote all his free time to reading.
In the army, he worked on his "Sevastopol stories", and also, as already mentioned, composed songs for his colleagues. Upon returning from the army, he took part in a literary circle in St. Petersburg, from where he went to Europe. He was well aware of the peculiarities of people and tried to reflect this in his works.
Tolstoy wrote many different works, but he gained worldwide fame thanks to two novels - "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina", in which he accurately reflected the life of people of those times.
The contribution of this great writer to world culture is enormous - it was thanks to him that many people learned about Russia. His works are published to this day, performances are staged and films are made on them.
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Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich (28.08. (09.09.) 1828-07(20.11.1910)
Russian writer, philosopher. Born in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, in a wealthy aristocratic family. Entered Kazan University, but then left it. At the age of 23 he went to war with Chechnya and Dagestan. Here he began to write the trilogy "Childhood", "Boyhood", "Youth".
In the Caucasus, he participated in hostilities as an artillery officer. During the Crimean War, he went to Sevastopol, where he continued to fight. After the end of the war, he left for St. Petersburg and published Sevastopol Tales in the Sovremennik magazine, which clearly reflected his outstanding writing talent. In 1857 Tolstoy went on a journey through Europe, which disappointed him.
From 1853 to 1863 wrote the story "Cossacks", after which he decided to interrupt his literary activity and become a landowner, doing educational work in the village. To this end, he left for Yasnaya Polyana, where he opened a school for peasant children and created his own system of pedagogy.
In 1863-1869. wrote his fundamental work "War and Peace". In 1873-1877. wrote the novel Anna Karenina. In the same years, the writer's worldview, known as "Tolstoyism", was fully formed, the essence of which can be seen in the works: "Confession", "What is my faith?", "The Kreutzer Sonata".
The doctrine is set forth in the philosophical and religious works "Study of dogmatic theology", "Combining and translating the four Gospels", where the main emphasis is on the moral improvement of a person, denunciation of evil, non-resistance to evil by violence.
Later, a dilogy was published: the drama "The Power of Darkness" and the comedy "The Fruits of Enlightenment", then a series of stories-parables about the laws of being.
From all over Russia and the world, admirers of the writer's work came to Yasnaya Polyana, whom they treated as a spiritual mentor. In 1899, the novel "Resurrection" was published.
The last works of the writer are the stories "Father Sergius", "After the Ball", "The Posthumous Notes of the Elder Fyodor Kuzmich" and the drama "The Living Corpse".
Tolstoy's confessional journalism gives a detailed idea of his spiritual drama: drawing pictures of social inequality and the idleness of the educated strata, Tolstoy in a harsh form posed questions of the meaning of life and faith to society, criticized all state institutions, reaching the denial of science, art, court, marriage, achievements of civilization.
Tolstoy's social declaration is based on the idea of Christianity as a moral doctrine, and the ethical ideas of Christianity are comprehended by him in a humanistic key, as the basis of the universal brotherhood of people. In 1901, the reaction of the Synod followed: the world famous writer was officially excommunicated, which caused a huge public outcry.
On October 28, 1910, Tolstoy secretly left Yasnaya Polyana from his family, fell ill on the way and was forced to leave the train at the small Astapovo railway station of the Ryazan-Ural Railway. Here, in the stationmaster's house, he spent the last seven days of his life.
Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy is one of the greatest novelists in the world. He is not only the world's largest writer, but also a philosopher, religious thinker and educator. You will learn more about all this from this.
But where he really succeeded was in keeping a personal diary. This habit inspired him to write his novels and stories, and also allowed him to form most of his life goals and priorities.
An interesting fact is that this nuance of Tolstoy's biography (keeping a diary) was the result of imitation of the great.
Hobbies and military service
Naturally, Leo Tolstoy had. He was extremely fond of music. His favorite composers were Bach, Handel and.
From his biography it clearly follows that sometimes he could play works by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Schumann on the piano for several hours in a row.
It is authentically known that the elder brother of Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai, had a great influence on him. He was a friend and mentor of the future writer.
It was Nicholas who invited his younger brother to join military service in the Caucasus. As a result, Leo Tolstoy became a cadet, and in 1854 he was transferred to, where he participated in the Crimean War until August 1855.
Creativity Tolstoy
During the service, Lev Nikolaevich had quite a lot of free time. During this period, he wrote the autobiographical story "Childhood", in which he masterfully described the memories of the first years of his life.
This work was an important event for compiling his biography.
After that, Leo Tolstoy writes the following story - "Cossacks", in which he describes his army life in the Caucasus.
Work on this work was carried out until 1862, and was completed only after serving in the army.
An interesting fact is that Tolstoy did not stop his writing activity even while participating in the Crimean War.
During this period, from under his pen comes the story "Boyhood", which is a continuation of "Childhood", as well as "Sevastopol stories".
After the end of the Crimean War, Tolstoy leaves the service. Upon arrival home, he already has great fame in the literary field.
His distinguished contemporaries talk about a major acquisition for Russian literature in the person of Tolstoy.
While still young, Tolstoy was distinguished by arrogance and stubbornness, which is clearly visible in him. He refused to belong to one or another philosophical school, and once publicly called himself an anarchist, after which he decided to leave for in 1857.
He soon developed an interest in gambling. But it didn't last long. When he lost all his savings, he had to return home from Europe.
Leo Tolstoy in his youth By the way, the passion for gambling is observed in the biographies of many writers.
Despite all the difficulties, he writes the last, third part of his autobiographical trilogy "Youth". It happened in the same 1857.
Since 1862, Tolstoy began to publish the pedagogical journal Yasnaya Polyana, where he himself was the main contributor. However, not having a calling as a publisher, Tolstoy managed to publish only 12 issues.
Family of Leo Tolstoy
On September 23, 1862, a sharp turn takes place in Tolstoy's biography: he marries Sofya Andreevna Bers, who was the daughter of a doctor. From this marriage, 9 sons and 4 daughters were born. Five of the thirteen children died in childhood.
When the wedding took place, Sofya Andreevna was only 18 years old, and Count Tolstoy was 34 years old. An interesting fact is that before his marriage, Tolstoy confessed to his future wife in his premarital affairs.
Leo Tolstoy with his wife Sofia Andreevna For some time in the biography of Tolstoy, the brightest period begins.
He is truly happy, and largely due to the practicality of his wife, material wealth, outstanding literary creativity and, in connection with it, all-Russian and even worldwide fame.
In the person of his wife, Tolstoy found an assistant in all matters, practical and literary. In the absence of a secretary, it was she who several times copied his drafts cleanly.
However, very soon their happiness is overshadowed by the inevitable petty quarrels, fleeting quarrels and mutual misunderstanding, which only gets worse over the years.
The fact is that Leo Tolstoy proposed a kind of “life plan” for his family, according to which he intended to give part of the family income to the poor and schools.
The way of life of his family (food and clothing), he wanted to greatly simplify, while he intended to sell and distribute "everything superfluous": pianos, furniture, carriages.
Tolstoy with his family at the tea table in the park, 1892, Yasnaya Polyana Naturally, his wife, Sofya Andreevna, was clearly not satisfied with such an ambiguous plan. On the basis of this, their first serious conflict broke out, which served as the beginning of an "undeclared war" to secure the future of their children.
In 1892, Tolstoy signed a separate act and, not wanting to be the owner, transferred all the property to his wife and children.
It must be said that Tolstoy's biography is in many ways extraordinarily contradictory precisely because of his relationship with his wife, with whom he lived for 48 years.
Tolstoy's works
Tolstoy is one of the most prolific writers. His works are large-scale not only in terms of volume, but also in terms of the meanings that he touches on them.
The most popular works of Tolstoy are "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina" and "Resurrection".
"War and Peace"
In the 1860s, Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy lived with his entire family in Yasnaya Polyana. It was here that his most famous novel, War and Peace, was born.
Initially, part of the novel was published in the Russian Messenger under the title "1805".
After 3 years, 3 more chapters appear, thanks to which the novel was completely over. He was destined to become the most outstanding creative result in Tolstoy's biography.
Both critics and the public have long discussed the work "War and Peace". The subject of their disputes were the wars described in the book.
Thoughtful but still fictional characters were also sharply discussed.
Tolstoy in 1868 The novel also became interesting because it featured 3 meaningful satirical essays on the laws of history.
Among all other ideas, Leo Tolstoy tried to convey to the reader that the position of a person in society and the meaning of his life are derivatives of his daily activities.
"Anna Karenina"
After Tolstoy wrote War and Peace, he began work on his second, no less famous novel, Anna Karenina.
The writer contributed many autobiographical essays to it. This is easy to see when looking at the relationship between Kitty and Levin, the main characters in Anna Karenina.
The work was published in parts between 1873-1877, and was very highly appreciated by both critics and society. Many have noticed that Anna Karenina is practically Tolstoy's autobiography, written in the third person.
For his next work, Lev Nikolaevich received fabulous fees for those times.
"Resurrection"
In the late 1880s, Tolstoy wrote the novel Resurrection. Its plot was based on a genuine court case. It is in the "Resurrection" that the author's sharp views on church rites are clearly indicated.
By the way, this work was one of the reasons that led to a complete break between the Orthodox Church and Count Tolstoy.
Tolstoy and religion
Despite the fact that the works described above were a tremendous success, this did not bring any joy to the writer.
He was in a depressed state and experienced a deep inner emptiness.
In this regard, the next stage in Tolstoy's biography was a continuous, almost convulsive search for the meaning of life.
Initially, Lev Nikolayevich looked for answers to questions in the Orthodox Church, but this did not bring him any results.
Over time, he began to criticize in every possible way both the Orthodox Church itself and the Christian religion in general. He began to publish his thoughts on these acute issues in the media outlet.
His main position was that the Christian teaching is good, but Jesus Christ himself seems to be unnecessary. That is why he decided to make his own translation of the Gospel.
In general, Tolstoy's religious views were extremely complex and confusing. It was some incredible mixture of Christianity and Buddhism, seasoned with various Eastern beliefs.
In 1901, the decision of the Holy Governing Synod on Count Leo Tolstoy was issued.
It was a decree that officially announced that Leo Tolstoy was no longer a member of the Orthodox Church, since his publicly expressed convictions were incompatible with such membership.
The definition of the Holy Synod is sometimes erroneously interpreted as excommunication (anathema) of Tolstoy from the church.
Copyright and conflict with his wife
In connection with his new beliefs, Leo Tolstoy wanted to distribute all his savings and give up his own property in favor of the poor. However, his wife, Sofya Andreevna, expressed a categorical protest in this regard.
In this regard, the main family crisis was outlined in Tolstoy's biography. When Sofya Andreevna found out that her husband had publicly renounced the copyright to all his works (which, in fact, was their main source of income), they began to have violent conflicts.
From Tolstoy's diary:
“She does not understand, and the children do not understand, spending money, that everyone who lives by them and makes money with books is suffering, my shame. Let it be a shame, but what a weakening of the effect that the preaching of the truth could have had.
Of course, it is not difficult to understand the wife of Lev Nikolayevich. After all, they had 9 children, whom he, by and large, left without a livelihood.
Pragmatic, rational and active Sofya Andreevna could not allow this to happen.
Ultimately, Tolstoy made a formal will, transferring the rights to his youngest daughter, Alexandra Lvovna, who fully sympathized with his views.
At the same time, an explanatory note was attached to the will that in fact these texts should not become someone's property, and V.G. takes over the authority to monitor the processes. Chertkov is a faithful follower and student of Tolstoy, who was supposed to take all the writings of the writer, right down to drafts.
Later work of Tolstoy
Tolstoy's later works were realistic fiction, as well as stories filled with moral content.
In 1886, one of Tolstoy's most famous stories appeared - "The Death of Ivan Ilyich".
Her main character realizes that he has wasted most of his life, and the realization came too late.
In 1898, Lev Nikolaevich wrote the equally famous work Father Sergius. In it, he criticized his own beliefs that he had after his spiritual rebirth.
The rest of the works are devoted to the theme of art. These include the play The Living Corpse (1890) and the brilliant story Hadji Murad (1904).
In 1903 Tolstoy wrote a short story called "After the Ball." It was published only in 1911, after the death of the writer.
last years of life
The last years of his biography, Leo Tolstoy was better known as a religious leader and moral authority. His thoughts were directed towards resisting evil in a non-violent way.
Even during his lifetime, Tolstoy became an idol for the majority. However, despite all his achievements, there were serious flaws in his family life, which were especially aggravated in old age.
Leo Tolstoy with grandchildren The writer's wife, Sofya Andreevna, did not agree with her husband's views and felt hostility towards some of his followers, who often came to Yasnaya Polyana.
She said: "How can you love humanity, and hate those who are next to you."
All this could not last long.
In the autumn of 1910, Tolstoy, accompanied only by his doctor D.P. Makovitsky leaves Yasnaya Polyana forever. However, he did not have any specific plan of action.
Death of Tolstoy
However, on the way, Leo Tolstoy felt unwell. First, he caught a cold, and then the disease turned into pneumonia, in connection with which he had to interrupt the trip and take the sick Lev Nikolayevich out of the train at the first large station near the village.
This station was Astapovo (now Leo Tolstoy, Lipetsk region).
The rumor about the writer's illness instantly spread throughout the neighborhood and far beyond. Six doctors tried in vain to save the great old man: the disease progressed inexorably.
On November 7, 1910, Leo Tolstoy died at the age of 83. He was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.
“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 years of Russian life. May the Lord God be his merciful judge.”
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Very short biography (in a nutshell)
Born September 9, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province. Father - Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (1794-1837), military officer, official. Mother - Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya (1790 - 1830). In 1844 he entered the Imperial Kazan University, which he left after 2 years. Since 1851 he spent 2 years in the Caucasus. In 1854 he participated in the defense of Sevastopol. From 1857 to 1861 (with interruptions) he traveled around Europe. In 1862 he married Sophia Bers. They had 9 sons and 4 daughters. Also, he had an illegitimate son. In 1869 Tolstoy completed the book War and Peace. In 1901 he was excommunicated from the church. He died November 20, 1910 at the age of 82. Buried at Yasnaya Polyana. Major works: "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina", "Resurrection", "Childhood", "Kreutzer Sonata", "After the Ball" and others.
Brief biography (detailed)
Leo Tolstoy is a great Russian writer and thinker, an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and an academician of fine literature. Tolstoy is revered and widely known throughout the world as the greatest educator, publicist and religious thinker. His ideas contributed to the emergence of a new religious trend called Tolstoyism. He wrote such works of world classics as "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina", "Hadji Murad". Some of his works have been repeatedly filmed both in Russia and abroad.
Lev Nikolayevich was born on September 9, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, into a wealthy noble family. He studied at Kazan University, which he later left. At the age of 23, he went to war in the Caucasus, where he began to write a trilogy: "Childhood", "Boyhood", "Youth". Then he participated in the Crimean War, after which he returned to St. Petersburg. Here he published his Sevastopol Tales in the Sovremennik magazine. In the period from 1853 to 1863, Tolstoy wrote the story "The Cossacks", but was forced to interrupt work in order to return to Yasnaya Polyana and open a school for rural children there. He managed to create his own teaching methods.
Tolstoy wrote his most significant work, War and Peace, from 1863 to 1869. The next, no less brilliant work, Anna Karenina, was written by the author from 1873 to 1877. At the same time, the formation of his philosophical views on life, which were later called "Tolstoyism", took place. The essence of these views can be seen in the "Confession", in the "Kreutzer Sonata" and some other works. Thanks to Tolstoy, Yasnaya Polyana became a kind of place of worship. People from all over Russia came to listen to him as a spiritual mentor. In 1901, the world famous writer was officially excommunicated.
In October 1910, Tolstoy secretly left the house and left by train. On the way, he fell ill and was forced to get off at Astapovo, where he spent the last seven days of his life in the house of the head of the station, I. I. Ozolin. The great writer died on November 20 at the age of 82 and was buried in the forest in Yasnaya Polyana on the edge of a ravine, where he played with his brother as a child.
Video short biography (for those who prefer to listen)
