Where was the writer Leo Tolstoy born? Serene life in Yasnaya Polyana

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) - Russian writer, publicist, thinker, educator, was a corresponding member at Imperial Academy Sciences. Considered one of the greatest writers peace. His works have been repeatedly screened at world film studios, and plays are staged on world stages.

Childhood

Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana Krapivinsky district, Tula province. Here was the estate of his mother, which she inherited. The Tolstoy family had very branched noble and count roots. In the highest aristocratic world, there were relatives of the future writer everywhere. Whom only was not in his relatives - an adventurer and an admiral, a chancellor and an artist, a maid of honor and the first secular beauty, a general and a minister.

Leo's father, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, was a man with a good education, took part in the foreign campaigns of the Russian military against Napoleon, fell into French captivity, from where he fled, retired as a lieutenant colonel. When his father died, solid debts were inherited, and Nikolai Ilyich was forced to get a bureaucratic job. To save his frustrated financial component of the inheritance, Nikolai Tolstoy was legally married to Princess Maria Nikolaevna, who was no longer young and came from the Volkonskys. Despite a small calculation, the marriage turned out to be very happy. The couple had 5 children. The brothers of the future writer Kolya, Seryozha, Mitya and sister Masha. The lion was the fourth among all.

After the last daughter, Maria, was born, the mother began to have "delivery fever." She died in 1830. Leo was not even two years old then. What a wonderful storyteller she was. Perhaps this is where it came from early love Tolstoy to literature. Five children were left without a mother. Their upbringing had to deal with a distant relative, T.A. Ergolskaya.

In 1837, the Tolstoys left for Moscow, where they settled on Plyushchikha. The older brother, Nikolai, was going to enter the university. But very soon and quite unexpectedly, the father of the Tolstoy family died. His financial affairs were not completed, and the three smallest children had to return to Yasnaya Polyana to be raised by Yergolskaya and his paternal aunt, Countess Osten-Saken A.M. It was here that Leo Tolstoy spent his entire childhood.

The young years of the writer

After the death of Aunt Osten-Saken in 1843, the children were waiting for another move, this time to Kazan under the guardianship of their father's sister P. I. Yushkova. Leo Tolstoy received his primary education at home, his teachers were the good-natured German Reselman and the French tutor Saint-Thomas. In the autumn of 1844, following his brothers, Lev became a student at the Kazan Imperial University. At first he studied at the Faculty of Oriental Literature, later transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he studied for less than two years. He understood that this was absolutely not the occupation to which he would like to devote his life.

In the early spring of 1847, Leo dropped out of school and went to Yasnaya Polyana, which he inherited. At the same time, he began to keep his famous diary, adopting this idea from Benjamin Franklin, whose biography he was well acquainted with at the university. Just like the wisest American politician, Tolstoy set certain goals for himself and tried with all his might to fulfill them, analyzed his failures and victories, actions and thoughts. This diary went with the writer through his whole life.

In Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy tried to build new relationships with the peasants, and also engaged in:

• learning English;
• jurisprudence;
• pedagogy;
• music;
• charity.

In the autumn of 1848, Tolstoy went to Moscow, where he planned to prepare for and pass his candidate's exams. Instead, a completely different secular life opened up for him, with its excitement and card games. In the winter of 1849, Lev moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, where he continued to spree and wild image life. In the spring of this year, he began taking exams for a candidate of rights, but, having changed his mind about going to last exam, returned to Yasnaya Polyana.

Here he continued to lead an almost metropolitan lifestyle - cards and hunting. Nevertheless, in 1849, Lev Nikolayevich opened a school for the children of peasants in Yasnaya Polyana, where he sometimes taught himself, but mostly the lessons were taught by the serf Foka Demidovich.

Military service

At the end of 1850, Tolstoy began work on his first work, the famous Childhood trilogy. At the same time, Lev received an offer from his older brother Nikolai, who served in the Caucasus, to join the military service. The elder brother was an authority for Leo. After the death of his parents, he became the best writer and true friend and a mentor. At first, Lev Nikolaevich thought about the service, but a large gambling debt in Moscow accelerated the decision. Tolstoy left for the Caucasus and in the autumn of 1851 he entered the service of a cadet in an artillery brigade near Kizlyar.

Here he continued to work on the work "Childhood", which he finished writing in the summer of 1852 and decided to send it to the most popular literary magazine of that time, Sovremennik. He signed with the initials "L. N. T.” and attached with the manuscript small letter:

“I look forward to your verdict. He will either encourage me to write more or make me burn everything.”

At that time, the editor of Sovremennik was N. A. Nekrasov and literary value Manuscript "Childhood" he recognized immediately. The work was published and was a huge success.

military life Lev Nikolaevich was too intense:

• more than once he was in danger in skirmishes with the mountaineers commanded by Shamil;
• when the Crimean War began, he transferred to the Danube army and took part in the battle of Oltenitsa;
• participated in the siege of Silistria;
• in the battle of Chernaya he commanded a battery;
• during the assault on Malakhov Kurgan came under bombardment;
• held the defense of Sevastopol.

Behind military service Lev Nikolaevich received the following awards:

• Order of St. Anne 4th degree "For Bravery";
• medal "In memory of the war of 1853-1856";
• Medal "For the Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855"

The brave officer Leo Tolstoy had every chance of military career. But he was only interested in writing. During the service, he did not stop writing and sending his stories to Sovremennik. The Sevastopol Tales, published in 1856, finally approved him as a new literary trend in Russia, and Tolstoy left military service forever.

Literary activity

He returned to St. Petersburg, where he made close acquaintances with N. A. Nekrasov, I. S. Turgenev, I. S. Goncharov. During his stay in St. Petersburg, he released several of his new works:

• "Blizzard",
• "Youth",
• Sevastopol in August
• "Two Hussars".

But very soon the secular life got sick of him, and Tolstoy decided to travel around Europe. He visited Germany, Switzerland, England, France, Italy. All the advantages and disadvantages he saw, the emotions he received, he described in his works.

Returning from abroad in 1862, Lev Nikolaevich married Sofya Andreevna Bers. The brightest period began in his life, his wife became his absolute assistant in all matters, and Tolstoy could calmly do his favorite thing - composing works that later became world masterpieces.

Family, death and memory

In marriage with his wife and love, Lev Nikolayevich lived for almost 50 years, they had 13 children, five of whom died while still young. There are a lot of descendants of Lev Nikolaevich all over the world. Once every two years they gather in Yasnaya Polyana.

In life, Tolstoy always adhered to his certain principles. He wanted to be as close to the people as possible. He loved very much ordinary people.

In 1910, Lev Nikolaevich left Yasnaya Polyana, embarking on a journey that would suit his life views. Only his doctor went with him. There were no specific goals. He went to Optina Hermitage, then to the Shamorda Monastery, then he went to his niece in Novocherkassk. But the writer became ill, after suffering a cold, pneumonia began.

In the Lipetsk region, at the Astapovo station, Tolstoy was taken off the train, taken to the hospital, six doctors tried to save his life, but Lev Nikolaevich quietly answered their proposals: "God will arrange everything." After a whole week of heavy and painful shortness of breath, the writer died at the house of the head of the station on November 20, 1910 at the age of 82.

The estate in Yasnaya Polyana, together with the natural beauty that surrounds it, is a museum-reserve. Three more museums of the writer are located in the village of Nikolskoye-Vyazemskoye, in Moscow and at the Astapovo station. Moscow also has the State Museum of Leo Tolstoy.

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 work continues to this day.

Philosopher and writer Leo Tolstoy was born in noble family. He inherited from his father county title. His life began in a large family estate in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, which left a significant imprint on his future fate.

Life of Leo Tolstoy

He was born on September 9, 1828. As a child, Leo experienced many difficult moments in his life. After his parents died, he and his sisters were raised by an aunt. After her death, when he was 13 years old, he had to move to Kazan to a distant relative under guardianship. Elementary education Leo passed at home. At the age of 16 he entered the Faculty of Philology of Kazan University. However, it was impossible to say that he was successful in his studies. This forced Tolstoy to move to a lighter, law faculty. After 2 years, he returned to Yasnaya Polyana, having not mastered the granite of science to the end.

Due to the changeable nature of Tolstoy, he tried himself in different industries interests and priorities changed frequently. The work was interspersed with protracted sprees and revels. During this period, they made a lot of debts, which they had to pay off for a long time. The only predilection of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, which has been stably preserved for the rest of his life, is the keeping of a personal diary. From there he scooped then the most interesting ideas for his works.

Tolstoy was not indifferent 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 the service he was forced to participate in the 1855 year.

Early work of L. N. Tolstoy

Being a junker, he had enough free time to start his creative activity. During this period, Lev began to deal with an autobiographical history called Childhood. For the most part, it outlined the facts that happened to him when he was still a child. The story was sent for consideration to Sovremennik magazine. It was approved and put 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.

In the same army years, he began work on the story of the 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.

Euro-trip

In 1856 L. N. Tolstoy left military service with the rank of lieutenant. Decided to travel for a while. First he went to 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. At this time, Blizzard and Two Hussars were painted.

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

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 surprised him so much? Most likely - this is too sharp a polarity between wealth and poverty, which was covered with feigned splendor European culture. And it showed up 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 working with Sovremennik. At the same time, Tolstoy made changes in his personal life, when he planned to marry a peasant woman Aksinya Bazykina.

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

Homecoming

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

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

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

• Confession.
• Kreutzer Sonata.
• Study of dogmatic theology.
• About life.
• Christian teaching and others.

Main focus they are based on the moral dogmas of human nature and their improvement. He called to forgive those who bring us evil, and to renounce violence in achieving their goal.

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

Social activity

Returning from Europe, he received an invitation to become a superintendent 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 royal decrees. This work broadened Leo's horizons. Faced closer with peasant life, he began to understand all the subtleties better. The information received later helped him in literary work.

The heyday of creativity

Before starting to write the novel War and Peace, Tolstoy took up 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 Messenger. After 3 years, three more parts came out, and then all the rest. This created a real sensation in Russian and foreign literature. In the novel the most in detail describe different segments of the population.

TO latest works writer include:

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

In the nature of his last journalism, one can trace conservative. He harshly condemns the idle life higher strata who do not think about the meaning of life. L. N. Tolstoy severely criticized state dogmas, sweeping aside 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 Nikolayevich left his family and fell ill on the way. He had to get off the train at the Astapovo station of the Ural Railway. He spent the last week of his life at the home of the local stationmaster, where he died.

Biography, life story of Leo Tolstoy

came from noble family, known, according to legendary sources, since 1351. His paternal ancestor, Count Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy, is known for his role in the investigation of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, for which he was appointed head of the Secret Chancellery. The features of the great-grandson of Peter Andreevich, Ilya Andreevich, are given in War and Peace to the most good-natured, impractical old Count Rostov. The son of Ilya Andreevich, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (1794-1837), was the father of Lev Nikolaevich. In some character traits and biography facts, he was similar to Nikolenka's father in "Childhood" and "Boyhood" and partly to Nikolai Rostov in "War and Peace". However, in real life Nikolai Ilyich differed from Nikolai Rostov not only in his good education, but also in his convictions, which did not allow him to serve under Nikolai. A participant in the foreign campaign of the Russian army against Napoleon, including participating in the "battle of the peoples" near Leipzig and being captured by the French, after the conclusion of peace, he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Pavlograd hussar regiment. Soon after his resignation, he was forced to go to official service so as not to end up in a debtor's prison because of the debts of his father, the Kazan governor, who died under investigation for official abuse. The negative example of his father helped Nikolai Ilyich work out his life ideal - private independent life with family joys. To put his frustrated affairs in order, Nikolai Ilyich, like Nikolai Rostov, married a no longer very young princess from the Volkonsky family; the marriage was happy. They had four sons: Nikolay, Sergey, Dmitry, Leo and daughter Maria.

Tolstoy's maternal grandfather, Catherine's general, Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky, had some resemblance to the stern rigorist - the old prince Bolkonsky in War and Peace. Lev Nikolaevich's mother, similar in some respects to Princess Marya depicted in War and Peace, possessed a remarkable gift for storytelling.

In addition to the Volkonskys, Leo Tolstoy was closely related to some other aristocratic families: the princes Gorchakov, Trubetskoy and others.

CONTINUED BELOW

Born on August 28, 1828 in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province, in the hereditary estate of his mother - Yasnaya Polyana. Was the fourth child; he had three older brothers: Nikolai (1823-1860), Sergei (1826-1904) and Dmitry (1827-1856). In 1830 sister Maria (1830-1912) was born. His mother died at birth last daughter when he was not yet 2 years old.

A distant relative, T. A. Ergolskaya, took up the upbringing of orphaned children. In 1837, the family moved to Moscow, settling on Plyushchikha, because the eldest son had to prepare to enter the university, but soon his father died suddenly, leaving affairs (including some related to family property, litigation) in an unfinished state, and the three younger children again settled in Yasnaya Polyana under the supervision of Yergolskaya and her paternal aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Saken, who was appointed guardian of the children. Here Lev Nikolayevich remained until 1840, when Countess Osten-Saken died, and the children moved to Kazan, to a new guardian - the father's sister P. I. Yushkova.

The Yushkovs' house was one of the most cheerful in Kazan; all members of the family highly valued external brilliance. “My good aunt,” says Tolstoy, “the purest being, always said that she would not want anything for me so much as for me to have a relationship with a married woman”

He wanted to shine in society, but his natural shyness and lack of external attractiveness prevented him. The most diverse, as Tolstoy himself defines them, "speculations" about key issues of our being - happiness, death, God, love, eternity - painfully tormented him in that era of life. What he told in Boyhood and Youth about the aspirations of Irteniev and Nekhlyudov for self-improvement was taken by Tolstoy from the history of his own ascetic attempts of that time. All this led to the fact that Tolstoy developed "a habit of constant moral analysis", as it seemed to him, "destroying the freshness of feelings and clarity of mind" ("Adolescence").

Education

His education went first under the guidance of the French tutor Saint-Thomas (Mr. Jerome "Boyhood"), who replaced the good-natured German Reselman, whom he portrayed in "Childhood" under the name of Karl Ivanovich.

In 1841, P. I. Yushkova, taking on the role of guardian of her underage nephews (only the eldest, Nikolai, was an adult) and niece, brought them to Kazan. Following the brothers Nikolai, Dmitry and Sergei, Lev decided to enter the Imperial Kazan University, where Lobachevsky worked at the mathematical faculty, and Kovalevsky at the East. On October 3, 1844, Leo Tolstoy was enrolled as a student in the category of Oriental literature as a native .. At the entrance exams, he, in particular, showed excellent results in the “Turkish-Tatar language”, which is mandatory for admission.

Because of the conflict between his family and the teacher of Russian and world history and the History of Philosophy, Professor N. A. Ivanov, according to the results of the year, had poor progress in the relevant subjects and had to re-take the first-year program. In order to avoid a complete repetition of the course, he moved to the Faculty of Law, where his problems with grades Russian history and German continued. On law school Leo Tolstoy spent less than two years: “It was always difficult for him to have any education imposed by others, and everything that he learned in life, he learned himself, suddenly, quickly, with hard work,” writes Tolstaya in her “Materials for the biography of L. N. Tolstoy. In 1904 he recalled: ... for the first year I ... did nothing. In the second year I began to study ... there was Professor Meyer, who ... gave me a work - a comparison of Catherine's "Instruction" with Montesquieu's "Esprit des lois". ... I was carried away by this work, I went to the village, began to read Montesquieu, this reading opened up endless horizons for me; I began to read Rousseau and left the university, precisely because I wanted to study».

While in the Kazan hospital, he began to keep a diary, where, imitating, he set himself goals and rules for self-improvement and noted successes and failures in performing these tasks, analyzed his shortcomings and train of thought, the motives of his actions.

In 1845, L. N. Tolstoy had a godson in Kazan. November 11 (23), according to other sources - November 22 (December 4), 1845 in the Kazan Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, Archimandrite Kliment (P. Mozharov) under the name of Luka Tolstoy was baptized 18-year-old Jewish cantonist of the Kazan battalions of military cantonists Zalman ("Zelman") Kagan, whose godfather in the documents was a student of the Imperial Kazan University, Count L. N. Tolstoy. Before that - on September 25 (October 7), 1845 - his brother, a student of the Imperial Kazan University, Count D. N. Tolstoy, became the godfather of the 18-year-old Jewish cantonist Nukhim ("Nochima") Beser, baptized (with the name Nikolai Dmitriev) archimandrite Kazan Uspensky (Zilantova) monastery Gabriel (V. N. Voskresensky).

Start literary activity

Having left the university, Tolstoy settled in Yasnaya Polyana in the spring of 1847; his activities there are partly described in The Morning of the Landowner: Tolstoy tried to establish relations with the peasants in a new way.

His attempt to somehow smooth over the guilt of the nobility before the people dates back to the same year when Grigorovich's "Anton Goremyk" and the beginning of Turgenev's "Notes of a Hunter" appeared.

In his diary, Tolstoy sets himself a huge number of goals and rules; managed to follow only a small number of them. Among the successful - serious studies English language, music, jurisprudence. In addition, neither the diary nor the letters reflected the beginning of Tolstoy's studies in pedagogy and charity - in 1849 he opened a school for peasant children for the first time. The main teacher was Foka Demidych, a serf, but Lev Nikolayevich himself often conducted classes.

Having left for St. Petersburg in February 1849, he spends time in revelry with K. A. Islavin, the uncle of his future wife (“My love for Islavin ruined for me the whole 8 months of my life in St. Petersburg”); in the spring he began to take the exam for a candidate of rights; he passed two exams, from criminal law and criminal proceedings, but he did not take the third exam and went to the village.

Later he came to Moscow, where he often succumbed to the passion for the game, which greatly upset his financial affairs. During this period of his life, Tolstoy was especially passionately interested in music (he himself played the piano well and greatly appreciated his favorite works performed by others). Exaggerated in relation to most people, the description of the effect that “passionate” music produces, the author of the Kreutzer Sonata, drew from the sensations excited by the world of sounds in his own soul.

Tolstoy's favorite composers were Handel and. In the late 1840s, Tolstoy, in collaboration with his acquaintance, composed a waltz, which he performed in the early 1900s with the composer Taneyev, who made musical notation this piece of music(the only one composed by Tolstoy).

The development of Tolstoy's love for music was also facilitated by the fact that during a trip to St. Petersburg in 1848, he met in a very unsuitable dance class with a gifted, but astray German musician, whom he later described in Alberta. Tolstoy had the idea to save him: he took him to Yasnaya Polyana and played a lot with him. A lot of time was also spent on carousing, playing and hunting.

In the winter of 1850-1851 began to write "Childhood". In March 1851 he wrote The History of Yesterday.

Four years had passed after leaving the university, when Nikolai Nikolaievich, brother of Lev Nikolayevich, who had served in the Caucasus, arrived in Yasnaya Polyana and invited younger brother join military service in the Caucasus. Lev agreed not immediately, until a major loss in Moscow hastened the final decision. The writer's biographers note the significant and positive influence of brother Nikolai on the young and inexperienced in worldly affairs Leo. The older brother, in the absence of his parents, was his friend and mentor.

In order to pay off the debts, it was necessary to reduce their expenses to a minimum - and in the spring of 1851 Tolstoy hurriedly left Moscow for the Caucasus without a specific goal. Soon he decided to enter the military service, but there were obstacles in the form of a lack of necessary papers that were difficult to obtain, and Tolstoy lived for about 5 months in complete seclusion in Pyatigorsk, in a simple hut. He spent a significant part of his time hunting, in the company of the Cossack Epishka, the prototype of one of the heroes of the story "The Cossacks", appearing there under the name Eroshka.

In the autumn of 1851, having passed an exam in Tiflis, Tolstoy entered the 4th battery of the 20th artillery brigade, stationed in the Cossack village of Starogladovo, on the banks of the Terek, near Kizlyar, as a cadet. With a slight change in detail, she is depicted in all her semi-wild originality in The Cossacks. The same "Cossacks" also convey the picture inner life a young gentleman who fled from Moscow life.

In a remote village, Tolstoy began to write and in 1852 sent the first part of the future trilogy, Childhood, to the editors of Sovremennik.

The relatively late beginning of the career is very characteristic of Tolstoy: he never considered himself a professional writer, understanding professionalism not in the sense of a profession that provides a livelihood, but in the sense of the predominance of literary interests. He did not take the interests of literary parties to heart, he was reluctant to talk about literature, preferring to talk about issues of faith, morality, and social relations.

Military career

Having received the manuscript of Childhood, the editor of Sovremennik Nekrasov immediately recognized its literary value and wrote a kind letter to the author, which had a very encouraging effect on him.

Meanwhile, the encouraged author takes up the continuation of the tetralogy "Four Epochs of Development", the last part of which - "Youth" - never took place. His head swarms with plans for "Morning of the Landowner" (the finished story was only a fragment of "The Novel of the Russian Landowner"), "Raid", "Cossacks". Published in Sovremennik on September 18, 1852, Childhood, signed with the modest initials L.N., was an extraordinary success; the author immediately began to be ranked among the luminaries of the young literary school, along with Turgenev, Goncharov, Grigorovich, Ostrovsky, who already enjoyed loud literary fame at that time. Criticism - Apollon Grigoriev, Annenkov, Druzhinin, Chernyshevsky - also appreciated the depth psychological analysis, and the seriousness of the author's intentions, and the bright convexity of realism.

Tolstoy remained in the Caucasus for two years, participating in many skirmishes with the highlanders and exposing himself to the dangers of military life in the Caucasus. He had the rights and claims to the George Cross, but did not receive it. When the Crimean War broke out at the end of 1853, Tolstoy transferred to the Danube army, participated in the battle of Oltenitsa and in the siege of Silistria, and from November 1854 to the end of August 1855 was in Sevastopol.

Tolstoy lived for a long time on the dangerous 4th bastion, commanded a battery in the battle of Chernaya, was during the bombardment during the assault on Malakhov Kurgan. Despite all the horrors of the siege, Tolstoy wrote at that time the story “Cutting the Forest”, which reflected Caucasian impressions, and the first of three “ Sevastopol stories- "Sevastopol in December 1854". He sent this story to Sovremennik. Immediately printed, the story was read with interest by all of Russia and made a stunning impression with a picture of the horrors that befell the defenders of Sevastopol. The story was noticed by Emperor Alexander II; he ordered to take care of the gifted officer.

For the defense of Sevastopol, Tolstoy was awarded the Order of St. Anne with the inscription "For Honor", medals "For the Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855" and "In Memory of the War of 1853-1856." Surrounded by the brilliance of fame, using the reputation of a brave officer, Tolstoy had every chance of a career, but spoiled it for himself by writing several satirical songs stylized as soldiers. One of them is devoted to the failure of the military operation on August 4 (16), 1855, when General Read, having misunderstood the order of the commander in chief, attacked the Fedyukhin Heights. A song called “Like the fourth number, it was not easy to take the mountains to take us away,” which touched on a number of important generals, was a huge success. Leo Tolstoy held an answer for her to the assistant chief of staff A. A. Yakimakh. Immediately after the assault on August 27 (September 8), Tolstoy was sent by courier to Petersburg, where he finished Sevastopol in May 1855. and wrote "Sevastopol in August 1855", published in the first issue of Sovremennik for 1856, already with the author's full signature.

"Sevastopol Tales" finally strengthened his reputation as a representative of a new literary generation, and in November 1856 the writer parted with military service forever.

Travel Europe

In St. Petersburg, he was warmly welcomed in high-society salons and in literary circles; he became especially close to Turgenev, with whom he lived for some time in the same apartment. The latter introduced him to the Sovremennik circle, after which Tolstoy established friendly relations with Nekrasov, Goncharov, Panaev, Grigorovich, Druzhinin, Sollogub.

At this time, "Snowstorm", "Two Hussars" were written, "Sevastopol in August" and "Youth" were completed, the writing of future "Cossacks" was continued.

A cheerful life was not slow to leave a bitter aftertaste in Tolstoy's soul, especially since he began to have a strong discord with a circle of writers close to him. As a result, "people got sick of him and he got sick of himself" - and at the beginning of 1857 Tolstoy, without any regret, left Petersburg and went abroad.

On his first trip abroad, he visited Paris, where he was horrified by the cult ("The deification of the villain, terrible"), at the same time he attends balls, museums, he admires the "sense of social freedom." However, the presence at the guillotining made such a painful impression that Tolstoy left Paris and went to places associated with Rousseau - Lake Geneva.

Lev Nikolaevich writes the story "Albert". At the same time, friends never cease to be amazed at his eccentricities: in his letter to I. S. Turgenev in the autumn of 1857, P. V. Annenkov tells Tolstoy’s project to plant all of Russia with forests, and in his letter to V. P. Botkin, Leo Tolstoy reports how he was very happy the fact that he did not become only a writer, contrary to the advice of Turgenev. However, in the interval between the first and second trips, the writer continued to work on The Cossacks, wrote the story Three Deaths and the novel Family Happiness.

His last novel was published by Mikhail Katkov in Russkiy Vestnik. Tolstoy's collaboration with the Sovremennik magazine, which had lasted since 1852, ended in 1859. In the same year, Tolstoy took part in the organization of the Literary Fund. But his life is not limited to literary interests: on December 22, 1858, he almost dies on a bear hunt. Around the same time, he began an affair with a peasant woman, Aksinya, and marriage plans were ripening.

On his next trip, he was mainly interested in public education and institutions aimed at raising educational level working population. He closely studied the issues of public education in Germany and France, both theoretically and practically, and through conversations with specialists. Of the outstanding people of Germany, he was most interested in Auerbach as the author of the dedicated folk life"Schwarzwald Tales" and as a publisher of folk calendars. Tolstoy paid him a visit and tried to get closer to him. In addition, he also met with the German teacher Diesterweg. During his stay in Brussels, Tolstoy met Proudhon and Lelewel. In London he visited Herzen, was at a lecture by Dickens.

Tolstoy's serious mood during his second trip to the south of France was also facilitated by the fact that his beloved brother Nikolai died of tuberculosis in his arms. The death of his brother made a huge impression on Tolstoy.

Among the stories and essays he wrote in the late 1850s are "Lucerne" and "Three Deaths". Gradually, criticism for 10-12 years, until the appearance of "War and Peace" cools towards Tolstoy, and he himself does not seek rapprochement with writers, making an exception for Afanasy Fet.

One of the reasons for this alienation was the quarrel between Leo Tolstoy and Turgenev, which occurred at a time when both prose writers were visiting Fet at the Stepanovo estate in May 1861. The quarrel almost ended in a duel and spoiled the relationship between the writers for a long 17 years.

Treatment in the Bashkir nomad camp Karalyk

In 1862, Lev Nikolaevich was treated with koumiss in the Samara province. Initially, I wanted to be treated in the Postnikov koumiss clinic near Samara, but due to a large number vacationers went to the Bashkir nomad camp Karalyk, on the river Karalyk, 130 miles from Samara. There he lived in a Bashkir wagon (yurt), ate lamb, basked in the sun, drank koumiss, tea and played checkers with the Bashkirs. The first time he stayed there for a month and a half. In 1871, Lev Nikolayevich came again due to deteriorating health. Lev Nikolaevich lived not in the village itself, but in a wagon near it. He wrote: “The melancholy and indifference have passed, I feel like coming into a Scythian state, and everything is interesting and new ... Much is new and interesting: the Bashkirs, who smell of Herodotus, and the Russian peasants, and the villages, especially charming for the simplicity and kindness of the people” . In 1871, having fallen in love with this region, he bought from Colonel N.P. Tuchkov estates in the Buzuluk district of the Samara province, near the villages of Gavrilovka and Patrovka (now the Alekseevsky district), in the amount of 2,500 acres for 20,000 rubles. The summer of 1872, Lev Nikolaevich spent already in his estate. A few sazhens from the house there was a felt wagon in which the family of the Bashkir Muhammadshah lived, who made koumiss for Lev Nikolayevich and his guests. In general, Lev Nikolayevich visited Karalyk 10 times in 20 years.

Pedagogical activity

Tolstoy returned to Russia shortly after the liberation of the peasants and became a mediator. In contrast to those who looked at the people as a younger brother who must be raised to their own level, Tolstoy thought, on the contrary, that the people are infinitely higher than the cultural classes and that the masters must borrow the heights of spirit from the peasants. He was actively engaged in organizing schools in his Yasnaya Polyana and in the entire Krapivensky district.

The Yasnaya Polyana school belonged to the number of original pedagogical attempts: in the era of admiration for the German pedagogical school Tolstoy resolutely rebelled against any regulation and discipline in the school. According to him, everything in teaching should be individual - both the teacher and the student, and their mutual relations. In the Yasnaya Polyana school, the children sat where they wanted, for as long as they wanted, and for as long as they wanted. There was no set curriculum. The teacher's only job was to keep the class interested. The lessons went well. They were led by Tolstoy himself with the help of several permanent teachers and a few random ones, from the closest acquaintances and visitors.

Since 1862, he began to publish the pedagogical journal Yasnaya Polyana, where he himself was the main employee. In addition to theoretical articles, Tolstoy also wrote a number of stories, fables and adaptations. Put together, Tolstoy's pedagogical articles made up an entire volume of his collected works. At the time, they went unnoticed. No one paid attention to the sociological basis of Tolstoy's ideas about education, to the fact that Tolstoy saw in education, science, art, and the successes of technology only facilitated and improved ways of exploiting the people by the upper classes. Not only that: from Tolstoy's attacks on European education and "progress" many have deduced the conclusion that Tolstoy is a "conservative."

Soon Tolstoy leaves pedagogy. Marriage, the birth of their own children, the plans associated with writing the novel "War and Peace" push it back ten years pedagogical activities. Only in the early 1870s did he begin to create his own "Azbuka" and publish it in 1872, and then publish the "New ABC" and a series of four "Russian books for reading", approved as a result of long ordeals by the Ministry of Public Education as manuals for elementary educational institutions. Classes at the Yasnaya Polyana school are resumed for a short time.

It is known that the Yasnaya Polyana school had a certain influence on other domestic teachers. For example, it was her as a sample when creating own school"Cheerful Life" in 1911 was originally taken as a basis by S. T. Shatsky.

Acting as a defender in court

In July 1866, Tolstoy spoke at a court-martial as the defender of Vasil Shabunin, company clerk of the Moscow Infantry Regiment stationed near Yasnaya Polyana. Shabunin hit the officer, who ordered to punish him with rods for being drunk. Tolstoy proved Shabunin's insanity, but the court found him guilty and sentenced him to death penalty. Shabunin was shot. This case made a great impression on Tolstoy.

Lev Nikolaevich with youthful years was acquainted with Lyubov Alexandrovna Islavina, in marriage Bers (1826-1886), loved to play with her children Lisa, Sonya and Tanya. When the Bers daughters grew up, Lev Nikolaevich thought about marrying eldest daughter Lisa, hesitated for a long time until he made a choice in favor of the middle daughter Sophia. Sofya Andreevna agreed when she was 18 years old, and the count was 34 years old. On September 23, 1862, Lev Nikolaevich married her, having previously confessed to his premarital affairs.

For some period of time, the brightest period of his life begins for Tolstoy - intoxication with personal happiness, very significant thanks to the practicality of his wife, material well-being, outstanding literary creativity and in connection with it the All-Russian and world fame. It would seem that in the person of his wife he found an assistant in all matters, practical and literary - in the absence of a secretary, she several times rewrote her husband's drafts. But very soon happiness is overshadowed by the inevitable small disagreements, fleeting quarrels, mutual misunderstanding, which only worsened over the years.

The wedding of the elder brother of Sergei Nikolaevich Tolstoy with the younger sister of Sofya Andreevna, Tatyana Bers, was also supposed. But the unofficial marriage of Sergei with a gypsy made it impossible for Sergei and Tatyana to marry.

In addition, Sofya Andreevna's father, medical doctor Andrei Gustav (Evstafievich) Bers, even before his marriage to Islavina, had a daughter, Varvara, from V.P. Turgeneva, the mother of I.S. Turgenev. According to her mother, Varya was the sister of I. S. Turgenev, and according to her father - S. A. Tolstoy, thus, together with the marriage, Leo Tolstoy acquired a relationship with I. S. Turgenev ..

From the marriage of Lev Nikolaevich with Sofya Andreevna was born in total 13 children, five of whom died in childhood. Children:
- Sergei (July 10, 1863 - December 23, 1947), composer, musicologist.
- Tatyana (October 4, 1864 - September 21, 1950). Since 1899 she has been married to Mikhail Sergeevich Sukhotin. In 1917-1923 she was the curator of the Yasnaya Polyana Museum Estate. In 1925 she emigrated with her daughter. Daughter Tatyana Mikhailovna Sukhotina-Albertini (1905-1996).
- Ilya (May 22, 1866 - December 11, 1933), writer, memoirist
- Leo (1869-1945), writer, sculptor.
- Maria (1871-1906) Buried in the village. Kochaki of the Krapivensky district (modern Tula region, Shchekinsky district, village of Kochaki). From 1897 she was married to Nikolai Leonidovich Obolensky (1872-1934).
- Peter (1872-1873).
- Nikolay (1874-1875).
- Barbara (1875-1875).
- Andrey (1877-1916), civil servant special assignments under the Tula governor. Participant Russo-Japanese War.
- Mikhail (1879-1944).
- Alexey (1881-1886).
- Alexandra (1884-1979).
- Ivan (1888-1895).

As of 2010, there were a total of more than 350 descendants of Leo Tolstoy (including both living and deceased), living in 25 countries of the world. Most of them are descendants of Leo Tolstoy, who had 10 children, the third son of Leo Nikolayevich. Since 2000, Yasnaya Polyana has hosted meetings of the writer's descendants every two years.

The heyday of creativity

During the first 12 years after his marriage, he creates War and Peace and Anna Karenina. At the turn of this second era of Tolstoy's literary life, there are works conceived back in 1852 and completed in 1861-1862. "Cossacks", the first of the works in which Tolstoy's talent was most realized.

"War and Peace"

Unprecedented success fell to the lot of "War and Peace". An excerpt from the novel entitled "1805" appeared in the "Russian Messenger" of 1865; in 1868, three of its parts were published, followed soon by the other two. The release of "War and Peace" was preceded by the novel "The Decembrists" (1860-1861), to which the author repeatedly returned, but which remained unfinished.

In Tolstoy's novel, all classes of society are represented, from emperors and kings to the last soldier, all ages and all temperaments in the space of the whole reign of Alexander I.

"Anna Karenina"

The infinitely happy intoxication with the bliss of being is no longer in Anna Karenina, which refers to the years 1873-1876. There are many more gratifying experiences in almost autobiographical novel Levin and Kitty, but there is already so much bitterness in the image family life Dolly, in the unfortunate conclusion of the love of Anna Karenina and Vronsky, there is so much anxiety in mental life Levin, that in general this novel is already a transition to the third period of Tolstoy's literary activity.

In January 1871, Tolstoy sent a letter to A. A. Fet: “ How happy I am ... that I will never write verbose rubbish like "War" again» .

On December 6, 1908, Tolstoy wrote in his diary: People love me for those trifles - "War and Peace", etc., which seem to them very important»

In the summer of 1909, one of the visitors to Yasnaya Polyana expressed his delight and gratitude for the creation of War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Tolstoy replied: It's like someone came to Edison and said: "I respect you very much because you are good at dancing the mazurka." I attribute meaning to my very different books (religious!)».

In the sphere of material interests, he began to say to himself: Well, all right, you will have 6,000 acres in the Samara province - 300 heads of horses, and then?»; in the field of literature: Well, well, you will be more glorious than Gogol, Pushkin, Shakespeare, Moliere, all the writers in the world - so what!". Starting to think about raising children, he asked himself: For what?»; arguing "about how the people can achieve prosperity," he " suddenly he said to himself: what does it matter to me?"In general, he" felt that what he stood on had given way, that what he had lived for was no more.” The natural result was the thought of suicide.

« I, a happy man, hid the string from me so as not to hang myself on the crossbar between the cupboards in my room, where I was alone every day, undressing, and stopped going hunting with a gun, so as not to be tempted by a too easy way to rid myself of life. I myself did not know what I wanted: I was afraid of life, strove to get away from it and, meanwhile, hoped for something else from it.».

Other works

In March 1879, in the city of Moscow, Leo Tolstoy met Vasily Petrovich Shchegolyonok and in the same year, at his invitation, he came to Yasnaya Polyana, where he stayed for about a month and a half. The dandy told Tolstoy many folk tales and epics, of which more than twenty were written down by Tolstoy, and the plots of some, Tolstoy, if he did not write down on paper, then remembered (these notes are printed in vol. XLVIII of the Jubilee edition of Tolstoy's works). Six works written by Tolstoy are based on the legends and stories of Schegolyonok (1881 - “What people are alive for”, 1885 - “Two old men” and “Three old men”, 1905 - “Roots Vasiliev” and “Prayer”, 1907 - “The old man in the church”) . In addition, Count Tolstoy diligently wrote down many sayings, proverbs, individual expressions and words told by Shchegolyonok.

Last journey, death and funeral

On the night of October 28 (November 10), 1910, L.N. Tolstoy, fulfilling his decision to live his last years in accordance with his views, secretly left Yasnaya Polyana, accompanied by his doctor D.P. Makovitsky. He began his last journey at Shchyokino station. On the same day, having transferred to another train at the Gorbachevo station, he reached the Kozelsk station, hired a coachman and headed to Optina Pustyn, and from there the next day to the Shamordinsky Monastery, where Tolstoy met his sister, Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya. Later, Tolstoy's daughter Alexandra Lvovna came to Shamordino with her friend.

On the morning of October 31 (November 13) L.N. Tolstoy and his companions set off from Shamordino to Kozelsk, where they boarded train No. 12, which had already approached the station, heading south. We did not have time to buy tickets when boarding; having reached Belev, we bought tickets to the Volovo station. According to the testimonies of those who accompanied Tolstoy, the journey had no definite purpose. After the meeting, we decided to go to Novocherkassk, where we would try to get foreign passports and then go to Bulgaria; if this fails, go to the Caucasus. However, on the way, L. N. Tolstoy fell ill with pneumonia and was forced to leave the train on the same day at the first large station near the settlement. This station turned out to be Astapovo (now Leo Tolstoy, Lipetsk region), where on November 7 (20) L. N. Tolstoy died in the house of the head of the station I. I. Ozolin.

On November 10 (23), 1910, he was buried in Yasnaya Polyana, on the edge of a ravine in the forest, where, as a child, he and his brother were looking for a “green stick” that kept the “secret” of how to make all people happy.

In January 1913, a letter was published by Countess Sophia Tolstaya dated December 22, 1912, in which she confirms the news in the press that a funeral was performed at her husband's grave by a certain priest (she denies rumors that he was not real) in her presence. In particular, the countess wrote: “I also declare that Lev Nikolayevich never expressed a desire not to be buried before his death, but earlier he wrote in his diary of 1895, as if a testament:“ If possible, then (bury) without priests and funerals. But if it is unpleasant for those who will bury, then let them bury as usual, but as cheaply and simply as possible.

Report of the head of the St. Petersburg security department, Colonel von Kotten, to the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire:

« In addition to the reports of November 8, I report to Your Excellency information about the unrest of young students that took place on November 9 ... on the occasion of the day of the burial of the deceased Leo Tolstoy. At 12 noon, a memorial service for the late L. N. Tolstoy was served in the Armenian Church, which was attended by about 200 people praying, mostly Armenians, and a small part of the student youth. At the end of the memorial service, the worshipers dispersed, but a few minutes later students and female students began to arrive at the church. It turned out that on entrance doors University and the Higher Women's Courses, announcements were posted that a memorial service for Leo Tolstoy would take place on November 9 at one o'clock in the afternoon in the aforementioned church. The Armenian clergy performed a panikhida for the second time, by the end of which the church could no longer accommodate all the worshipers, a significant part of whom stood on the porch and in the courtyard at the Armenian Church. At the end of the memorial service, all those who were on the porch and in the churchyard sang "Eternal Memory" ...»

There is also an unofficial version of the death of Leo Tolstoy, described in exile by I. K. Sursky from the words of a Russian police official. According to her, the writer, before his death, wanted to reconcile with the church and arrived in Optina Pustyn for this. Here he awaited the order of the Synod, but, feeling unwell, he was taken away by his daughter and died at the Astapovo postal station.

Biography and episodes of life Lev Tolstoy. When born and died Lev Tolstoy, memorable places and dates important events his life. writer quotes, Photo and video.

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 all the confusion
Great old man of our days
Calls to the path of non-resistance.
Simple, clear words -
And who was imbued with their rays,
How to touch the deity
And speaks through his mouth.
From a poem by Arkady Kots, dedicated to memory Tolstoy

Biography

The biography of Leo Tolstoy is a biography of the most famous Russian writer, whose works are still read all over the world. Even during the life of Tolstoy, 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 and personal, not writer's biography Tolstoy, who all his life tried to understand what is the essence of the destiny of man.

He was born on the Yasnaya Polyana estate, which today houses the Tolstoy Museum. The writer, who comes from a rich and noble count family, lost his mother as a child, and when it came time to enter the university, his father, who left the family's financial affairs in poor condition. Before entering Kazan University, Leo Tolstoy was brought up by relatives in Yasnaya Polyana. Studying Tolstoy was easy, 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, who he should become. In his diaries, he set himself goals for self-improvement. He continued to keep diaries all his life, trying to answer himself in them. important questions analyzing their actions and judgments. Then, in Yasnaya Polyana, he began to feel guilty towards the peasants - for the first time he opened a school for serf children, where he himself often conducted classes. Soon Tolstoy again left for Moscow to prepare for 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 after his return and he was well received in all secular salons both capitals, over time, the writer began to experience disappointment in his environment. Did not bring him pleasure and a trip to Europe. 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 "The Cossacks", after which Tolstoy's talent was recognized as brilliant writer. Sofya Andreevna Bers bore 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 destiny of man, about religion and theology, about pedagogy. His desire to get to the very core of religion and human existence and the theological writings that followed caused a backlash in the Orthodox Church. spiritual crisis the writer was reflected in everything - both in his relationship with his family and in his success in writing. The well-being of Count Tolstoy ceased to bring him joy - he became a vegetarian, went barefoot, studied physical labor, renounced the rights to his literary works gave everything to the family. Before his death, Tolstoy quarreled with his wife and, wanting to live the last years of his life in accordance with his spiritual views, secretly left Yasnaya Polyana. On the way, the writer fell seriously ill and died.

The funeral of Leo Tolstoy was held in Yasnaya Polyana, several thousand people came to say goodbye to the great writer - friends, admirers, peasants, students. The ceremony was not Orthodox rite, since the writer was excommunicated in the early 1900s. Tolstoy's grave is located in Yasnaya Polyana - in the forest where once, as a child, Lev Nikolayevich was looking for a "green stick" that kept the secret of universal happiness.

life line

September 9, 1828 Date of birth of Leo Tolstoy.
1844 Admission to Kazan University in 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 Retirement, return to Yasnaya Polyana.
1859 The opening of a school for peasant children by Tolstoy.
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 Secret departure of Tolstoy from Yasnaya Polyana.
November 20, 1910 Date of Tolstoy's death.
November 22, 1910 Farewell ceremony for the writer.
November 23, 1910 Funeral of Tolstoy.

Memorable places

1. Yasnaya Polyana, the estate of Leo Tolstoy, the state memorial and natural reserve where Tolstoy is buried.
2. Museum-estate of Leo Tolstoy in Khamovniki.
3. Tolstoy's house in childhood, the first Moscow address of the writer, 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 his literary activity began.
5. The former Chevalier Hotel, where Tolstoy stayed, including shortly after his marriage with Sophia Tolstaya.
6. State Museum of Leo Tolstoy in Moscow.
7. Tolstoy Center on Pyatnitskaya, former house Vargin, 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 in his premarital affairs - the hero of his work Anna Karenina, Konstantin Levin, did the same later. Tolstoy admitted in his letters to his grandmother: “I constantly have the feeling that I have stolen undeserved happiness that was not assigned to me. Here she comes, I hear her, and so well. Long years Sofya Tolstaya was a friend and colleague of her husband, they were very happy, but with Tolstoy's passion for theology and spiritual quest, omissions began to arise between the spouses.

Leo Tolstoy did not like War and Peace, his largest and most significant work. Once, in a correspondence with Fet, the writer even called his famous epic "wordy rubbish."

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

Tolstoy believed that education in Russia was fundamentally wrong, and tried to contribute to its change: he opened a school for peasant children, published a pedagogical magazine, wrote the 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 noble ones, learned from them. According to the ABC, Tolstoy was taught letters by the Russian poetess Anna Akhmatova.

Covenant

"Everything comes to those who know how to wait."

"Beware of everything that your conscience disapproves of."

Documentary "Living Tolstoy"

condolences

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

“It is remarkable that not a single one, not only from Russians, but also from foreign writers, had and still does not have such world significance as Tolstoy. None of the writers abroad was as popular as Tolstoy. This one fact in itself points to 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 years of Russian life. May the Lord God be a merciful judge for him.”
Nicholas II Alexandrovich, Russian emperor

Leo Tolstoy is one of the most famous writers and philosophers in the world. His views and beliefs formed the basis of a whole religious and philosophical movement, which is called Tolstoyism. literary heritage The writer made up 90 volumes of fiction and journalistic works, diary notes and letters, and he himself was nominated more than once for Nobel Prize in Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Fulfill all that you have determined to be fulfilled"

Genealogical tree of Leo Tolstoy. Image: regnum.ru

Silhouette of Maria Tolstoy (nee Volkonskaya), mother of Leo Tolstoy. 1810s Image: wikipedia.org

Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in the estate of Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province. He was the fourth child in a large noble family. Tolstoy was orphaned early. His mother died when he was not yet two years old, and at the age of nine he lost his father. The aunt, Alexandra Osten-Saken, became the guardian of the five Tolstoy children. The two older children moved in with their aunt in Moscow, while the younger ones stayed in Yasnaya Polyana. The most important and dearest memories are connected with the family estate early childhood Lev Tolstoy.

In 1841 Alexandra Osten-Saken died and the Tolstoys moved in with their aunt Pelageya Yushkova in Kazan. Three years after the move, Leo Tolstoy decided to enter the prestigious Imperial Kazan University. However, he did not like to study, he considered exams a formality, and university professors - incompetent. Tolstoy did not even try to get a scientific degree, in Kazan he was more attracted to secular entertainment.

In April 1847, Leo Tolstoy's student life ended. He inherited his part of the estate, including his beloved Yasnaya Polyana, and immediately went home without receiving higher education. In the family estate, Tolstoy tried to improve his life and start writing. He drew up his educational plan: study languages, history, medicine, mathematics, geography, law, Agriculture, natural Sciences. However, he soon came to the conclusion that it is easier to make plans than to carry them out.

Tolstoy's asceticism was often replaced by revelry and card games. Wanting to start the right, in his opinion, life, he made a daily routine. But he did not observe it either, and in his diary he again noted dissatisfaction with himself. All these failures prompted Leo Tolstoy to change his lifestyle. The opportunity presented itself in April 1851: the elder brother Nikolai arrived in Yasnaya Polyana. At that time he served in the Caucasus, where the war was going on. Leo Tolstoy decided to join his brother and went with him to a village on the banks of the Terek River.

On the outskirts of the empire, Leo Tolstoy served for almost two and a half years. He whiled away the time hunting, playing cards, and occasionally participating in raids on enemy territory. Tolstoy liked such a solitary and monotonous life. It was in the Caucasus that the story "Childhood" was born. While working on it, the writer found a source of inspiration that remained important to him until the end of his life: he used his own memories and experiences.

In July 1852, Tolstoy sent the manuscript of the story to the Sovremennik magazine and attached a letter: “…I am looking forward to your verdict. He will either encourage me to continue my favorite activities, or make me burn everything I started. ”. Editor Nikolai Nekrasov liked the work of the new author, and soon "Childhood" was published in the magazine. Encouraged by the first success, the writer soon began to continue the "Childhood". In 1854, he published a second story, Boyhood, in the Sovremennik magazine.

"The main thing is literary works"

Leo Tolstoy in his youth. 1851. Image: school-science.ru

Lev Tolstoy. 1848. Image: regnum.ru

Lev Tolstoy. Image: old.orlovka.org.ru

At the end of 1854, Leo Tolstoy arrived in Sevastopol, the epicenter of hostilities. Being in the thick of things, he created the story "Sevastopol in the month of December." Although Tolstoy was unusually frank in describing battle scenes, the first Sevastopol story was deeply patriotic and glorified the bravery of Russian soldiers. Soon Tolstoy began to work on the second story - "Sevastopol in May". By that time, nothing was left of his pride in the Russian army. The horror and shock that Tolstoy experienced on the front line and during the siege of the city greatly influenced his work. Now he wrote about the meaninglessness of death and the inhumanity of war.

In 1855, from the ruins of Sevastopol, Tolstoy traveled to sophisticated Petersburg. The success of the first Sevastopol story gave him a sense of purpose: “My career is literature, writing and writing! From tomorrow I work all my life or I give up everything, rules, religion, decency - everything ”. In the capital, Leo Tolstoy completed "Sevastopol in May" and wrote "Sevastopol in August 1855" - these essays completed the trilogy. And in November 1856, the writer finally left military service.

Thanks to true stories O Crimean War Tolstoy entered the St. Petersburg literary circle of the Sovremennik magazine. During this period, he wrote the story "Snowstorm", the story "Two Hussars", finished the trilogy with the story "Youth". However, after some time, relations with writers from the circle deteriorated: “These people disgusted me, and I disgusted myself”. To unwind, in early 1857, Leo Tolstoy went abroad. He visited Paris, Rome, Berlin, Dresden: he got acquainted with famous works of art, met with artists, observed how people live in European cities. Travel did not inspire Tolstoy: he created the story "Lucerne", in which he described his disappointment.

Leo Tolstoy at work. Image: kartinkinaden.ru

Leo Tolstoy at Yasnaya Polyana. Image: kartinkinaden.ru

Leo Tolstoy tells a fairy tale to his grandchildren Ilyusha and Sonya. 1909. Krekshino. Photo: Vladimir Chertkov / wikipedia.org

In the summer of 1857 Tolstoy returned to Yasnaya Polyana. In his native estate, he continued to work on the story "The Cossacks", and also wrote the story "Three Deaths" and the novel "Family Happiness". In his diary, Tolstoy defined his purpose for himself at that time as follows: "Main - literary works, then - family responsibilities, then - household ... And so to live for yourself - according to good deed per day and enough.

In 1899 Tolstoy wrote the novel The Resurrection. In this work, the writer criticized the judicial system, the army, the government. The contempt with which Tolstoy described the institution of the church in Resurrection provoked a backlash. In February 1901, the Holy Synod published a resolution on the excommunication of Count Leo Tolstoy from the Church in the journal Tserkovnye Vedomosti. This decision only increased Tolstoy's popularity and drew public attention to the writer's ideals and beliefs.

Tolstoy's literary and social activities became known abroad as well. The writer was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902 and 1909 and for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1902-1906. Tolstoy himself did not want to receive the award and even informed the Finnish writer Arvid Järnefelt to try to prevent the prize from being awarded, because, “if that happened… it would be very unpleasant to refuse” “He [Chertkov] took the unfortunate old man into his hands in every possible way, he separated us, he killed the artistic spark in Lev Nikolaevich and kindled condemnation, hatred, denial, which are felt in the articles of Lev Nikolaevich recent years, which his stupid evil genius incited him to".

Tolstoy himself was burdened by the life of a landowner and a family man. He sought to bring his life in line with his convictions, and in early November 1910 he secretly left the Yasnaya Polyana estate. The road turned out to be unbearable for an elderly person: on the way he fell seriously ill and was forced to stay at the house of the caretaker of the Astapovo railway station. Here the writer spent last days own life. Leo Tolstoy died on November 20, 1910. The writer was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.