Leo Tolstoy is one of the most famous and great writers in the world. Even during his lifetime, he was recognized as a classic of Russian literature, his work paved the bridge between the currents of two centuries.
Tolstoy showed himself not just as a writer, he was an educator and humanist, he thought about religion, and was directly involved in the defense of Sevastopol. The writer's legacy is so great, and his life itself is so ambiguous that they continue to study and try to understand him.
Tolstoy himself was a complex person, as evidenced by at least his family relationships. So numerous myths appear, both about Tolstoy's personal qualities, his actions, and about creativity and the ideas invested in it. Many books have been written about the writer, but we will try to debunk at least the most popular myths about him.
Flight of Tolstoy. A well-known fact - 10 days before his death, Tolstoy ran away from his home, which was in Yasnaya Polyana. There are several versions of why the writer did this. They immediately began to say that the already elderly man was already trying to commit suicide. The communists developed the theory that Tolstoy expressed his protest against the tsarist regime in this way. In fact, the reasons for the writer's flight from his native and beloved home were quite mundane. Three months before that, he wrote a secret will, according to which he transferred all copyrights to his works not to his wife, Sofya Andreevna, but to his daughter Alexandra and his friend Chertkov. But the secret became clear - the wife learned about everything from the stolen diary. A scandal erupted immediately, and Tolstoy's own life became a real hell. His wife's tantrums prompted the writer to do what he had planned 25 years ago - to escape. During these difficult days, Tolstoy wrote in his diary that he could no longer endure this and hated his wife. Sofya Andreevna herself, having learned about the flight of Lev Nikolaevich, became even more furious - she ran to drown herself in the pond, beat herself in the chest with thick objects, tried to run away somewhere and threatened to never let Tolstoy go anywhere again.
Tolstoy had a very angry wife. From the previous myth, it becomes clear to many that only his evil and eccentric wife is to blame for the death of a genius. In fact, Tolstoy's family life was so complex that numerous studies are still trying to figure it out today. And the wife herself felt unhappy in her. One of the chapters of her autobiography is called “The Martyr and the Martyr”. In general, little was known about Sofya Andreevna's talents; she was completely in the shadow of her powerful husband. But the recent publication of her stories made it possible to understand the full depth of her sacrifice. And Natasha Rostova from "War and Peace" came to Tolstoy straight from his wife's youthful manuscript. In addition, Sofya Andreevna received an excellent education, she knew a couple of foreign languages and even translated the complex works of her husband herself. The energetic woman still had time to manage the entire household, the accounting of the estate, as well as sheathe and tie up the entire considerable family. Despite all the hardships, Tolstoy's wife understood that she was living with a genius. After his death, she noted that for almost half a century of living together, she could not understand what kind of person he was.
Tolstoy was excommunicated and anathematized. Indeed, in 1910 Tolstoy was buried without a funeral, which gave rise to the myth of excommunication. But in the memorable act of the Synod of 1901, the word "excommunication" is absent in principle. Officials from the church wrote that with his views and false teachings, the writer had long placed himself outside the church and was no longer perceived by it as a member. But society understood the complex bureaucratic document with a florid language in its own way - everyone decided that it was the church that abandoned Tolstoy. And this story with the definition of the Synod was in fact a political order. So the chief prosecutor Pobedonostsev took revenge on the writer for his image of a man-machine in Resurrection.
Leo Tolstoy founded the Tolstoyan movement. The writer himself was very cautious, and sometimes even with disgust, about those numerous associations of his followers and admirers. Even after escaping from Yasnaya Polyana, the Tolstoy community turned out to be not the place where Tolstoy wanted to find shelter.
Tolstoy was a teetotaller. As you know, in adulthood, the writer refused alcohol. But he did not understand the creation of temperance societies throughout the country. Why do people gather if they are not going to drink? After all, big companies mean drinking.
Tolstoy adhered fanatically to his own principles. Ivan Bunin, in his book on Tolstoy, wrote that the genius himself was sometimes very cool about the provisions of his own teaching. One day the writer with his family and close family friend Vladimir Chertkov (he was also the main follower of Tolstoy's ideas) ate on the terrace. It was a hot summer, mosquitoes were flying everywhere. One particularly annoying one sat down on Chertkov's bald head, where the writer killed him with the palm of his hand. Everyone laughed, and only the offended victim noted that Lev Nikolaevich took the life of a living creature, shaming him.
Tolstoy was a big womanizer. The sexual adventures of the writer are known from his own notes. Tolstoy said that in his youth he led a very bad life. But most of all he is confused by two events since that time. The first is a connection with a peasant woman even before marriage, and the second is a crime with her aunt's maid. Tolstoy seduced an innocent girl, who was then driven out of the yard. That peasant woman was Aksinya Bazykina. Tolstoy wrote that he loved her like never before in his life. Two years before his marriage, the writer had a son, Timothy, who over the years became a huge man, like his father. Everyone in Yasnaya Polyana knew about the master's illegitimate son, that he was a drunkard, and about his mother. Sofya Andreevna even went to look at her husband's former passion, not finding anything interesting in her. And Tolstoy's intimate stories are part of his diaries of his youth. He wrote about the voluptuousness that tormented him, about the desire of women. But something like this was common for Russian nobles of that time. And repentance for past ties never tormented them. For Sofya Andreevna, the physical aspect of love was not at all important, unlike her husband. But she managed to give birth to Tolstoy 13 children, losing five. Lev Nikolaevich was her first and only man. And he was faithful to her throughout the 48 years of their marriage.
Tolstoy preached asceticism. This myth appeared thanks to the thesis of the writer that a person needs a little for life. But Tolstoy himself was not an ascetic - he simply welcomed the sense of proportion. Lev Nikolayevich himself fully enjoyed life, he simply saw joy and light in simple and accessible things.
Tolstoy was an opponent of medicine and science. The writer was not at all obscurantist. He, on the contrary, spoke about the fact that it is impossible to return to the plow, about the inevitability of progress. At home, Tolstoy had one of their first Edison phonographs, an electric pencil. And the writer rejoiced, like a child, at such scientific achievements. Tolstoy was a very civilized person, realizing that humanity pays for progress in hundreds of thousands of lives. And this development, associated with violence and blood, the writer did not accept in principle. Tolstoy was not cruel to human weaknesses, he was outraged that the vices were justified by the doctors themselves.
Tolstoy hated art. Tolstoy understood art, he simply used his own criteria to evaluate it. And didn't he have a right to? It is difficult to disagree with the writer that a simple man is unlikely to understand Beethoven's symphonies. To untrained listeners, much of classical music sounds like torture. But there is also such an art that is perceived as excellent by both simple villagers and sophisticated gourmets.
Tolstoy was driven by pride. They say that it was this inner quality that manifested itself in the philosophy of the author, and even in everyday life. But is it worth considering the non-stop search for truth as pride? Many people believe that it is much easier to join some teaching and serve it already. But Tolstoy could not change himself. And in everyday life, the writer was very attentive - he taught his children mathematics, astronomy, and conducted physical education classes. Little Tolstoy took the children to the Samara province, that they knew better and fell in love with nature. It's just that in the second half of his life, the genius was preoccupied with a lot of things. This is creativity, philosophy, work with letters. So Tolstoy could not give himself, as before, to his family. But it was a conflict between creativity and family, and not a manifestation of pride.
There was a revolution in Russia because of Tolstoy. This statement appeared thanks to Lenin's article "Leo Tolstoy, as a mirror of the Russian revolution." In fact, one person, be it Tolstoy or Lenin, is simply not to blame for the revolution. There were many reasons - the behavior of the intelligentsia, the church, the king and court, the nobility. It was all of them who gave old Russia to the Bolsheviks, including Tolstoy. His opinion, as a thinker, was listened to. But he denied both the state and the army. True, he was opposed to the revolution. The writer generally did a lot to soften morals, urging people to be kinder, to serve Christian values.
Tolstoy was an unbeliever, he denied faith and taught this to others. Statements that Tolstoy turns people away from the faith irritated and offended him greatly. On the contrary, he stated that the main thing in his works is the understanding that there is no life without faith in God. Tolstoy did not accept the form of faith that the church imposed. And there are many people who believe in God, but do not accept modern religious institutions. For them, Tolstoy's searches are understood and not at all terrible. Many people generally come to church after being immersed in the thoughts of the writer. This was especially often observed in Soviet times. Even before, the Tolstoyans turned towards the church.
Tolstoy constantly taught everyone. Thanks to this rooted myth, Tolstoy appears as a self-confident preacher, telling whom and how to live. But when studying the writer's diaries, it will become clear that he dealt with himself all his life. So where was he to teach others? Tolstoy expressed his thoughts, but never imposed them on anyone. Another thing is that a community of followers, Tolstoyans, has developed around the writer, who tried to make the views of their leader absolute. But for the genius himself, his ideas were not fixed. He considered the absolute presence of God, and everything else was the result of trials, torments, searches.
Tolstoy was a fanatical vegetarian. At a certain point in his life, the writer completely abandoned meat and fish, not wanting to eat the disfigured corpses of living beings. But his wife, taking care of him, poured meat into his mushroom broth. Seeing this, Tolstoy was not angry, but only joked that he was ready to drink meat broth every day, if only his wife would not lie to him. Other people's beliefs, including in the choice of food, were above all for the writer. They always had those at home who ate meat, the same Sofya Andreevna. But there were no terrible quarrels because of this.
To understand Tolstoy, it is enough to read his works and not to study his personality. This myth prevents a real reading of Tolstoy's work. Without understanding what he lived, one cannot understand his work. There are writers who say everything with their texts. But Tolstoy can be understood only if you know his worldview, his personal traits, his relationship with the state, church, and relatives. Tolstoy's life is an exciting novel in itself, which sometimes spilled over into paper form. An example of this is "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina". On the other hand, the writer's work also influenced his life, including family life. So there is no escape from studying the personality of Tolstoy and the interesting aspects of his biography.
Tolstoy's novels cannot be studied at school - they are simply incomprehensible to high school students. It is generally difficult for modern schoolchildren to read long works, and "War and Peace" is also filled with historical digressions. Give our high school students abridged versions of novels adapted to their intellect. It is difficult to say whether this is good or bad, but in any case they will at least get an idea of Tolstoy's work. To think that it is better to read Tolstoy after school is dangerous. After all, if you do not start reading it at that age, then later the children will not want to immerse themselves in the writer's work. So the school works proactively, deliberately giving more complex and smart things than the child's intellect can perceive. Perhaps then there will be a desire to return to this and understand to the end. And without studying at school, such a “temptation” will not appear for sure.
Tolstoy's pedagogy has lost its relevance. Tolstoy the teacher is treated ambiguously. His teaching ideas were perceived as the fun of a gentleman who decided to teach children according to his original method. In fact, the spiritual development of a child directly affects his intellect. The soul develops the mind, and not vice versa. And Tolstoy's pedagogy works in modern conditions. This is evidenced by the results of the experiment, during which 90% of children achieved excellent results. Children learn to read according to Tolstoy's ABC, which is built on many parables with their secrets and archetypes of behavior that reveal the nature of man. Gradually, the program becomes more complex. A harmonious person with a strong moral principle emerges from the walls of the school. And according to this method, about a hundred schools are engaged in today in Russia.
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy- an outstanding Russian prose writer, playwright and public figure. Born on August 28 (September 9), 1828 in the estate of Yasnaya Polyana, Tula region. On the maternal side, the writer belonged to the eminent family of the Volkonsky princes, and on the paternal side, to the ancient family of the Counts Tolstoy. Great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father of Leo Tolstoy were military men. Even under Ivan the Terrible, representatives of the ancient Tolstoy family served as governors in many cities of Rus'.
The writer's grandfather on his mother's side, "a descendant of Rurik", Prince Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky, was enrolled in military service from the age of seven. He was a participant in the Russian-Turkish war and retired with the rank of General-Anshef. The writer's paternal grandfather - Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy - served in the Navy, and then in the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The writer's father, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, voluntarily entered military service at the age of seventeen. He participated in the Patriotic War of 1812, was captured by the French and was released by the Russian troops who entered Paris after the defeat of Napoleon's army. On the maternal side, Tolstoy was related to the Pushkins. Their common ancestor was the boyar I.M. Golovin, an associate of Peter I, who studied shipbuilding with him. One of his daughters is the great-grandmother of the poet, the other is the great-grandmother of Tolstoy's mother. Thus, Pushkin was Tolstoy's fourth cousin.
Writer's childhood took place in Yasnaya Polyana - an old family estate. Tolstoy's interest in history and literature arose in his childhood: living in the countryside, he saw how the life of the working people flowed, from him he heard many folk tales, epics, songs, legends. The life of the people, their work, interests and views, oral creativity - everything alive and wise - was revealed to Tolstoy by Yasnaya Polyana.
Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya, the writer's mother, was a kind and sympathetic person, an intelligent and educated woman: she knew French, German, English and Italian, played the piano, and was engaged in painting. Tolstoy was not even two years old when his mother died. The writer did not remember her, but he heard so much about her from those around him that he clearly and vividly imagined her appearance and character.
Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, his father, was loved and appreciated by the children for his humane attitude towards serfs. In addition to doing housework and children, he read a lot. During his life, Nikolai Ilyich collected a rich library, consisting of books of French classics, rare for those times, historical and natural history works. It was he who first noticed the propensity of his youngest son to a vivid perception of the artistic word.
When Tolstoy was in his ninth year, his father took him to Moscow for the first time. The first impressions of the Moscow life of Lev Nikolaevich served as the basis for many paintings, scenes and episodes of the hero’s life in Moscow Tolstoy's trilogy "Childhood", "Adolescence" and "Youth". Young Tolstoy saw not only the open side of big city life, but also some hidden, shady sides. With his first stay in Moscow, the writer connected the end of the earliest period of his life, childhood, and the transition to adolescence. The first period of Tolstoy's life in Moscow did not last long. In the summer of 1837, having gone on business to Tula, his father died suddenly. Soon after the death of his father, Tolstoy, his sister and brothers had to endure a new misfortune: the grandmother died, whom all relatives considered the head of the family. The sudden death of her son was a terrible blow for her and in less than a year took her to the grave. A few years later, the first guardian of the orphaned Tolstoy children, the father's sister, Alexandra Ilyinichna Osten-Saken, died. Ten-year-old Leo, his three brothers and sister were taken to Kazan, where their new guardian, aunt Pelageya Ilyinichna Yushkova, lived.
Tolstoy wrote about his second guardian as a woman "kind and very pious", but at the same time very "frivolous and vain". According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Pelageya Ilyinichna did not enjoy authority among Tolstoy and his brothers, therefore moving to Kazan is considered to be a new stage in the life of the writer: education ended, a period of independent life began.
Tolstoy lived in Kazan for more than six years. It was the time of formation of his character and choice of life path. Living with his brothers and sister at Pelageya Ilyinichna, young Tolstoy spent two years preparing to enter Kazan University. Deciding to enter the eastern department of the university, he paid special attention to preparing for exams in foreign languages. At the exams in mathematics and Russian literature, Tolstoy received fours, and in foreign languages - fives. At the exams in history and geography, Lev Nikolaevich failed - he received unsatisfactory marks.
Failure in the entrance exams served as a serious lesson for Tolstoy. He devoted the whole summer to a thorough study of history and geography, passed additional exams on them, and in September 1844 he was enrolled in the first year of the eastern department of the philosophical faculty of Kazan University in the category of Arabic-Turkish literature. However, the study of languages did not captivate Tolstoy, and after a summer vacation in Yasnaya Polyana, he transferred from the Oriental Faculty to the Faculty of Law.
But even in the future, university studies did not arouse Lev Nikolayevich's interest in the sciences being studied. Most of the time he studied philosophy on his own, compiled the "Rules of Life" and carefully made entries in his diary. By the end of the third year of studies, Tolstoy was finally convinced that the then university order only interfered with independent creative work, and he decided to leave the university. However, he needed a university degree to qualify for employment. And in order to get a diploma, Tolstoy passed the university exams as an external student, having spent two years of his life in the countryside preparing for them. Having received university documents at the end of April 1847, the former student Tolstoy left Kazan.
After leaving the university, Tolstoy again went to Yasnaya Polyana, and then to Moscow. Here, at the end of 1850, he took up literary work. At this time, he decided to write two stories, but he did not finish either of them. In the spring of 1851, Lev Nikolaevich, together with his older brother, Nikolai Nikolaevich, who served in the army as an artillery officer, arrived in the Caucasus. Here Tolstoy lived for almost three years, being mainly in the village of Starogladkovskaya, located on the left bank of the Terek. From here he traveled to Kizlyar, Tiflis, Vladikavkaz, visited many villages and villages.
started in the Caucasus Tolstoy's military service. He took part in the combat operations of the Russian troops. Tolstoy's impressions and observations are reflected in his stories "Raid", "Cutting the Forest", "Degraded", in the story "Cossacks". Later, turning to the memories of this period of life, Tolstoy created the story "Hadji Murad". In March 1854, Tolstoy arrived in Bucharest, where the office of the chief of artillery troops was located. From here, as a staff officer, he made trips to Moldavia, Wallachia and Bessarabia.
In the spring and summer of 1854, the writer took part in the siege of the Turkish fortress of Silistria. However, the main place of hostilities at that time was the Crimean peninsula. Here, Russian troops led by V.A. Kornilov and P.S. Nakhimov heroically defended Sevastopol for eleven months, besieged by Turkish and Anglo-French troops. Participation in the Crimean War is an important stage in Tolstoy's life. Here he closely recognized ordinary Russian soldiers, sailors, residents of Sevastopol, sought to understand the source of the heroism of the defenders of the city, to understand the special character traits inherent in the defender of the Fatherland. Tolstoy himself showed bravery and courage in the defense of Sevastopol.
In November 1855 Tolstoy left Sevastopol for St. Petersburg. By this time, he had already earned recognition in advanced literary circles. During this period, the attention of public life in Russia was focused around the issue of serfdom. Tolstoy's stories of this time ("The Morning of the Landowner", "Polikushka", etc.) are also devoted to this problem.
In 1857 the writer made overseas travel. He traveled to France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. Traveling to different cities, the writer got acquainted with the culture and social system of Western European countries with great interest. Much of what he saw later reflected in his work. In 1860 Tolstoy made another trip abroad. The year before, he opened a school for children in Yasnaya Polyana. Traveling through the cities of Germany, France, Switzerland, England and Belgium, the writer visited schools and studied the features of public education. In most of the schools that Tolstoy visited, caning discipline was in effect and corporal punishment was used. Returning to Russia and visiting a number of schools, Tolstoy discovered that many teaching methods that were in force in Western European countries, in particular in Germany, also penetrated into Russian schools. At this time, Lev Nikolaevich wrote a number of articles in which he criticized the system of public education both in Russia and in Western European countries.
Arriving at home after a trip abroad, Tolstoy devoted himself to work at school and the publication of the pedagogical journal Yasnaya Polyana. The school, founded by the writer, was located not far from his house - in an outbuilding that has survived to our time. In the early 70s, Tolstoy compiled and published a number of textbooks for elementary school: "ABC", "Arithmetic", four "Books for reading". More than one generation of children have learned from these books. Stories from them are read with enthusiasm by children in our time.
In 1862, when Tolstoy was away, landowners arrived in Yasnaya Polyana and searched the writer's house. In 1861, the tsar's manifesto announced the abolition of serfdom. During the reform, disputes broke out between the landowners and peasants, the settlement of which was entrusted to the so-called peace mediators. Tolstoy was appointed mediator in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province. Dealing with controversial cases between nobles and peasants, the writer most often took a position in favor of the peasantry, which caused discontent among the nobles. This was the reason for the search. Because of this, Tolstoy had to stop the activities of the mediator, close the school in Yasnaya Polyana and refuse to publish a pedagogical journal.
In 1862 Tolstoy married Sofya Andreevna Bers, daughter of a Moscow doctor. Arriving with her husband in Yasnaya Polyana, Sofya Andreevna tried with all her might to create such an environment on the estate in which nothing would distract the writer from hard work. In the 60s, Tolstoy led a solitary life, devoting himself entirely to work on War and Peace.
At the end of the epic War and Peace, Tolstoy decided to write a new work - a novel about the era of Peter I. However, social events in Russia, caused by the abolition of serfdom, captured the writer so much that he left work on a historical novel and began to create a new work, in which reflected the post-reform life of Russia. This is how the novel "Anna Karenina" appeared, which Tolstoy devoted four years to work on.
In the early 1980s, Tolstoy moved with his family to Moscow to educate his growing children. Here the writer, well acquainted with rural poverty, became a witness to urban poverty. In the early 90s of the XIX century, almost half of the central provinces of the country were gripped by famine, and Tolstoy joined the fight against the people's disaster. Thanks to his call, the collection of donations, the purchase and delivery of food to the villages was launched. At this time, under the leadership of Tolstoy, about two hundred free canteens for the starving population were opened in the villages of the Tula and Ryazan provinces. A number of articles written by Tolstoy on the famine belong to the same period, in which the writer truthfully portrayed the plight of the people and condemned the policy of the ruling classes.
In the mid-1980s Tolstoy wrote Drama "Power of Darkness", which depicts the death of the old foundations of patriarchal-peasant Russia, and the story "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", dedicated to the fate of a man who only before his death realized the emptiness and meaninglessness of his life. In 1890, Tolstoy wrote the comedy The Fruits of Enlightenment, which shows the true state of the peasantry after the abolition of serfdom. Created in the early 1990s novel "Sunday", on which the writer worked intermittently for ten years. In all the works relating to this period of creativity, Tolstoy openly shows whom he sympathizes with and whom he condemns; depicts the hypocrisy and insignificance of the "masters of life."
The novel "Sunday" more than other works of Tolstoy was subjected to censorship. Most of the novel's chapters have been released or cut. The ruling circles launched an active policy against the writer. Fearing popular indignation, the authorities did not dare to use open repressions against Tolstoy. With the consent of the tsar and at the insistence of the chief procurator of the Holy Synod, Pobedonostsev, the synod adopted a resolution on excommunication of Tolstoy from the church. The writer was put under police surveillance. The world community was outraged by the persecution of Lev Nikolaevich. The peasantry, the progressive intelligentsia and the common people were on the side of the writer, they sought to express their respect and support to him. The love and sympathy of the people served as a reliable support for the writer in the years when the reaction sought to silence him.
However, despite all the efforts of reactionary circles, every year Tolstoy denounced the noble-bourgeois society more and more sharply and boldly, and openly opposed the autocracy. Works from this period "After the Ball", "For what?", "Hadji Murad", "The Living Corpse") are imbued with a deep hatred for royal power, a limited and ambitious ruler. In publicistic articles relating to this time, the writer sharply condemned the instigators of wars, called for a peaceful resolution of all disputes and conflicts.
In 1901-1902 Tolstoy suffered a serious illness. At the insistence of doctors, the writer had to go to the Crimea, where he spent more than six months.
In the Crimea, he met with writers, actors, artists: Chekhov, Korolenko, Gorky, Chaliapin, and others. When Tolstoy returned home, hundreds of ordinary people warmly greeted him at the stations. In the autumn of 1909, the writer made his last trip to Moscow.
In the diaries and letters of Tolstoy in the last decades of his life, the difficult experiences that were caused by the discord between the writer and his family were reflected. Tolstoy wanted to transfer the land that belonged to him to the peasants and wanted his works to be freely and free of charge published by anyone who wanted to. The writer's family opposed this, not wanting to give up either the rights to the land or the rights to works. The old landlord way of life, preserved in Yasnaya Polyana, weighed heavily on Tolstoy.
In the summer of 1881, Tolstoy made his first attempt to leave Yasnaya Polyana, but a feeling of pity for his wife and children forced him to return. Several more attempts by the writer to leave his native estate ended with the same result. On October 28, 1910, secretly from his family, he left Yasnaya Polyana forever, deciding to go south and spend the rest of his life in a peasant's hut, among the simple Russian people. However, on the way, Tolstoy fell seriously ill and was forced to leave the train at the small Astapovo station. The great writer spent the last seven days of his life in the house of the head of the station. The news of the death of one of the outstanding thinkers, a remarkable writer, a great humanist deeply struck the hearts of all the progressive people of that time. Tolstoy's creative heritage is of great importance for world literature. Over the years, interest in the writer's work does not weaken, but, on the contrary, grows. As A. Frans rightly noted: “With his life he proclaims sincerity, directness, purposefulness, firmness, calm and constant heroism, he teaches that one must be truthful and one must be strong ... Precisely because he was full of strength, he always was true!
Born into a noble family of Maria Nikolaevna, nee Princess Volkonskaya, and Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy in the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province as the fourth child. The happy marriage of his parents became the prototype of the characters in the novel "War and Peace" - Princess Marya and Nikolai Rostov. Parents died early. Tatyana Alexandrovna Yergolskaya, a distant relative, was engaged in the upbringing of the future writer, education - tutors: the German Reselman and the Frenchman Saint-Thomas, who became the heroes of the writer's stories and novels. At the age of 13, the future writer and his family moved to the hospitable house of his father's sister P.I. Yushkova in Kazan.
In 1844, Leo Tolstoy entered the Imperial Kazan University in the Department of Oriental Literature of the Faculty of Philosophy. After the first year, he did not pass the transitional exam and transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he studied for two years, plunging into secular entertainment. Leo Tolstoy, naturally shy and ugly, gained a reputation in secular society as "thinking" about the happiness of death, eternity, love, although he himself wanted to shine. And in 1847 he left the university and went to Yasnaya Polyana with the intention of doing science and "achieving the highest degree of perfection in music and painting."
In 1849, the first school for peasant children was opened on his estate, where Foka Demidovich, his serf, a former musician, taught. Yermil Bazykin, who studied there, said: “There were about 20 of us boys, the teacher was Foka Demidovich, a courtyard man. Under father L.N. Tolstoy, he acted as a musician. The old man was good. He taught us the alphabet, counting, sacred history. Lev Nikolaevich also came to us, also worked with us, showed us his diploma. I went every other day, every other day, or even every day. He always ordered the teacher not to offend us ... ".
In 1851, under the influence of his older brother Nikolai, Lev left for the Caucasus, having already begun to write Childhood, and in the fall he became a cadet in the 4th battery of the 20th artillery brigade stationed in the Cossack village of Starogladovskaya on the Terek River. There he completed the first part of Childhood and sent it to the Sovremennik magazine to its editor N.A. Nekrasov. On September 18, 1852, the manuscript was printed with great success.
Leo Tolstoy served three years in the Caucasus and, having the right to the most honorable St. George Cross for bravery, “conceded” to his fellow soldier, as giving a lifelong pension. At the beginning of the Crimean War of 1853-1856. transferred to the Danube army, participated in the battles of Oltenitsa, the siege of Silistria, the defense of Sevastopol. The then written story "Sevastopol in December 1854" was read by Emperor Alexander II, who ordered to take care of a talented officer.
In November 1856, the already recognized and well-known writer leaves military service and leaves to travel around Europe.
In 1862, Leo Tolstoy married seventeen-year-old Sofya Andreevna Bers. In their marriage, 13 children were born, five died in early childhood, the novels War and Peace (1863-1869) and Anna Karenina (1873-1877) were written, recognized as great works.
In the 1880s Leo Tolstoy survived a powerful crisis, which led to the denial of official state power and its institutions, the realization of the inevitability of death, faith in God and the creation of his own doctrine - Tolstoyism. He lost interest in the usual aristocratic life, he began to have thoughts of suicide and the need to live right, be a vegetarian, engage in education and physical labor - he plowed, sewed boots, taught children at school. In 1891, he publicly renounced the copyright to his literary works written after 1880.
During 1889-1899. Leo Tolstoy wrote the novel "Resurrection", whose plot is based on a real court case, and scathing articles about the system of government - on this basis, the Holy Synod excommunicated Count Leo Tolstoy from the Orthodox Church and anathematized in 1901.
On October 28 (November 10), 1910, Leo Tolstoy secretly left Yasnaya Polyana, setting off on a journey without a specific plan for the sake of his moral and religious ideas of recent years, accompanied by doctor D.P. Makovitsky. On the way he caught a cold, fell ill with lobar pneumonia and was forced to get off the train at the Astapovo station (now Lev Tolstoy station in the Lipetsk region). Leo Tolstoy died on November 7 (20), 1910 in the house of the head of the station I.I. Ozolin and was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born on August 28 (September 9), 1828 in the estate of his mother Yasnaya Polyana, Krapivensky district, Tula province. Tolstoy's family belonged to a wealthy and noble family of counts. By the time Leo was born, the family already had three eldest sons: - Nikolai (1823-1860), Sergey (1826 -1904) and Dmitry (1827 - 1856), and in 1830 Lev's younger sister Maria was born.
A few years later, the mother died. In Tolstoy's autobiographical "Childhood" Irtenyev's mother dies when the boy is 10-12 years old and he is quite conscious. However, the portrait of the mother is described by the writer exclusively from the stories of his relatives. After the death of their mother, a distant relative, T. A. Ergolskaya, took care of the orphaned children. She is represented by Sonya from War and Peace.
In 1837, the family moved to Moscow, because. older brother Nikolai had to prepare for entering the university. But a tragedy suddenly occurred in the family - the father died, leaving things in a bad state. Three younger children were forced to return to Yasnaya Polyana under the upbringing of T. A. Ergolskaya and his father's aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Saken. Here Leo Tolstoy remained until 1840. This year, Countess A. M. Osten-Saken died and the children were moved to Kazan to their father's sister P. I. Yushkova. L. N. Tolstoy quite accurately conveyed this period of his life in his autobiography Childhood.
Tolstoy at the first stage was educated under the guidance of a rude French tutor Saint-Thomas. He is portrayed by a certain M-r Jérôme of Boyhood. In the future, he was replaced by the good-natured German Reselman. His Lev Nikolaevich lovingly portrayed in "Childhood" under the name of Karl Ivanovich.
In 1843, following his brother Tolstoy, he entered Kazan University. There, until 1847, Leo Tolstoy was preparing to enter the only Oriental Faculty in Russia in the category of Arabic-Turkish literature. For a year of study, Tolstoy showed himself as the best student of this course. However, there was a conflict between the poet's family and a teacher of Russian and German history, a certain Ivanov. This led to the fact that, according to the results of the year, Leo Tolstoy had poor progress in the relevant subjects and had to re-take the first year program. To avoid a complete repetition of the course, the poet is transferred to the Faculty of Law. But even there the problems with the teacher of German and Russian continue. Soon Tolstoy loses all interest in learning.
In the spring of 1847, Lev Nikolaevich left the university and settled in Yasnaya Polyana. Everything that Tolstoy did in the countryside can be found out by reading The Morning of the Landowner, where the poet introduces himself in the role of Nekhlyudov. There, a lot of time was spent on revelry, games and hunting.
In the spring of 1851, on the advice of his elder brother Nikolai, in order to cut costs and pay off his debts, Lev Nikolayevich left for the Caucasus.
In the fall of 1851, he became a cadet of the 4th battery of the 20th artillery brigade, stationed in the Cossack village of Starogladovo near Kizlyar. Soon L.N. Tolstoy became an officer. When the Crimean War began at the end of 1853, Lev Nikolaevich transferred to the Danube army, participated in the battles of Oltenitsa and Silistria. From November 1854 to August 1855 he participated in the defense of Sevastopol. After the assault on August 27, 1855, Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was sent to Petersburg. A noisy life began there: drinking parties, cards and carousing with gypsies.
In St. Petersburg, L.N. Tolstoy met the staff of the Sovremennik magazine with N.A. Nekrasov, I.S. Turgenev, I.A. Goncharov, N.G. Chernyshevsky.
At the beginning of 1857 Tolstoy went abroad. On the road in Germany, Switzerland, England, Italy, France, he spends a year and a half. Travel does not bring him pleasure. He expressed his disappointment with European life in the story "Lucerne". And returning to Russia, Lev Nikolaevich took up the improvement of schools in Yasnaya Polyana.
In the late 1850s, Tolstoy met Sophia Andreevna Bers, born in 1844, the daughter of a Moscow doctor from the Baltic Germans. He was almost 40 years old, and Sophia was only 17. It seemed to him that this difference was too great and sooner or later Sophia would fall in love with a young guy who had not become obsolete. These experiences of Lev Nikolaevich are set forth in his first novel, Family Happiness.
In September 1862, Leo Tolstoy nevertheless married 18-year-old Sofya Andreevna Bers. For 17 years of marriage, they had 13 children. During the same period, "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" were created. In 1861-62. finishes his story "The Cossacks", the first of the works in which Tolstoy's great talent was recognized as a genius.
In the early 70s, Tolstoy again showed interest in pedagogy, wrote the ABC and the New ABC, composed fables and stories that made up four Russian books for reading.
In order to answer the questions and doubts of a religious nature that tormented him, Lev Nikolayevich began to study theology. In 1891, in Geneva, the writer writes and publishes a Study of Dogmatic Theology, in which he criticizes Bulgakov's Orthodox Dogmatic Theology. He first began to talk with priests and monarchs, read theological treatises, studied ancient Greek and Hebrew. Tolstoy gets acquainted with schismatics, adjoins sectarian peasants.
In the early 1900s By the Holy Synod, Lev Nikolayevich was excommunicated from the Orthodox Church. L. N. Tolstoy lost all interest in life, he was tired of enjoying the achieved prosperity, the thought of suicide arose. He is fond of simple physical labor, becomes a vegetarian, gives his family all his wealth, renounces literary property rights.
On November 10, 1910, Tolstoy secretly left Yasnaya Polyana, but on the way he became very ill. On November 20, 1910, Leo Tolstoy died at the Astapovo station of the Ryazan-Ural Railway.
Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828. The family of the writer belonged to the nobility. After his mother died, Leo and his sisters and brothers were raised by their father's cousin. Their father died 7 years later. For this reason, the children were given to be raised by an aunt. But soon the aunt died, and the children went to Kazan, to the second aunt. Tolstoy's childhood was difficult, but, however, in his works he romanticized this period of his life.
Lev Nikolaevich received his basic education at home. Soon he entered the Imperial Kazan University at the Faculty of Philology. But in his studies, he was not successful.
While Tolstoy served in the army, he would have quite a lot of free time. Even then, he began to write an autobiographical story "Childhood". This story contains good memories from the publicist's childhood.
Lev Nikolayevich also participated in the Crimean War, and during this period he created a number of works: "Boyhood", "Sevastopol Stories" and so on.
Anna Karenina is Tolstoy's most famous work.
Leo Tolstoy fell asleep forever on November 20, 1910. He was interred in Yasnaya Polyana, the place where he grew up.
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a famous writer who, in addition to recognized serious books, created works useful for children. These were, first of all, "ABC" and "Book for reading".
He was born in 1828 in the Tula province in the Yasnaya Polyana estate, where his house-museum is still located. Lyova became the fourth child in this noble family. His mother (nee princess) soon died, and seven years later his father. These terrible events led to the fact that the children had to move to their aunt in Kazan. Later, Lev Nikolayevich will collect memories of these and other years in the story "Childhood", which will be the first to be published in the Sovremennik magazine.
At first, Lev studied at home with German and French teachers, he was also fond of music. He grew up and entered the Imperial University. Tolstoy's older brother convinced him to serve in the army. The lion even took part in real battles. They are described by him in "Sevastopol stories", in the stories "Adolescence" and "Youth".
Tired of the wars, he declared himself an anarchist and went to Paris, where he lost all the money. Having changed his mind, Lev Nikolaevich returned to Russia, married Sophia Burns. Since then, he began to live in his native estate and engage in literary work.
His first major work was the novel War and Peace. The writer wrote it for about ten years. The novel was well received by both readers and critics. Further, Tolstoy created the novel "Anna Karenina", which received even greater public success.
Tolstoy wanted to understand life. Desperate to find an answer in his work, he went to church, but was disappointed there too. Then he renounced the church, began to think about his philosophical theory - "non-resistance to evil." He wanted to give all his property to the poor… The secret police even began to follow him!
Going on a pilgrimage, Tolstoy fell ill and died - in 1910.
Biography of Leo Tolstoy
In different sources, the date of birth of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy is indicated in different ways. The most common versions are August 28, 1829 and September 09, 1828. Born as the fourth child in a noble family, Russia, Tula province, Yasnaya Polyana. There were 5 children in the Tolstoy family.
His family tree originates from the Ruriks, his mother belonged to the Volkonsky family, and his father was a count. At the age of 9, Leo and his father went to Moscow for the first time. The young writer was so impressed that this trip gave rise to such works as Childhood'', Boyhood'', Youth''.
In 1830, Leo's mother died. The upbringing of children, after the death of the mother, was taken over by their uncle - the cousin of the father, after whose death, the aunt became the guardian. When the guardian aunt died, the second aunt from Kazan began to take care of the children. In 1873 my father died.
Tolstoy received his first education at home, with teachers. In Kazan, the writer lived for about 6 years, spent 2 years preparing to enter the Imperial Kazan University and he was enrolled in the Faculty of Oriental Languages. In 1844 he became a university student.
Learning languages for Leo Tolstoy was not interesting, after that he tried to connect his fate with jurisprudence, but even here the training did not work out, so in 1847 he dropped out of school, received documents from an educational institution. After unsuccessful attempts to study, he decided to develop farming. In this regard, he returned to his parents' house in Yasnaya Polyana.
I did not find myself in agriculture, but it was not bad to keep a personal diary. Having finished working in the field of farming, he went to Moscow to focus on creativity, but all his plans have not yet been implemented.
Very young, he managed to visit the war, along with his brother Nikolai. The course of military events influenced his work, this is noticeable in some works, for example, in the stories, Cossacks '', Hadji - Murat '', in the stories, Degraded '', Woodcutting '', Raid ''.
From 1855, Lev Nikolaevich became a more skillful writer. At that time, the right of serfs was relevant, about which Leo Tolstoy wrote in his stories: “Polikushka”, “Morning of the landowner” and others.
1857-1860 fell on travel. Under their impression, he prepared school textbooks and began to pay attention to the publication of a pedagogical journal. In 1862, Leo Tolstoy married the young Sophia Bers, the daughter of a doctor. Family life, at first, benefited him, then the most famous works were written, War and Peace '', Anna Karenina ''.
The mid-80s were fruitful, dramas, comedies, and novels were written. The writer was worried about the topic of the bourgeoisie, he was on the side of the common people, in order to express his thoughts on this matter, Leo Tolstoy created many works: “After the Ball”, “For what”, “The Power of Darkness”, “Sunday”, etc.
Roman, Sunday”, deserves special attention. To write it, Lev Nikolayevich had to work hard for 10 years. As a result, the work was criticized. The local authorities, so afraid of his pen that they installed surveillance on him, were able to remove him from the church, but despite this, the common people supported Leo as best they could.
In the early 90s, Leo began to get sick. In the autumn of 1910, at the age of 82, the writer's heart stopped. It happened on the road: Leo Tolstoy was on a train, he became ill, he had to stop at the Astapovo railway station. Sheltered the patient, at home, the head of the station. After 7 days of visiting, the writer died.
Biography by dates and interesting facts. The most important.
Other biographies:
- Gabdulla Tukay
Gabudalla Tukay is a Soviet, Tatar people's writer. He is considered the founder of the modern Tatar language. He made a huge contribution to the development of Tatar literature. During his short life, he was able to change many writers, including Russians.
- Democritus
Democritus was born in the city of Abdera around 460 BC. Therefore, he is often called Democritus of Abdera. He is considered the creator of atomistic materialism, although, if you look in more detail
- Radishchev Alexander Nikolaevich
Born in Nemtsov (Moscow). A few years later, the family moved to the village of Verkhneye Ablyazovo in the Saratov Viceroyalty (Petersburg).
- Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was born in 1821 in Moscow. In the family of the doctor of the clinic for the poor, Mikhail Andreevich
- Short biography Nikolai 2 most important thing for children (Grade 4, World around)
Nicholas II was the last Russian emperor. He was born on May 18, 1868 in Tsarskoye Selo. Nikolai began training at the age of 8. In addition to the standard school subjects, he also studied drawing, music and swordsmanship.
