→ Biography of Leo Tolstoy briefly, the most important thing and creativity. Leo Tolstoy - biography of Leo Tolstoy full biography

Biography of Leo Tolstoy briefly, the most important thing and creativity. Leo Tolstoy - biography of Leo Tolstoy full biography

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

Childhood

Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, Krapivinsky district, Tula province. Here was his mother's estate, which she inherited. The Tolstoy family had very extensive noble and count roots. In the highest aristocratic world there were relatives of the future writer everywhere. There was everyone in his family - a brethren-adventurer and an admiral, a chancellor and an artist, a lady-in-waiting and the first social beauty, a general and a minister.

Leo's dad, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, was a man with a good education, took part in the foreign campaigns of the Russian military against Napoleon, was captured in France, from where he escaped, and retired as a lieutenant colonel. When his father died, he inherited a lot of debts, and Nikolai Ilyich was forced to take a bureaucratic job. In order to save his upset financial component of the inheritance, Nikolai Tolstoy was legally married to Princess Maria Nikolaevna, who was no longer young and came from the Volkonsky family. Despite the 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. Leo was fourth among all.

After her last daughter, Maria, was born, her mother began to experience “childbed fever.” In 1830 she died. Leo was not yet two years old at that time. And what a wonderful storyteller she was. Perhaps this is where Tolstoy’s early love for literature came from. Five children were left without a mother. Their upbringing had to be done by 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 go to university. But very soon and completely unexpectedly, the father of the Tolstoy family died. His financial affairs were not completed, and the three youngest children had to return to Yasnaya Polyana to be raised by Ergolskaya and their paternal aunt, Countess Osten-Sacken A.M. It was here that Leo Tolstoy spent his entire childhood.

The writer's early years

After the death of Aunt Osten-Sacken in 1843, the children had to move again, 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, Lev abandoned his studies and went to Yasnaya Polyana, which he inherited. At the same time, he began keeping his famous diary, having adopted this idea from Benjamin Franklin, whose biography he became well acquainted with at the university. Just like the wisest American politician, Tolstoy set himself certain goals and tried with all his might to fulfill them, analyzed his failures and victories, actions and thoughts. This diary went with the writer throughout his life.

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

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

In the fall of 1848, Tolstoy went to Moscow, where he planned to prepare for and pass the candidate exams. Instead, a completely different social life with its excitement and card games. In the winter of 1849, Lev moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, where he continued to lead revelries and a riotous lifestyle. In the spring of this year, he began taking exams to become a candidate of rights, but, having changed his mind about taking the final exam, he returned to Yasnaya Polyana.

Here he continued to lead an almost metropolitan lifestyle - cards and hunting. However, in 1849, Lev Nikolaevich opened a school for peasant children 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 trilogy “Childhood”. 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 writer’s best and most faithful friend and mentor. At first, Lev Nikolaevich thought about the service, but a large gambling debt in Moscow accelerated the decision. Tolstoy went to the Caucasus and in the fall of 1851 he entered service as 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 to the most popular literary magazine of that time, “Sovremennik.” He signed with the initials “L.” N.T.” and along with the manuscript he enclosed a small letter:

“I will eagerly await 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 he immediately recognized the literary value of the Childhood manuscript. The work was published and was a huge success.

Military life Lev Nikolaevich was too rich:

  • 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 Oltenitz;
  • participated in the siege of Silistria;
  • in the battle of Chernaya he commanded a battery;
  • during the assault on Malakhov Kurgan, he 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 a military career. But he was only interested in writing. During his service, he did not stop composing and sending his stories to Sovremennik. Published in 1856, “Sevastopol Stories” finally established 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 he became disgusted with social life, and Tolstoy decided to travel around Europe. He visited Germany, Switzerland, England, France, Italy. He described all the advantages and disadvantages he saw, the emotions he received in his works.

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

Years of work on the work Title of the work
1854 "Adolescence"
1856 "Morning of the landowner"
1858 "Albert"
1859 "Family happiness"
1860-1861 "Decembrists"
1861-1862 "Idyll"
1863-1869 "War and Peace"
1873-1877 "Anna Karenina"
1884-1903 "Diary of a Madman"
1887-1889 "Kreutzer Sonata"
1889-1899 "Sunday"
1896-1904 "Hadji Murat"

Family, death and memory

Lev Nikolaevich lived in marriage and love with his wife for almost 50 years, they had 13 children, five of whom died while still young. There are many 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, setting off on a journey that would correspond to his life views. Only his doctor went with him. There were no specific goals. He went to Optina Pustyn, then to the Shamordino Monastery, then went to visit his niece in Novocherkassk. But the writer became ill; after suffering from a cold, pneumonia began.

In the Lipetsk region, at the Astapovo station, Tolstoy was taken off the train, admitted to the hospital, six doctors tried to save his life, but to their proposals Lev Nikolaevich quietly replied: “God will arrange everything.” After a whole week of heavy and painful breathing, the writer died in the house of the station master on November 20, 1910 at the age of 82 years.

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 state museum L. N. Tolstoy.

Do you know Leo Tolstoy? The short and complete biography of this writer is studied in detail during his school years. However, like great works. The first association for every person who hears the name famous writer, is the novel "War and Peace". Not everyone dared to overcome laziness and read it. And in vain. This work has earned worldwide fame. This is a classic that everyone should read. educated person. But first things first.

The biography of Leo Tolstoy says that he was born in the 19th century, namely in 1828. The surname of the future writer is the oldest aristocratic one in Russia. Lev Nikolaevich received his education at home. When his parents died, he, his sister and three brothers moved to the city of Kazan. P. Yushkova became Tolstoy’s guardian. At the age of 16 he entered the local university. He studied first at the Faculty of Philosophy and then at the Faculty of Law. But Tolstoy never graduated from the university. He settled on the Yasnaya Polyana estate - where he was born.

The biography of Leo Tolstoy says that the next 4 years became years of quest for him. First, he reorganized the life of the estate, then went to Moscow, where a social life awaited him. He received a candidate of law degree from St. Petersburg University, and then got a job - he became a clerical employee in the noble parliamentary assembly of Tula.

The biography of Leo Tolstoy describes his trip to the Caucasus in 1851. There he even fought with the Chechens. Episodes of this particular war were later described in various stories and the story “Cossacks”. Next, Lev passed the cadet exam in order to become an officer in the future. And already in this rank in 1854, Tolstoy served in the Danube Army, which was operating at that time against the Turks.

Lev Nikolaevich began to seriously engage in literary creativity during a trip to the Caucasus. His story “Childhood” was written there and then published in the Sovremennik magazine. The story “Adolescence” subsequently appeared in the same publication.

Leo also fought in Sevastopol during the war. There he showed real fearlessness, participating in the defense of the city under siege. For this he was awarded the Order of Bravery. The writer recreated the bloody picture of the war in his “Sevastopol Stories.” This work made an indelible impression on the entire Russian society.

Since 1855, Tolstoy lived in St. Petersburg. There he often communicated with Chernyshevsky, Turgenev, Ostrovsky and other legendary personalities. And a year later he retired. Then the writer traveled, he opened a school for peasant children on his native estate and even taught classes there himself. With his help, two dozen more schools were opened nearby. This was followed by a second trip abroad. The works that immortalized the writer’s name throughout the world were created by him in the 70s. This is, of course, “Anna Karenina” and the novel “War and Peace” described at the beginning of the article.

The biography of Leo Tolstoy says that he got married in 1862. He and his wife subsequently raised nine children. The family moved to the capital in 1880.

Leo Tolstoy (biography Interesting Facts reports this) last years spent his life torn apart by intrigue and squabbles in the family over the inheritance that would remain after him. At the age of 82, the writer leaves the estate and goes on a journey, away from the lordly way of life. But his health was too weak for this. On the way, he caught a cold and died. He was buried, of course, in his homeland - in Yasnaya Polyana.

The name of the writer, educator, Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is known to every Russian person. During his lifetime, 78 were published works of art, another 96 are preserved in the archives. And in the first half of the 20th century, a complete collection of works was published, numbering 90 volumes and including, in addition to novels, novellas, short stories, essays, etc., numerous letters and diary entries this great man, distinguished by his enormous talent and extraordinary personal qualities. In this article we will recall the most interesting facts from the life of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

Selling a house in Yasnaya Polyana

In his youth, the count was known as a gambling man and loved, unfortunately, not very successfully, to play cards. It so happened that part of the house in Yasnaya Polyana, where the writer spent his childhood, was given away for debts. Subsequently, Tolstoy planted trees in the empty space. Ilya Lvovich, his son, recalled how he once asked his father to show him the room in the house where he was born. And Lev Nikolaevich pointed to the top of one of the larches, adding: “There.” And he described the leather sofa on which this happened in the novel “War and Peace.” These are interesting facts from the life of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy related to the family estate.

As for the house itself, its two two-story wings have been preserved and have grown over time. After marriage and the birth of children, the Tolstoy family grew larger, and at the same time new premises were added.

Thirteen children were born into the Tolstoy family, five of whom died in infancy. The Count never spared time for them, and before the crisis of the 80s he loved to play pranks. For example, if jelly was served during lunch, my father noticed that it was good for them to glue the boxes together. The children immediately brought table paper to the dining room, and the creative process began.

Another example. Someone in the family became sad or even cried. The count who noticed this instantly organized the “Numidian Cavalry”. He jumped up from his seat, raised his hand and rushed around the table, and the children rushed after him.

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich was always distinguished by his love of literature. He regularly held evening readings in his house. Somehow I picked up a Jules Verne book without pictures. Then he began to illustrate it himself. And although he was not a very good artist, the family was delighted with what they saw.

The children also remembered the humorous poems of Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich. He read them in the wrong German for the same purpose: home. By the way, few people know that the writer’s creative heritage includes several poetic works. For example, “Fool”, “Volga the Hero”. They were mainly written for children and were included in the well-known “ABC”.

Thoughts of suicide

The works of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy became for the writer a way to study human characters in their development. Psychologism in the image often required great emotional effort from the author. So, while working on Anna Karenina, trouble almost happened to the writer. He was in such a difficult mental state that he was afraid to repeat the fate of his hero Levin and commit suicide. Later, in “Confession,” Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy noted that the thought of this was so persistent that he even took a lace out of the room where he was changing clothes alone and gave up hunting with a gun.

Disappointment in the Church

Nikolaevich’s story is well studied and contains many stories about how he was excommunicated from the church. Meanwhile, the writer always considered himself a believer, and from 1977, for several years, he strictly observed all fasts and attended every church service. However, after visiting Optina Pustyn in 1981, everything changed. Lev Nikolaevich went there with his footman and school teacher. They walked, as expected, with a knapsack and bast shoes. When we finally found ourselves in the monastery, we discovered terrible dirt and strict discipline.

The arriving pilgrims were accommodated on a general basis, which outraged the footman, who always treated the owner as a gentleman. He turned to one of the monks and said that the old man was Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. The writer’s work was well known, and he was immediately transferred to best number hotels. After returning from Optina Hermitage, the count expressed his dissatisfaction with such veneration, and from that time on he changed his attitude towards church conventions and its employees. It all ended with him taking a cutlet for lunch during one of the posts.

By the way, in the last years of his life the writer became a vegetarian, completely giving up meat. But at the same time, I ate scrambled eggs in different forms every day.

Physical work

In the early 80s - this is reported in the biography of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy - the writer finally came to the conviction that an idle life and luxury do not make a person beautiful. For a long time he was tormented by the question of what to do: sell off all his property and leave his beloved wife and children, unaccustomed to hard work, without funds? Or transfer the entire fortune to Sofya Andreevna? Later, Tolstoy would divide everything between family members. During this difficult time for him - the family had already moved to Moscow - Lev Nikolaevich loved to go to the Sparrow Hills, where he helped the men cut wood. Then he learned the craft of shoemaking and even designed his own boots and summer shoes made of canvas and leather, which he wore all summer. And every year he helped peasant families in which there was no one to plow, sow and harvest grain. Not everyone approved of Lev Nikolaevich’s life. Tolstoy was not understood even in his own family. But he remained adamant. And one summer all of Yasnaya Polyana broke up into artels and went out to mow. Among those working was even Sofya Andreevna, raking the grass.

Help for the hungry

Noting interesting facts from the life of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, we can recall the events of 1898. Famine once again broke out in Mtsensk and Chernen districts. The writer, dressed in an old retinue and props, with a knapsack on his shoulders, together with his son, who volunteered to help him, personally toured all the villages and found out where the situation was truly miserable. Within a week, they compiled lists and created approximately twelve canteens in each district, where they fed, first of all, children, the elderly and the sick. Food was brought from Yasnaya Polyana and two hot meals were prepared a day. Tolstoy's initiative caused negativity from the authorities, who established constant control over him, and local landowners. The latter considered that such actions of the count could lead to the fact that they themselves would soon have to plow the fields and milk the cows.

One day a police officer entered one of the dining rooms and started a conversation with the count. He complained that although he approved of the writer’s action, he was a forced person, and therefore did not know what to do - they were talking about permission for such activities from the governor. The writer’s answer turned out to be simple: “Do not serve where you are forced to act against your conscience.” And this was the whole life of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

Serious illness

In 1901, the writer fell ill with a severe fever and, on the advice of doctors, went to Crimea. There, instead of being cured, he also contracted inflammation and there was practically no hope that he would survive. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, whose work contains many works describing death, prepared mentally for it. He was not at all afraid of losing his life. The writer even said goodbye to his loved ones. And although he could only speak in a half-whisper, he gave each of his children valuable advice for the future, as it turned out, nine years before his death. This was very helpful, since nine years later, none of the family members - and almost all of them gathered at the Astapovo station - were not allowed to see the patient.

Writer's funeral

Back in the 90s, Lev Nikolaevich spoke in his diary about how he would like to see his funeral. Ten years later, in “Memoirs,” he tells the story of the famous “green stick,” buried in a ravine next to the oak trees. And already in 1908 he dictated a wish to the stenographer: to bury him in a wooden coffin in the place where the brothers searched for the source of eternal goodness in childhood.

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich, according to his will, was buried in the Yasnaya Polyana park. The funeral was attended by several thousand people, among whom were not only friends, admirers of creativity, writers, but also local peasants, whom he treated with care and understanding all his life.

History of the will

Interesting facts from the life of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy also concern his expression of will regarding creative heritage. The writer drew up six wills: in 1895 (diary entries), 1904 (letter to Chertkov), 1908 (dictated to Gusev), twice in 1909 and in 1010. According to one of them, all his records and works came into general use. According to others, the right to them was transferred to Chertkov. Ultimately, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy bequeathed his work and all his notes to his daughter Alexandra, who became her father’s assistant at the age of sixteen.

Number 28

According to his relatives, the writer always had an ironic attitude towards prejudice. But he considered the number twenty-eight special for himself and loved it. Was it just a coincidence or fate? It is unknown, but many of the most important events in life and the first works of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy are connected precisely with her. Here is their list:

  • August 28, 1828 is the date of birth of the writer himself.
  • On May 28, 1856, censorship gave permission to publish the first book of stories, “Childhood and Adolescence.”
  • On June 28, the first child, Sergei, was born.
  • On February 28, the wedding of Ilya’s son took place.
  • On October 28, the writer left Yasnaya Polyana forever.

On September 9, 1828, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, one of the greatest writers of all time, was born. When Tolstoy received universal recognition Thanks to such epic novels as War and Peace and Anna Karenina, he abandoned many of the external privileges of his aristocratic origins. And now Lev Nikolaevich’s attention was focused on spiritual issues and moral philosophy. By immersing himself in simple living and preaching pacifist ideas, Leo Tolstoy inspired thousands of followers, including Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

TOLSTOY WAS OBSESSED WITH SELF-IMPROVEMENT

Inspired in part by "Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues," as he wrote Lev Tolstoy in his diary, he created a seemingly endless list of rules by which he strived to live. While some seem quite clear even to modern man(go to bed no later than 22:00 and wake up later than 5:00, no more than 2 hours of daytime sleep, moderation in food and no sweets), others are more like Tolstoy’s eternal struggle with his personal demons. For example, limiting visits to brothels to twice a month, or self-reproach regarding your youthful love of cards. Starting from late adolescence, Lev Tolstoy kept a “Journal of Daily Activities”, in which he not only wrote down in detail how he spent the day, but also made a clear plan for the next one. Moreover, over the years he began to compile long list their moral failures. And later, for each trip, he created a manual that clearly regulated it free time on a trip: from listening to music to playing cards.

THE WRITER'S WIFE HELPED HIM COMPLETE "WAR AND PEACE"

In 1862, a 34-year-old Lev Tolstoy married 18-year-old Sophia Bers, the daughter of the court physician, just a few weeks after they met. In the same year, Tolstoy began work on his epic novel War and Peace (then called 1805, then All's Well That Ends Well and Three Seasons), completing its first draft in 1865. But the robot was not at all inspired by the writer, and he began rewriting, and rewriting again, and Sophia was responsible for rewriting each page by hand. She often used a magnifying glass to make out everything written by Lev Nikolaevich on every centimeter of paper and even in the margins. Over the next seven years, she rewrote the entire manuscript by hand eight times (and some parts as many as thirty). During this time, she gave birth to four of their thirteen children and managed their estate and all financial matters. By the way, Tolstoy himself did not really like War and Peace. In correspondence with the poet Afanasy Fet, the writer spoke about his book in the following way: “How happy I am... that I will never write verbose rubbish like “War” again.”

TOLSTOY WAS EXCLUDED FROM THE CHURCH

After the successful publication of Anna Karenina in the 1870s, Lev Tolstoy began to feel increasingly uncomfortable with his aristocratic origins and ever-increasing wealth. The writer overcame a series of emotional and spiritual crises that ultimately undermined his faith in the tenets of organized religion. The whole system seemed to him corrupt and in conflict with his interpretation of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Tolstoy's rejection of religious rituals and his attacks on the role of the state and the concept of property rights set him on a collision course with two of Russia's most powerful subjects. Despite his aristocratic origins, the tsarist government placed him under police surveillance, and the Russian Orthodox Church excommunicated Lev Nikolaevich in 1901.

MENTOR GANDHI

While Russia's religious and royal leaders hoped to reduce Tolstoy's popularity, he quickly began to attract adherents to his new faith, which was a mixture of pacifism, Christian anarchism, and encouraged moral and physical asceticism in lifestyle. Dozens of “Tolstoyites” moved to the writer’s estate to be closer to their spiritual leader, while thousands of others set up colonies not only in Russia, but throughout the world. Although many of these communities were short-lived, some continue to operate to this day. However last fact the writer did not like it: he believed that a person can only find the truth himself, without outside help. In addition, the teachings of Lev Nikolaevich inspired Mahatma Gandhi, who created a cooperative colony named after Tolstoy in South Africa and corresponded with the writer, giving him credit for his own spiritual and philosophical evolution, especially in relation to Tolstoy’s teachings on non-violent resistance to evil.

TOLSTOY'S MARRIAGE WAS ONE OF THE WORST IN LITERARY HISTORY

Despite the initial mutual sympathy and Sofia's invaluable help in his work, Tolstoy's marriage was far from ideal. Things started to go downhill when he forced her to read his diaries, filled with his past sexual exploits, the day before the wedding. And as Tolstoy’s interest in spiritual issues flared up, his interest in his family faded. He left the entire burden of dealing with his ever-growing finances, coupled with the writer's ever-fluctuating mood, on Sophia. By 1880, when the writer’s students lived on the Tolstoy estate, and he himself Lev Nikolaevich walking around barefoot and in peasant clothes, Sofya Andreevna, who could not restrain her anger, demanded that he write down his literary heritage to her in order to avoid ruining the family in the future.

At 82, deeply unhappy Lev Tolstoy tired of everything. He fled his estate in the middle of the night with one of his daughters, intending to settle on a small plot of land belonging to his sister. His disappearance became a sensation, and when Lev Nikolaevich appeared at the railway station a few days later, a crowd of newspapermen, onlookers and his wife were already waiting for him. Seriously ill, Tolstoy refused to return home. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy died on November 20, 1910 after a week of painful illness.

Russian writer, Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born on September 9 (August 28, old style) 1828 in the Yasnaya Polyana estate, Krapivensky district, Tula province (now Shchekinsky district, Tula region).

Tolstoy was the fourth child in big noble family. His mother, Maria Tolstaya (1790-1830), née Princess Volkonskaya, died when the boy was not yet two years old. Father, Nikolai Tolstoy (1794-1837), participant Patriotic War, also died early. A distant relative of the family, Tatyana Ergolskaya, was involved in raising the children.

When Tolstoy was 13 years old, the family moved to Kazan, to the house of Pelageya Yushkova, his father’s sister and the children’s guardian.

In 1844, Tolstoy entered Kazan University at the Department of Oriental Languages ​​of the Faculty of Philosophy, then transferred to the Faculty of Law.

In the spring of 1847, having submitted a request for dismissal from the university “due to poor health and domestic circumstances,” he went to Yasnaya Polyana, where he tried to establish new relations with the peasants. Disappointed by his unsuccessful management experience (this attempt is depicted in the story “The Morning of the Landowner,” 1857), Tolstoy soon left first for Moscow, then for St. Petersburg. His lifestyle changed frequently during this period. Religious sentiments, reaching the point of asceticism, alternated with carousing, cards, and trips to the gypsies. It was then that his first unfinished literary sketches appeared.

In 1851, Tolstoy left for the Caucasus with his brother Nikolai, an officer in the Russian troops. He took part in hostilities (first voluntarily, then receiving an army position). Tolstoy sent the story “Childhood” written here to Sovremennik magazine without revealing his name. It was published in 1852 under the initials L.N. and, together with the later stories “Adolescence” (1852-1854) and “Youth” (1855-1857), formed autobiographical trilogy. Tolstoy's literary debut brought recognition.

Caucasian impressions were reflected in the story "Cossacks" (18520-1863) and in the stories "Raid" (1853), "Cutting Wood" (1855).

In 1854, Tolstoy went to the Danube front. Soon after the start Crimean War At his personal request, he was transferred to Sevastopol, where the writer had the opportunity to survive the siege of the city. This experience inspired him to write his realistic Sevastopol Stories (1855-1856).
Soon after the end of hostilities, Tolstoy left military service and lived for some time in St. Petersburg, where he had great success in literary circles.

He joined the Sovremennik circle, met Nikolai Nekrasov, Ivan Turgenev, Ivan Goncharov, Nikolai Chernyshevsky and others. Tolstoy took part in dinners and readings, in the establishment of the Literary Fund, became involved in disputes and conflicts among writers, but felt like a stranger in this environment.

In the autumn of 1856 he left for Yasnaya Polyana, and at the beginning of 1857 he went abroad. Tolstoy visited France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, returned to Moscow in the fall, and then again to Yasnaya Polyana.

In 1859, Tolstoy opened a school for peasant children in the village, and also helped to establish more than 20 similar institutions in the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana. In 1860, he went abroad for the second time to get acquainted with the schools of Europe. In London, I often saw Alexander Herzen, visited Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and studied pedagogical systems.

In 1862, Tolstoy began publishing the pedagogical magazine Yasnaya Polyana with reading books as an appendix. Later, in the early 1870s, the writer created "ABC" (1871-1872) and "New ABC" (1874-1875), for which he composed original stories and adaptations of fairy tales and fables, which made up four "Russian books for reading."

The logic of the writer’s ideological and creative quest in the early 1860s was the desire to depict folk characters("Polikushka", 1861-1863), the epic tone of the narrative ("Cossacks"), attempts to turn to history to understand modernity (the beginning of the novel "Decembrists", 1860-1861) - led him to the idea of ​​​​the epic novel "War and Peace" (1863-1869). The time of creation of the novel was a period of spiritual elation, family happiness and calm, solitary work. At the beginning of 1865, the first part of the work was published in the Russian Bulletin.

In 1873-1877, another great novel by Tolstoy was written - "Anna Karenina" (published in 1876-1877). The problems of the novel directly led Tolstoy to the ideological “turning point” of the late 1870s.

At the height of his literary fame, the writer entered a period of deep doubts and moral quests. In the late 1870s and early 1880s, philosophy and journalism came to the fore in his work. Tolstoy condemns the world of violence, oppression and injustice, believes that it is historically doomed and must be radically changed in the near future. In his opinion, this can be achieved through peaceful means. Violence must be excluded from social life; it is opposed to non-resistance. Non-resistance was not understood, however, as an exclusively passive attitude towards violence. A whole system of measures was proposed to neutralize violence state power: position of non-participation in what supports existing system- army, courts, taxes, false teaching, etc.

Tolstoy wrote a number of articles that reflected his worldview: “On the census in Moscow” (1882), “So what should we do?” (1882-1886, published in full in 1906), "On Hunger" (1891, published on English language in 1892, in Russian - in 1954), "What is art?" (1897-1898), etc.

The writer’s religious and philosophical treatises are “A Study of Dogmatic Theology” (1879-1880), “The Connection and Translation of the Four Gospels” (1880-1881), “What is My Faith?” (1884), "The Kingdom of God is within you" (1893).

At this time, such stories as “Notes of a Madman” (work was carried out in 1884-1886, not completed), “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (1884-1886), etc. were written.

In the 1880s, Tolstoy lost interest in artistic work and even condemned his previous novels and stories as lordly “fun.” He became interested in simple physical labor, plowed, sewed his own boots, and switched to vegetarian food.

Tolstoy's main artistic work in the 1890s was the novel "Resurrection" (1889-1899), which embodied the entire range of problems that worried the writer.

As part of the new worldview, Tolstoy opposed Christian dogma and criticized the rapprochement between the church and the state. In 1901, the reaction of the Synod followed: the internationally recognized writer and preacher was officially excommunicated from the church, this caused a huge public outcry. The years of disruption also led to family discord.

Trying to bring his way of life into harmony with his beliefs and burdened by the life of a landowner’s estate, Tolstoy secretly left Yasnaya Polyana in the late autumn of 1910. The road turned out to be too much for him: on the way, the writer fell ill and was forced to make a stop at the Astapovo railway station (now Leo Tolstoy station, Lipetsk region). Here, in the station master's house, he spent the last few days of his life. For reports about the health of Tolstoy, who by this time had acquired world fame not only as a writer, but also as a religious thinker, the whole of Russia followed.

November 20 (November 7, old style) 1910 Leo Tolstoy died. His funeral in Yasnaya Polyana became a nationwide event.

Since December 1873, the writer was a corresponding member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (now - Russian Academy Sciences), from January 1900 - an honorary academician in the category of fine literature.

For the defense of Sevastopol, Leo Tolstoy was awarded the Order of St. Anna, IV degree, with the inscription “For bravery” and other medals. Subsequently, he was also awarded medals “In memory of the 50th anniversary of the defense of Sevastopol”: silver as a participant in the defense of Sevastopol and bronze as the author of “Sevastopol Stories”.

Leo Tolstoy's wife was the daughter of a doctor, Sophia Bers (1844-1919), whom he married in September 1862. For a long time, Sofya Andreevna was a faithful assistant in his affairs: a copyist of manuscripts, a translator, a secretary, and a publisher of works. Their marriage produced 13 children, five of whom died in childhood.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

 

 
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