The very first biography of Leo Tolstoy. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy: short biography

Born in noble family Maria Nikolaevna, née Princess Volkonskaya, and Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy in the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province as the fourth child. Happy marriage His parents became the prototype of the heroes in the novel “War and Peace” - Princess Marya and Nikolai Rostov. Parents died early. The future writer was educated by Tatyana Aleksandrovna Ergolskaya, a distant relative, and educated by tutors: the German Reselman and the Frenchman Saint-Thomas, who became the heroes of the writer’s stories and novels. At 13 years old future writer and his family moved to the hospitable house of P.I.’s father’s sister. Yushkova in Kazan.

In 1844, Leo Tolstoy entered the Imperial Kazan University at the Department of Oriental Literature of the Faculty of Philosophy. After the first year, he failed the transition exam and transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he studied for two years, plunging into social entertainment. Leo Tolstoy, naturally shy and ugly, acquired secular society reputation for “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 pursuing science and “reaching 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, taught. former musician. Yermil Bazykin, who studied there, said: “There were about 20 of us boys, the teacher was Foka Demidovich, a yard man. Under father L.N. Tolstoy he performed the position of musician. The old man was good. He taught us the alphabet, counting, sacred history. Lev Nikolaevich also came to us, also studied 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 finished the first part of “Childhood” and sent it to the magazine “Sovremennik” to its editor N.A. Nekrasov. On September 18, 1852, the manuscript was published with great success.

Leo Tolstoy served for three years in the Caucasus and, having the right to the most honorable St. George Cross for bravery, “ceded” it to a 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, and the defense of Sevastopol. Then the story “Sevastopol in December 1854” was written. was read by Emperor Alexander II, who ordered to take care of the talented officer.

In November 1856, already recognized and famous writer leaves military service and leaves to travel around Europe.

In 1862, Leo Tolstoy married seventeen-year-old Sofya Andreevna Bers. Their marriage produced 13 children, 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 experienced a powerful crisis, which led to the denial of official state power and its institutions, awareness of the inevitability of death, faith in God and the creation of his own teaching - Tolstoyism. He lost interest in his usual lordly life, he began to have thoughts about suicide and the need to live correctly, become a vegetarian, engage in education and physical labor- he plowed, sewed boots, taught children at school. In 1891 he publicly renounced copyright on 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 public administration- on this basis the Holy Synod excommunicated Count Leo Tolstoy from Orthodox Church and anathematized in 1901.

On October 28 (November 10), 1910, Leo Tolstoy secretly left Yasnaya Polyana, going on a trip without specific plan for the sake of their moral and religious ideas 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 Astapovo station (now Lev Tolstoy station in the Lipetsk region). Leo Tolstoy died on November 7 (20), 1910 in the house of the station chief I.I. Ozolin and was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.

Russian writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, the fourth child in a wealthy aristocratic family. Tolstoy lost his parents early; his further upbringing was carried out by his distant relative T. A. Ergolskaya. In 1844, Tolstoy entered Kazan University at the Department of Oriental Languages ​​of the Faculty of Philosophy, but because... classes did not arouse any interest in him, in 1847. submitted his resignation from the university. At the age of 23, Tolstoy, together with his older brother Nikolai, left for the Caucasus, where he took part in hostilities. These years of the writer's life were reflected in the autobiographical story "Cossacks" (1852-63), in the stories "Raid" (1853), "Cutting Wood" (1855), as well as in the later story "Hadji Murat" (1896-1904, published in 1912). In the Caucasus, Tolstoy began to write the trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”.

During the Crimean War he went to Sevastopol, where he continued to fight. After the end of the war, he left for St. Petersburg and immediately joined the Sovremennik circle (N. A. Nekrasov, I. S. Turgenev, A. N. Ostrovsky, I. A. Goncharov, etc.), where he was greeted as " the great hope of Russian literature" (Nekrasov), published "Sevastopol Stories", which clearly reflected his outstanding writing talent. In 1857, Tolstoy went on a trip to Europe, which he was later disappointed with.

In the fall of 1856, Tolstoy, having retired, decided to interrupt his literary activity and become a landowner, went to Yasnaya Polyana, where he was engaged in educational work, opened a school, and created his own system of pedagogy. This activity fascinated Tolstoy so much that in 1860 he even went abroad to get acquainted with the schools of Europe.

In September 1862, Tolstoy married the eighteen-year-old daughter of a doctor, Sofya Andreevna Bers, and immediately after the wedding he took his wife from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana, where he devoted himself completely to family life and economic concerns, but by the autumn of 1863 he was captured by a new literary idea, as a result of which the fundamental work “War and Peace” was born. In 1873-1877 created the novel Anna Karenina. During these same years, the writer’s worldview, known as Tolstoyism, was fully formed, the essence of which is visible in the works: “Confession”, “What is my faith?”, “The Kreutzer Sonata”.

Admirers of the writer’s work came to Yasnaya Polyana from all over Russia and the world, whom they treated as a spiritual mentor. In 1899, the novel “Resurrection” was published.

Latest works The writer's stories were “Father Sergius”, “After the Ball”, “ Posthumous notes Elder Fyodor Kuzmich" and the drama "The Living Corpse".

In the late autumn of 1910, at night, secretly from his family, 82-year-old Tolstoy, accompanied only by his personal doctor D.P. Makovitsky, left Yasnaya Polyana, fell ill on the way and was forced to get off the train at the small Astapovo Ryazan-Uralskaya railway station railway. Here, in the house of the station chief, he spent the last seven days of his life. November 7 (20) Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy died.

LEV NIKOLAEVICH TOLSTOY (1828 1910), Russian writer. Born on August 28, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, a family estate in the Tula province. His parents, well-born Russian nobles, died when he was a child. At the age of 16, raised by domestic... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Count, Russian writer. Father T. Count... ... Big Soviet encyclopedia

- (1828 1910), Russian. writer. Diaries, letters, conversations recorded by contemporaries of T. contain numerous. judgments about L. T.’s first acquaintance with L. directly. youthful perception of his work. (“Hadji Abrek”, “Ishmael Bey”, “Hero of Our Time”)... ... Lermontov Encyclopedia

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich- (18281910), count, writer. Tolstoy's connections with literary, social and cultural life Petersburg (which the writer visited about 10 times, for the first time in 1849) were especially intense in the 50s; here he made his first appearance in literature in... ... Encyclopedic reference"Saint Petersburg"

- (1828 1910) Russian. writer, publicist, philosopher. In 1844-1847 he studied at Kazan University (did not graduate). Artistic creativity T. is largely philosophical. In addition to reflections on the essence of life and the purpose of man, expressed in... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

- (1828 1910) count, Russian writer, corresponding member (1873), honorary academician (1900) of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Starting from autobiographical trilogy Childhood (1852), Boyhood (1852 54), Youth (1855 57), study of fluidity inner world,… … Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1828 1910), count, writer. T.'s connections with the literary, social and cultural life of St. Petersburg (which the writer visited about 10 times, for the first time in 1849) were especially intense in the 50s; here he made his first appearance in literature in a magazine... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

Tolstoy, Lev Nikolaevich- L.N. Tolstoy. Portrait by N.N. Ge. TOLSTOY Lev Nikolaevich (1828 1910), Russian writer, count. Starting with the autobiographical trilogy “Childhood” (1852), “Adolescence” (1852 54), “Youth” (1855 57), a study of the “fluidity” of the inner world, ... ... Illustrated encyclopedic dictionary

- (1828 1910), count, Russian writer, corresponding member (1873), honorary academician (1900) of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Starting with the autobiographical trilogy “Childhood” (1852), “Adolescence” (1852 54), “Youth” (1855 57), a study of the “fluidity” of internal... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary

Tolstoy (Count Lev Nikolaevich) famous writer, reaching an unprecedented level in history literature of the 19th century V. glory. In his face they powerfully united great artist with the great moralist. Personal life Tolstoy, his tenacity, tirelessness,... ... Biographical Dictionary

Books

• Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich. Collected works in 12 volumes (number of volumes: 12), Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) is a writer whose name is known all over the world, a writer whose novels have been and are being read by many generations. Tolstoy's works have been translated into more than 75...
• My second Russian book to read. Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich, Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich. Educational, entertaining and instructive works for teaching children to read were specially collected by Leo Tolstoy into several “Russian books for reading”. The first of them is our...

“The world, perhaps, did not know another artist in whom the eternally epic, Homeric principle would be as strong as Tolstoy. The element of the epic lives in his works, its majestic monotony and rhythm, similar to the measured breath of the sea, its tart, powerful freshness , its burning spice, indestructible health, indestructible realism"

Thomas Mann

Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Tula province in the family of a landowner. Tolstoy's parents belonged to the highest nobility; even under Peter I, Tolstoy's paternal ancestors received the title of count. Lev Nikolaevich's parents died early, leaving him only with a sister and three brothers. Tolstoy's aunt, who lived in Kazan, took custody of the children. The whole family moved in with her.

In 1844, Lev Nikolaevich entered the university at the oriental faculty, and then studied law. Tolstoy knew more than fifteen foreign languages still at 19 years old. He seriously studied history and literature. His studies at the university did not last long; Lev Nikolaevich left the university and returned home to Yasnaya Polyana. Soon he decides to leave for Moscow and devote himself to literary activity. His older brother, Nikolai Nikolaevich, leaves for the Caucasus, where the war was going on, as an artillery officer. Following the example of his brother, Lev Nikolaevich enlists in the army, receives an officer rank and goes to the Caucasus. During the Crimean War, L. Tolstoy was transferred to the active Danube Army and fought in besieged Sevastopol, commanding a battery. Tolstoy was awarded the Order of Anna ("For Bravery"), medals "For the Defense of Sevastopol", "In Memory of the War of 1853-1856".

In 1856, Lev Nikolaevich retired. After some time, he goes abroad (France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany).

Since 1859, Lev Nikolaevich has been actively involved in educational activities, opening a school for peasant children in Yasnaya Polyana, and then promoting the opening of schools throughout the district, publishing the pedagogical magazine "Yasnaya Polyana". Tolstoy became seriously interested in pedagogy and studied foreign teaching methods. In order to deepen his knowledge in pedagogy, he went abroad again in 1860.

After the abolition of serfdom, Tolstoy actively participated in resolving disputes between landowners and peasants, acting as a mediator. For his activities, Lev Nikolaevich gains a reputation as an unreliable person, as a result of which a search was carried out in Yasnaya Polyana in order to find a secret printing house. Tolstoy's school is closing, continued pedagogical activity becomes almost impossible. By this time, Lev Nikolaevich had already written the famous trilogy “Childhood. Adolescence. Youth.”, the story “Cossacks”, as well as many stories and articles. A special place in his work was occupied by " Sevastopol stories", in which the author conveyed his impressions of the Crimean War.

In 1862, Lev Nikolaevich married Sofya Andreevna Bers, the daughter of a doctor who became for many years his true friend and an assistant. Sofya Andreevna took on all the household chores, and in addition, she became her husband’s editor and his first reader. Tolstoy's wife manually rewrote all of his novels before sending them to the editor. It is enough to imagine how difficult it was to prepare War and Peace for publication to appreciate the dedication of this woman.

In 1873, Lev Nikolaevich finished work on Anna Karenina. By this time, Count Leo Tolstoy became a famous writer who received recognition, corresponded with many literary critics and authors, and actively participated in public life.

In the late 70s - early 80s, Lev Nikolaevich was experiencing a serious spiritual crisis, trying to rethink the changes taking place in society and determine his position as a citizen. Tolstoy decides that it is necessary to take care of the well-being and education of the common people, that a nobleman has no right to be happy when the peasants are in plight. He is trying to start changes from his own estate, from restructuring his attitude towards the peasants. Tolstoy's wife insists on moving to Moscow, as the children need to get a good education. From this moment, conflicts began in the family, as Sofya Andreevna tried to ensure the future of her children, and Lev Nikolaevich believed that the nobility was over and the time had come to live modestly, like the entire Russian people.

During these years Tolstoy wrote philosophical works, articles, participates in the creation of the publishing house "Posrednik", which dealt with books for common people, writes the story "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", " Horse history", "Kreutzer Sonata".

In 1889 - 1899, Tolstoy completed the novel "Resurrection".

At the end of his life, Lev Nikolaevich finally decides to break ties with his wealthy noble life, is engaged in charity work, education, and changes the order on his estate, giving freedom to the peasants. Such life position Lev Nikolaevich became the cause of serious domestic conflicts and quarrels with his wife, who looked at life differently. Sofya Andreevna was worried about the future of her children and was against Lev Nikolaevich’s unreasonable spending, from her point of view. The quarrels became more and more serious, Tolstoy more than once made an attempt to leave home forever, the children experienced conflicts very hard. The former mutual understanding in the family disappeared. Sofya Andreevna tried to stop her husband, but then the conflicts escalated into attempts to divide property, as well as ownership rights to the works of Lev Nikolaevich.

Finally, on November 10, 1910, Tolstoy leaves his home in Yasnaya Polyana and leaves. He soon falls ill with pneumonia, is forced to stop at Astapovo station (now Lev Tolstoy station) and dies there on November 23.

Security questions:
1. Tell the biography of the writer, mentioning exact dates.
2. Explain the connection between the writer’s biography and his work.
3. Summarize his biographical data and determine his features
creative heritage.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy(August 28 (September 9) 1828, Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, Russian Empire- November 7 (20), 1910, Astapovo station, Ryazan province, Russian Empire) - one of the most widely known Russian writers and thinkers, revered as one of the greatest writers in the world.

Born in the Yasnaya Polyana estate. Among the writer's paternal ancestors is an associate of Peter I - P. A. Tolstoy, one of the first in Russia to receive the title of count. Participant Patriotic War 1812 was the father of the writer, Count. N.I. Tolstoy. On his mother's side, Tolstoy belonged to the family of the Bolkonsky princes, related by kinship to the Trubetskoy, Golitsyn, Odoevsky, Lykov and other noble families. On his mother's side, Tolstoy was a relative of A.S. Pushkin.
When Tolstoy was in his ninth year, his father took him to Moscow for the first time, the impressions of his meeting with which were vividly conveyed by the future writer in his children's essay "The Kremlin." Moscow is here called “the greatest and most populous city in Europe,” the walls of which “saw the shame and defeat of Napoleon’s invincible regiments.” The first period of young Tolstoy's Moscow life lasted less than four years. He was orphaned early, losing first his mother and then his father. With his sister and three brothers, young Tolstoy moved to Kazan. One of my father’s sisters lived here and became their guardian.
Living in Kazan, Tolstoy spent two and a half years preparing to enter the university, where he studied from 1844, first at the Oriental Faculty and then at the Faculty of Law. Studied Turkish and Tatar languages from the famous Turkologist Professor Kazembek. In his mature years, the writer was fluent in English, French and German languages; read in Italian, Polish, Czech and Serbian; knew Greek, Latin, Ukrainian, Tatar, Church Slavonic; studied Hebrew, Turkish, Dutch, Bulgarian and other languages.
Classes on government programs and textbooks weighed heavily on Tolstoy the student. He got carried away independent work over a historical topic and, leaving the university, left Kazan for Yasnaya Polyana, which he received through the division of his father's inheritance. Then he went to Moscow, where at the end of 1850 he began writing activity: an unfinished story from gypsy life (the manuscript has not survived) and a description of one day lived (“The History of Yesterday”). At the same time, the story “Childhood” was begun. Soon Tolstoy decided to go to the Caucasus, where his older brother, Nikolai Nikolaevich, an artillery officer, served in the active army. Having entered the army as a cadet, he later passed the exam for junior officer rank. The writer's impressions of Caucasian War reflected in the stories “Raid” (1853), “Cutting Wood” (1855), “Demoted” (1856), and in the story “Cossacks” (1852-1863). In the Caucasus, the story “Childhood” was completed, published in 1852 in the magazine “Sovremennik”.

When did it start Crimean War, Tolstoy was transferred from the Caucasus to the Danube Army, operating against the Turks, and then to Sevastopol, besieged by the combined forces of England, France and Turkey. Commanding the battery on the 4th bastion, Tolstoy was awarded the Order of Anna and the medals “For the Defense of Sevastopol” and “In Memory of the War of 1853-1856.” More than once Tolstoy was nominated for the military Cross of St. George, but he never received the “George.” In the army, Tolstoy wrote a number of projects - about the reformation of artillery batteries and the creation of artillery battalions armed with rifled guns, about the reformation of the entire Russian army. Together with a group of officers of the Crimean Army, Tolstoy intended to publish the magazine "Soldier's Bulletin" ("Military Leaflet"), but its publication was not authorized by Emperor Nicholas I.
In the fall of 1856, he retired and soon went on a six-month trip abroad, visiting France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. In 1859, Tolstoy opened a school for peasant children in Yasnaya Polyana, and then helped open more than 20 schools in the surrounding villages. To direct their activities along the right path, from his point of view, he published the pedagogical magazine "Yasnaya Polyana" (1862). In order to study the organization of school affairs in foreign countries the writer went abroad for the second time in 1860.
After the manifesto of 1861, Tolstoy became one of the world mediators of the first call who sought to help peasants resolve their disputes with landowners about land. Soon in Yasnaya Polyana, when Tolstoy was away, the gendarmes carried out a search in search of a secret printing house, which the writer allegedly opened after communicating with A. I. Herzen in London. Tolstoy had to close the school and stop publishing the pedagogical magazine. In total, he wrote eleven articles on school and pedagogy (“On Public Education”, “Upbringing and Education”, “On Social Activities in the Field of Public Education” and others). In them, he described in detail the experience of his work with students (“Yasnaya Polyana school for the months of November and December”, “On methods of teaching literacy”, “Who should learn to write from whom, the peasant children from us or us from the peasant children”). Tolstoy the teacher demanded that school be brought closer to life, sought to put it at the service of the needs of the people, and for this to intensify the processes of teaching and upbringing, to develop creativity children.
At the same time, already at the beginning creative path Tolstoy becomes a supervised writer. Some of the writer's first works were the stories "Childhood", "Adolescence" and "Youth", "Youth" (which, however, was not written). According to the author's plan, they were supposed to compose the novel "Four Epochs of Development."
In the early 1860s. For decades, the order of Tolstoy’s life, his way of life, is established. In 1862, he married the daughter of a Moscow doctor, Sofya Andreevna Bers.
The writer is working on the novel "War and Peace" (1863-1869). Having completed War and Peace, Tolstoy studied materials about Peter I and his time for several years. However, after writing several chapters of Peter’s novel, Tolstoy abandoned his plan. In the early 1870s. The writer was again fascinated by pedagogy. He put a lot of work into the creation of the ABC, and then the New ABC. At the same time, he compiled “Books for Reading”, where he included many of his stories.
In the spring of 1873, Tolstoy began and four years later completed work on a great novel about modernity, calling it by name main character- "Anna Karenina".
Spiritual crisis, experienced by Tolstoy at the end of 1870 - beginning. 1880, ended with a turning point in his worldview. In "Confession" (1879-1882), the writer talks about a revolution in his views, the meaning of which he saw in a break with the ideology of the noble class and a transition to the side of the "simple working people."
At the beginning of the 1880s. Tolstoy moved with his family from Yasnaya Polyana to Moscow, taking care of providing an education for his growing children. In 1882, a census of the Moscow population took place, in which the writer took part. He saw the inhabitants of the city slums up close and described them terrible life in the article on the census and in the treatise "So What Should We Do?" (1882-1886). In them, the writer made the main conclusion: “...You can’t live like that, you can’t live like that, you can’t!” "Confession" and "So What Should We Do?" were works in which Tolstoy acted simultaneously as an artist and as a publicist, as a profound psychologist and a courageous sociologist-analyst. Later, this type of work was in the journalistic genre, but included art scenes and paintings, saturated with elements of figurativeness, will occupy a large place in his work.
In these and subsequent years, Tolstoy also wrote religious and philosophical works: “Criticism of Dogmatic Theology”, “What is My Faith?”, “Connection, Translation and Study of the Four Gospels”, “The Kingdom of God is Within You”. In them, the writer not only showed a change in his religious and moral views, but also subjected to a critical revision of the main dogmas and principles of the teaching of the official church. In the mid-1880s. Tolstoy and his like-minded people created the Posrednik publishing house in Moscow, which printed books and paintings for the people. The first of Tolstoy's works, published for the "common" people, was the story "How People Live." In it, as in many other works of this cycle, the writer made extensive use not only of folklore plots, but also expressive means oral creativity. Thematically and stylistically related to Tolstoy’s folk stories are his plays for folk theaters and, most of all, the drama “The Power of Darkness” (1886), which depicts the tragedy of a post-reform village, where under the “power of money” the centuries-old patriarchal order collapsed.
In 1880 Tolstoy's stories "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" and "Kholstomer" ("The Story of a Horse"), and "The Kreutzer Sonata" (1887-1889) appeared. In it, as well as in the story “The Devil” (1889-1890) and the story “Father Sergius” (1890-1898), the problems of love and marriage, the purity of family relationships are posed.
Tolstoy’s story “The Master and the Worker” (1895), stylistically related to his cycle, is based on social and psychological contrast. folk stories, written in the 80s. Five years earlier, Tolstoy wrote the comedy “The Fruits of Enlightenment” for a “home performance.” It also shows the “owners” and “workers”: noble landowners living in the city and peasants who came from a hungry village, deprived of land. The images of the former are given satirically, the author portrays the latter as reasonable and positive people, but in some scenes they are “presented” in an ironic light.
All these works of the writer are united by the idea of ​​an inevitable and close in time “denouement” social contradictions, about replacing the outdated social “order”. “I don’t know what the outcome will be,” Tolstoy wrote in 1892, “but that things are approaching it and that life cannot continue like this, in such forms, I am sure.” This idea inspired largest work of the entire work of the “late” Tolstoy - the novel “Resurrection” (1889-1899).
Less than ten years separate Anna Karenina from War and Peace. "Resurrection" is separated from "Anna Karenina" by two decades. And although many things distinguish the third novel from the previous two, they are united by a truly epic scope in the depiction of life, the ability to “pair” individual human destinies with the fate of the people in the narrative. Tolstoy himself pointed out the unity that existed between his novels: he said that "Resurrection" was written in the "old manner", meaning, first of all, the epic "manner" in which "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" were written ". "Resurrection" became last novel in the writer's work.
At the beginning of 1900 Holy Synod Tolstoy was excommunicated from the Orthodox Church.
IN last decade During his lifetime, the writer worked on the story “Hadji Murat” (1896-1904), in which he sought to compare “the two poles of imperious absolutism” - the European, personified by Nicholas I, and the Asian, personified by Shamil. At the same time, Tolstoy created one of his best plays, “The Living Corpse.” Her hero is kindest soul, soft, conscientious Fedya Protasov leaves his family, breaks off relations with his usual environment, falls to the “bottom” and in the courthouse, unable to bear the lies, pretense, pharisaism of “respectable” people, shoots himself with a pistol and takes his own life. The article “I Can’t Be Silent” written in 1908, in which he protested against the repression of participants in the events of 1905–1907, sounded poignant. The writer’s stories “After the Ball”, “For What?” belong to the same period.
Weighed down by the way of life in Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy more than once contemplated and for a long time did not dare to leave it. But he could no longer live according to the principle of “together and apart,” and on the night of October 28 (November 10) he secretly left Yasnaya Polyana. On the way, he fell ill with pneumonia and was forced to stop at the small station of Astapovo (now Leo Tolstoy), where he died. On November 10 (23), 1910, the writer was buried in Yasnaya Polyana, in the forest, on the edge of a ravine, where as a child he and his brother were looking for a “green stick” that held the “secret” of how to make all people happy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Literature

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"War and Peace"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Personal life

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Death

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

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

Quotes by Leo Tolstoy

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

Bibliography

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