The global significance of L. Tolstoy’s work

The work of L.G. Tolstoy with peasant children deserves great attention. He believed that one of the reasons for the poor life of the people was their ignorance, so he undertook to correct this situation. The school that Tolstoy organized was not like an ordinary one. At first, the peasants were suspicious of the master’s idea of ​​​​teaching their children for free, so there were few students, but over time there were a lot of them, and they all read with satisfaction, walked, listened to interesting stories, and counted. The writer even went abroad to see how children were taught there

With his help, schools began to open in the surrounding villages; students worked as teachers; Tolstoy was very satisfied with them. On Sundays they gathered in Yasnaya Polyana and talked about school and work. Tolstoy published the magazine “Yasnaya Polyana”, which published his articles and articles of other teachers on teaching and education

Lev Nikolaevich's love for the land was not ephemeral. He loved not only to walk, relax, enjoy the wonderful scenery, and hunt. No! As a count, he did not hesitate to wear a simple linen shirt, with his sleeves rolled up; he loved to go to the field behind the plow and mow hay to the fullest. On his estate he tried to engage in farming, dug stakes, planted orchards, raised purebred pigs and cows. He didn’t succeed in everything, he was disappointed in many things, he felt dissatisfied with his actions, but he still worked. Tolstoy was a passionate defender of forests and loved his forest with a special, tender love

Tolstoy’s true friend, assistant and support in life was his wife Sofia Andreevna, a natural Beret. When they Testo 416. Testo 325 XL. They got married, he was thirty-four years old, she was eighteen, but she was smart, wise for life, carefully, lovingly arranged her life, and took care of the housework. When she arrived at Yasnaya Polyana, everything was abandoned here, there were no flower beds or paths. And the young hostess quickly put everything in order. The family multiplied. Gradually ten children appeared in it. Lev Nikolaevich constantly rebuilt and completed the house. They lived amicably and cheerfully, in the evenings they played the piano, sang, the owner read his works, and played chess. Relatives and friends came more and more often, and it didn’t bother anyone that the house was small, that the furniture in it was not new, and in general everything was almost ascetic. It was so easy to write in this house...

But the further life went, the more it suppressed Tolstoy. From his early youth he asked himself the question: what is a living person for? Why are people unequal? Why do some live at the expense of others? And all my life I was ashamed of belonging to the ruling class. In 1878, he began to work on a large article, “Confession,” where he wrote: “A revolution happened to me, which had been preparing for a long time in my mind and the makings of which were always in my mind. What happened to me was that the life of our circle - the rich, the learned - not only became disgusted with the world, but also lost all meaning... the life of the entire working people, all of humanity creating life, seemed to be marked by the world in its present.”

Later, for this article, for his seditious views, the church declared an anathema to him and excommunicated him from its bosom. But this did not sadden the great master much.

With his life and his writing, he long ago won the love and respect of the people. Before the news of the excommunication appeared in the newspapers, Tolstoy began to receive telegrams, letters, and addresses from all over the country, in which ordinary people expressed support for their beloved writer. He was so popular, so openly expressed his views on the tsarist autocracy and its laws, that the tsar was afraid of him. Yasnaya Polyana was under surveillance. Even the editor of the Black Hundred newspaper “Novoye Vremya” wrote: “We have two kings: Nicholas II and Leo Tolstoy. Which one is stronger? Nicholas II cannot do anything with Tolstoy, cannot shake his throne, while Tolstoy, without a doubt, is shaking the throne of Nicholas and his dynasty.”

On August 28, 1908, L. G. Tolstoy turned 80 years old. In many countries around the world, his anniversary was solemnly celebrated, and the tsarist government in Russia tried to do everything to prevent the celebration. But he could not prevent it from the fact that telegrams and letters were coming to Yasnaya Polyana from everywhere, people were coming and coming - many just to stand near the house, perhaps to see the great genius and thank him for the joy and happiness that his books give

But life in the family became more and more difficult and alarming. The adult children went their own way, the youngest son Vanyusha died, the daughter Masha, with whom he was especially close, died. My wife and I have long lost common ground. For how many years she was his faithful assistant and comrade-in-arms, but for a long time she did not share his views, she could not understand the complex, contradictory life of her man - a great artist, a rebellious person. The very one, driven to despair by such a life, at one time rushed into betting. she was saved by Dushan Petrovich Makovitsky, the Tolstoy family doctor. “Soul Petrovich” - that’s what the Yasnaya Polyana peasants called him. Him alone. Lev Nikolayevich trusted Lev Nikolaevich with the secret of his will; he took him alone with him when he finally decided to break with the world to which he belonged by birthright and live a simple peasant life.

The cold autumn of 1910 arrived with early snows and frosts. Tolstoy spent the night from November 9 to 10 restless; at 5 am he woke up his second Makovitsky and told him that he had made the final decision to leave home. They began to quickly get ready for the road. On the way, he fell ill with pneumonia and was forced to get off the train at Astapovo station. Here, in the house of the station chief, the writer spent the last 7 days of his life...

A crowd of thousands gathered for the funeral. Workers, peasants, intellectuals, students - everyone went to bow to the great genius for the last time. Yasnaya Polyana peasants felt orphaned...

After saying goodbye, the sons lift the coffin, take her out of the house, those present kneel down, then the procession heads to the forest, to the Old Order, where the body is given to the earth. This was the place where, on the edge of the gulley, a green stick with a secret was hidden, how to make all people happy. Tolstoy commanded that his body be buried here and that no majestic tombstones or monuments be erected. Let the grave be simple and modest, peasant. The main thing is that he is at home, in his painfully beloved Yasnaya Polyana

So, you and I are convinced that the true greatness of a person lies in her deeds, in her inextricable connection with her native land, native nature, and native people. Only having realized himself as part of a large concept - Russia, Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy could say: “No, this world is not a joke, not a vale of testing only and a transition; the world is better, eternal, but this is one of the eternal worlds, which is beautiful, joyful, and which we not only can we, but we must do it more beautifully and joyfully for those who live with us and for those who will live in it after us.”

The works of the world famous Russian writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy have won the most hidden corners of their souls in the hearts of people. They have always been a reflection, firstly, of the richness of Russian culture and depth of thought, and secondly, of religious splendor and beauty. Count, who has his own estate, honorary academician and corresponding member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences L.V. Tolstoy. already during his lifetime he received rare recognition - the head of Russian literature, thanks to whom he was and is considered to this day the personification of the transition of Russian literature from the 19th century to the 20th. He made a rich contribution to world humanism and realism, because with his works he constantly emphasized the humanistic directions of his thoughts and the realism of the everyday life of the Russian people.

The classic began his literary career by keeping his diary, where he improved his philosophical calling, honed his writing skills and worked on the growth of his personality, setting various rules and goals for himself. Some works of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy are especially distinguished by their psychological nature, where he closely examines many of the character traits of his heroes and the relationships between people of different classes. It is also felt that the outstanding Russian writer was not only an expert on social life, but also on the everyday life of peasants. Also noticeable in the works of Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich are his military, pedagogical and social activities, his travels and marriage.

“War and Peace” – a window into Russian culture, history and psychology

Before writing the long-planned War and Peace, Tolstoy worked on The Decembrists, which, however, remained unfinished. Therefore, all historical and political events, apparently, the author had to review before writing War and peace. The epic novel was published in parts. First, the first part appeared in 1865 in the Russian Messenger, then in 1868 - three parts, and then in the same year - the last two.

Such a unique work by Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, unique in its structure and content, immediately attracted the attention of most critics and famous writers in Russia at that time. And the speed of distribution of this novel throughout the world, even for that time when there were no well-functioning advertising systems and the Internet, gained great momentum and has not slowed down to this day. So, for example, the first four volumes of this fascinating historical and psychological novel sold out almost instantly, so much so that we had to immediately repeat the edition.

Everyday moments
“War and Peace” has it all: the passion of love, and political intrigue, and war, and the philosophical quests and reflections of the heroes about the meaning of life and their step-by-step passage through life.

Lev Nikolaevich's style was especially noted, with the help of which he managed to fully reflect the deep and soulful psychological side of the Russian soul. And the dynamic change of plots gives the novel liveliness and versatility. Sometimes it is a large-scale panorama of historical events of that era, and sometimes it is a grandiose philosophical picture of an artist who raises and immediately thoroughly answers the eternal problems of existence.

"Anna Karenina" - the tragedy and vitality of passionate love

The novel “Anna Karenina” of all the works of Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich is perhaps the most popular among the love genre of that time. Because it is distinguished by vividly drawn storylines, impressive images of the main characters and ideological formulation of questions that are entirely tied to the relationships of Lev Nikolaevich’s contemporaries.

The first parts of the novel were greeted by the world exclusively in parts. The first part was published in 1875 by the Russian Messenger and immediately attracted the attention of a wide range of readers, and everyone was eagerly awaiting the remaining parts. The completion of the novel is considered to be 1877, and the next edition of the novel in its entirety was produced in 1878.

The story of the main character's passion is completely different from modern glamorous romance novels or short stories. The complexity of Anna's relationship with her husband, her reckless passion for Count Vronsky, her love for her child and secular gossip - all this tears the main character from the inside and confuses her inner world even more. These important points, according to researchers, are the most accurate reflection of the fragmentation and fragmentation in the society of that time, where the reign of good and evil together has a clear character of psychological pathology in the people of that time.

In addition, the prototypes of the novel’s heroes with the political, social and historical reality of the late nineteenth century are also interesting. Anna's husband, Alexei Karenin, seemed to critics to be a bright representative of the people of power, her lover Vronsky was classified as one of the golden youth of that time, and the entire secular society that surrounded Anna was, in fact, an illustration of the society in which Lev Nikolaevich lived. This is where the novel becomes more complicated, because it is not just a frivolous love story, but is a ponderous work describing the social chaos of the pre-revolutionary era.

Conflict in the inner world of a corrupt woman in the novel “Resurrection”

The last novel from the works of Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich, who produced it already in the year of its publication (1899). Again he raised a burning social topic for readers - this is the fate of a corrupt woman. As the basis for the plot, the author took one of Guy de Maupassant's themes about a sailor who, returning from a voyage, decided to look into a brothel for his own pleasures, and then recognized his sister in the woman with whom he was having fun. This tragedy served as Lev Nikolaevich’s desire to beg a similar topic from the original author for further elaboration.

The plot has a lot of dynamics and heart-warming scenes. So, for example, take at least the beginning of the novel, where the heroine, Ekaterina Maslova, is mistakenly sentenced to four years of hard labor. However, not all the jurors were indifferent to the worthless fate of the prostitute, and one of them, Dmitry Nekhlyudov, decides to help her. And not only because he was outraged by the miscarriage of justice, but in addition to everything else, he recognized in Catherine the woman with whom he had once spent the night and then abandoned him. The psychological nature of the characters’ behavior lies in Dmitry’s deep awareness of his guilt before Catherine, which will drive him throughout the novel.

The relevance of the stories and stories of L.N. Tolstoy and today

Such works of Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich as the trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”, the fascinating novel “Family Happiness”, both for adults and for “Tales and Stories” - all of them are relevant for the reader to this day. To this day, people draw from them worldly wisdom, which can shed light on many issues of their existence, survival in certain social conditions and strengthening interpersonal relationships.

“Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth” are classified as almost pseudo-autobiographical novels, where there are plots or stories that hint at the life circumstances or some events of the writer himself. “Family Happiness” reveals the complexity of the relationship of one marriage, which even began somewhat strangely, but it is all the more interesting to follow its continuation. And “Tales and Stories” bring with them a fascinating world of adventure and at the same time high morality and moralizing conclusions of such a writer-teacher as Lev Nikolaevich.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828-1910). Artist I. E. Repin. 1887

The famous Russian theater director and creator of the acting system, Konstantin Stanislavsky, wrote in his book “My Life in Art” that in the difficult years of the first revolutions, when despair gripped people, many remembered that Leo Tolstoy was living with them at the same time. And my soul became lighter. He was the conscience of humanity. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, Tolstoy became the spokesman for the thoughts and hopes of millions of people. He was a moral support for many. It was read and listened to not only by Russia, but also by Europe, America and Asia.

True, at the same time, many contemporaries and subsequent researchers of Leo Tolstoy’s work noted that, outside of his artistic works, he was contradictory in many ways. His greatness as a thinker was manifested in the creation of broad canvases devoted to the moral state of society, in the search for a way out of the impasse. But he was petty picky, moralizing in his search for the meaning of an individual’s life. And the older he became, the more actively he criticized the vices of society, and looked for his own special moral path.

The Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun noted this feature of Tolstoy's character. According to him, in his youth Tolstoy allowed many excesses - he played cards, chased young ladies, drank wine, behaved like a typical bourgeois, and in adulthood he suddenly changed, became a devout righteous man and stigmatized himself and the whole society for vulgar and immoral actions. . It was no coincidence that he had a conflict with his own family, whose members could not understand his duality, his dissatisfaction and tossing-up.

Leo Tolstoy was a hereditary aristocrat. Mother is Princess Volkonskaya, one paternal grandmother is Princess Gorchakova, the second is Princess Trubetskaya. On his Yasnaya Polyana estate hung portraits of his relatives, high-born, titled persons. In addition to the title of count, he inherited a ruined farm from his parents, his relatives took over his upbringing, and he was taught by home teachers, including a German and a Frenchman. Then he studied at Kazan University. First he studied oriental languages, then legal sciences. Neither one nor the other satisfied him, and he left the 3rd year.

At the age of 23, Lev lost heavily at cards and had to repay the debt, but he did not ask anyone for money, but went to the Caucasus as an officer to earn money and gain impressions. He liked it there - the exotic nature, the mountains, hunting in the local forests, participating in battles against the mountaineers. There he first put pen to paper. But he began to write not about his impressions, but about his childhood.

Tolstoy sent the manuscript, titled “Childhood,” to the journal Otechestvennye zapiski, where it was published in 1852, praising the young author. Inspired by good luck, he wrote the stories “Morning of the Landowner”, “Chance”, the story “Adolescence”, “Sevastopol Stories”. A new talent has entered Russian literature, powerful in reflecting reality, in creating types, in reflecting the inner world of heroes.

Tolstoy arrived in St. Petersburg in 1855. The count, the hero of Sevastopol, was already a famous writer, he had money that he earned through literary work. He was received in the best houses, and the editorial office of Otechestvennye zapiski was also waiting to meet him. But he was disappointed with social life, and among the writers he did not find a person close to him in spirit. He was tired of the dreary life in wet St. Petersburg, and he went to his place in Yasnaya Polyana. And in 1857 he went abroad to disperse and look at a different life.

Tolstoy visited France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and was interested in the life of local peasants and the public education system. But Europe was not to his taste. He saw idle rich and well-fed people, he saw the poverty of the poor. The blatant injustice wounded him to the very heart, and an unspoken protest arose in his soul. Six months later he returned to Yasnaya Polyana and opened a school for peasant children. After his second trip abroad, he achieved the opening of more than 20 schools in the surrounding villages.

Tolstoy published the pedagogical magazine Yasnaya Polyana, wrote books for children, and taught them himself. But for complete well-being, he lacked a loved one who would share with him all the joys and hardships. At 34, he finally married 18-year-old Sophia Bers and became happy. He felt like a zealous owner, bought land, experimented on it, and in his free time wrote the epoch-making novel “War and Peace,” which began to be published in “Russian Messenger.” Later, criticism abroad recognized this work as the greatest, which became a significant phenomenon in new European literature.

Next, Tolstoy wrote the novel Anna Karenina, dedicated to the tragic love of the woman of society Anna and the fate of the nobleman Konstantin Levin. Using the example of his heroine, he tried to answer the question: who is a woman - a person who demands respect, or simply a keeper of the family hearth? After these two novels, he felt some kind of breakdown in himself. He wrote about the moral essence of other people and began to peer into his own soul.

His views on life changed, he began to admit many sins in himself and taught others, talked about non-resistance to evil through violence - they hit you on one cheek, turn the other. This is the only way to change the world for the better. Many people came under his influence; they were called “Tolstyans”; they did not resist evil, they wished good to their neighbors. Among them were famous writers Maxim Gorky and Ivan Bunin.

During the 1880s, Tolstoy began to create short stories: “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, “Kholstomer”, “The Kreutzer Sonata”, “Father Sergius”. In them, as an experienced psychologist, he showed the inner world of a common man, his readiness to submit to fate. Along with these works, he worked on a large novel about the fate of a sinful woman and the attitude of those around her.

Resurrection” was published in 1899 and amazed the reading public with its poignant theme and author’s subtext. The novel was recognized as a classic and was immediately translated into major European languages. It was a complete success. In this novel, Tolstoy for the first time showed with such frankness the deformities of the state system, the abomination and complete indifference of those in power to the pressing problems of people. In it, he criticized the Russian Orthodox Church, which did nothing to correct the situation, did nothing to make the existence of fallen and miserable people easier. A serious conflict broke out. The Russian Orthodox Church saw blasphemy in this harsh criticism. Tolstoy's views were considered extremely erroneous, his position was anti-Christian, he was anathematized and excommunicated.

But Tolstoy did not repent. He remained faithful to his ideals, his church. However, his rebellious nature rebelled against the abominations of not only the surrounding reality, but also the lordly way of life of his own family. He was burdened by his well-being and position as a wealthy landowner. He wanted to give up everything, go to the righteous in order to cleanse his soul in a new environment. And he left. His secret departure from the family was tragic. On the way, he caught a cold and contracted pneumonia. He was unable to recover from this illness.

The work of the great Russian writer Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy makes an invaluable contribution to the history of Russian literature, to the treasury of world culture.

Revealing the diversity and complexity of such a great literary and social phenomenon as Tolstoy’s work, V.I. Lenin wrote: “...L. Tolstoy managed to pose so many great questions in his works, managed to rise to such artistic power that his works took one of the first places in world fiction.”

With the name of Tolstoy, V.I. Lenin associated the long transitional era from 1861 to 1905 - the period of preparation for the first Russian revolution. “The era of preparation for revolution in one of the countries oppressed by serfdom, thanks to Tolstoy’s brilliant illumination, appeared as a step forward in the artistic development of all mankind.” The process of preparation and development of the first Russian revolution was complex and contradictory.

Having traveled a long life path - almost a century, Tolstoy witnessed great social and political transformations. Responding to all the events of his era, Tolstoy with enormous artistic force sharply criticized all the injustice of the life around him, revealing the inconsistency of a system based on the enslavement of workers.

His merciless exposure of the autocratic apparatus of Tsarist Russia, the “tearing off of all and every mask” reflected the freedom-loving aspirations of the broad peasant masses for independence, their angry protest against difficult living conditions, their hatred of exploitation.

And, despite the fact that Tolstoy denied revolution, vaguely imagined, like most peasants of that era, what a new society in Russia should be like and what the actual paths to it were, with his accusatory activities he contributed to the struggle for the overthrow of the old system, the revolutionization of the consciousness of the people wt.

Having for the first time established the revolutionary essence of Tolstoy’s denunciation and protest, reflecting the aspirations of the people, V. I. Lenin wrote: “... Tolstoy not only gave works of art that will always be valued and read by the masses when they create human living conditions for themselves, overthrowing the yoke of the landowners and capitalists - he was able with remarkable power to convey the mood of the broad masses oppressed by the modern order, to outline their situation, to express their spontaneous feeling of protest and indignation.”

The global significance of the work of the great Russian writer was emphasized by the outstanding French writer Romain Rolland, who studied Tolstoy for many years. Speaking about the greatness of Tolstoy, he noted: “Leo Tolstoy brilliantly exposed the lies and crimes of the then existing social system, directing criticism at it, which in itself was a call for revolution.”

So, in the manifestation of a deep knowledge of life, in true democracy, in selfless service to the people lies the enduring value of Tolstoy’s legacy.

The books placed in the cabinets of the introductory hall tell about the global significance of the work of the great writer. These are various editions of works in the languages ​​of the peoples of the world, in Russian and many languages ​​of our country. Among them are a number of beautifully designed publications with illustrations by artists D. Shmarinov, A. Samokhvalov, S. Kharshak and others. Here is the Complete (anniversary) collected works of L. N. Tolstoy, numbering 90 volumes. This first complete collection of the writer's works, published by the State Publishing House of Fiction in 1928-1958, is a major event in the history of world culture. The publication was started in 1928 to commemorate the centenary of the writer's birth.

In terms of its volume, this publication has no equal. It took 30 years to prepare all the volumes for printing and publish them. The texts of all works were checked against surviving manuscripts. They corrected errors in previous editions, eliminated distortions and restored omissions made by the tsarist censorship. The anniversary edition includes not only the text of the writer’s works, but also drafts, outlines, excerpts, and entire sections discarded by the author for some reason. It also publishes diaries, notebooks, and letters. All this is accompanied by numerous comments. This publication includes unusually important material for the study of Tolstoy’s works, makes it possible to penetrate into his creative laboratory, and trace the entire process of his thinking.

Along with Soviet publications, the exhibition presents Tolstoy’s works in the languages ​​of peoples of all continents. In terms of the number of translations of books and the number of languages ​​into which they are translated, Tolstoy occupies one of the first places among writers in the world.

Many books were donated to the Yasnaya Polyana Estate Museum by various international public and cultural organizations, and a number of books were donated by distinguished visitors to Yasnaya Polyana.

The books speak of Tolstoy’s great popularity abroad, of the deep attention paid to him by the peoples of all countries.