Leo Tolstoy: biography and writing activity of the writer, personal life and creative heritage. Leo Tolstoy was left without early

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Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828, Yasnaya Polyana estate, Tula province - 1910, Astapovo station, Ryazan-Ural railway) - writer. Genus. in an aristocratic count family. Early on he was left without parents and lived with relatives. In 1844 he entered the East. Faculty of the Kazan University, but did not actually study and, not being able to pass the exams, transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he continued to lead a secular lifestyle. In 1847 he left the university and, returning to Yasnaya Polyana, was engaged in self-education; in 1848 he left for Moscow, where, in his own words, he lived “very carelessly.” But all this time, intense spiritual work took place in him: Tolstoy tried to understand the world and his place in it. In 1851 he entered military service in the Caucasus and began to seriously study literature: “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, and short stories were written. In 1854 Tolstoy took part in the defense of Sevastopol. In 1856, with the rank of lieutenant, he left military service and traveled around the West. Europe. Returning to Russia, he became a peace mediator, taking part in the peasant reform, but aroused the hostility of the landowners by defending peasant interests and was relieved of his post.

In the 60s opened a number of schools in his district, the main center of which was the first experimental Yasnaya Polyana school in Russia, which for Tolstoy became “a poetic, charming thing that you cannot tear yourself away from.” He taught children without coercion, seeing them as free people like himself; created an original technique that has not lost its significance. In 1862 Tolstoy married S.A. Bers settled in Yasnaya Polyana, where he wrote the novels “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina” and others. In 1884 he moved to Moscow, where he participated in the population census. Socio-religious and philosophical quests led Tolstoy to the creation of his own religious-philosophical system (Tolstoyism), which he set out in the articles “Criticism of Dogmatic Theology”, “What is My Faith”, etc. Tolstoy preached in life and works of art (“Resurrection”, “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, “The Kreutzer Sonata”, etc.) the need for moral improvement, universal love, non-resistance to evil through violence, for which he was attacked both by revolutionary democratic figures and by the church, from which Tolstoy was excommunicated by the decision of the Synod in 1901. Never remaining indifferent to the suffering of people, he fought against famine in 1891, came out with the article “I Can’t Be Silent”, protesting against the death penalty in 1908, etc. Tormented by his belonging to high society, the opportunity to live better , than the nearby peasants, Tolstoy in Oct. 1910, fulfilling his decision to live his last years in accordance with his views, secretly left Yasnaya Polyana, renouncing the “circle of the rich and learned.” He fell ill on the way and died. He was buried in Yasnaya Polyana. A.M. Gorky said about him: “This man did a truly enormous job: he gave a summary of what he had experienced over a whole century and gave it with amazing truthfulness, strength and beauty.”

Book materials used: Shikman A.P. Figures of Russian history. Biographical reference book. Moscow, 1997

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich, count (1828 - 1910), prose writer, playwright, publicist.

By origin he belonged to the oldest aristocratic families in Russia. He received home education and upbringing.

After the death of his parents (mother died in 1830, father in 1837), the future writer with three brothers and a sister moved to Kazan, to his guardian P. Yushkova. As a sixteen-year-old boy, he entered Kazan University, first to the Faculty of Philosophy in the category of Arabic-Turkish Literature, then he studied at the Faculty of Law (1844 - 47). In 1847, without completing the course, he left the university and came to Yasnaya Polyana, which he received as property under the division of his father's inheritance.

He spends the next four years in search: he tries to reorganize the life of the peasants of Yasnaya Polyana (1847), lives a social life in Moscow (1848), goes to St. Petersburg University to take exams for the degree of candidate of law (spring 1849), is assigned to serve as a clerical employee in the Tula Noble Deputies meeting (autumn 1849).

In 1851 he left Yasnaya Polyana for the Caucasus, the place of service of his older brother Nikolai, and volunteered to take part in military operations against the Chechens. Episodes of the Caucasian War were described by him in the stories "Raid" (1853), "Cutting Wood" (1855), and in the story "Cossacks" (1852 - 63). Passes the cadet exam, preparing to become an officer. In 1854, being an artillery officer, he was transferred to the Danube Army, which acted against the Turks.

In the Caucasus, he begins to seriously engage in literary creativity, writes the story "Childhood", which receives the approval of Nekrasov and is published in the magazine "Sovremennik". Later the story "Adolescence" (1852 - 54) will be published there.

Soon after the start of the Crimean War, Tolstoy, at his personal request, was transferred to Sevastopol, where he participated in the defense of the besieged city, showing rare fearlessness. Awarded the Order of St. Anne with the inscription “For Bravery” and medals “For the Defense of Sevastopol.” In "Sevastopol Stories" he will paint a mercilessly accurate picture of the war, which will make a huge impression on Russian society. During these same years, he wrote the last part of the trilogy, “Youth” (1855–56), in which he declared himself not just a “poet of childhood,” but a researcher of human nature. This interest in man and the desire to understand the laws of mental and spiritual life will continue in his future work.

In 1855, having arrived in St. Petersburg, he became close to the staff of the Sovremennik magazine, met I. Turgenev, I. Goncharov, A. Ostrovsky, N. Chernyshevsky.

In the fall of 1856 he retired (“A military career is not mine...” he writes in his diary) and in 1857 he went on a six-month trip abroad to France, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany.

In 1859 he opened a school for peasant children in Yasnaya Polyana, where he himself taught classes. Helps open more than 20 schools in surrounding villages. In order to study the organization of school affairs abroad, in 1860-61 he made a second trip to Europe, inspecting schools in France, Italy, Germany, and England. In London he meets. Herzen, attends a lecture by Dickens.

In May 1861 (the year of the abolition of serfdom) he returned to Yasnaya Polyana, accepted the position of peace mediator and actively defended the interests of the peasants, resolving their disputes with the landowners about land, for which the Tula nobility, dissatisfied with his actions, demanded his removal from office. In 1862, the Senate issues a decree dismissing Tolstoy. Secret surveillance of him by Section III begins. In the summer, the gendarmes carry out a search in his absence, confident that they will find a secret printing house, which the writer allegedly acquired after meetings and long communications with Herzen in London.

In 1862, Tolstoy’s life and his way of life were streamlined for many years: he married the daughter of a Moscow doctor, Sofya Andreevna Vera, and led a patriarchal life on his estate as the head of an ever-increasing family. The Tolstoys raised nine children.

The 1860s - 70s were marked by the publication of two works by Tolstoy, which immortalized his name: "War and Peace" (1863 - 69), "Anna Karenina" (1873 - 77). In the early 1880s, the Tolstoy family moved to Moscow to educate their growing children. From this time on, Tolstoy spent winters in Moscow. Here in 1882 he took part in the census of the Moscow population and became closely acquainted with the life of the inhabitants of the city slums, which he described in the treatise “So what should we do?” (1882 - 86), and concludes: “...You can’t live like that, you can’t live like that, you can’t!”

Tolstoy expressed his new worldview in his work “Confession” (1879 - 82), where he 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.” This turning point leads Tolstoy to the denial of the state, the state church and property. The awareness of the meaninglessness of life in the face of inevitable death leads him to faith in God. He bases his teaching on the moral commandments of the New Testament: the demand for love for people and the preaching of non-resistance to evil through violence constitute the meaning of the so-called “Tolstoyism,” which is becoming popular not only in Russia, but also abroad.

During this period, he comes to a complete denial of his previous literary activity, engages in physical labor, plows, sews boots, and switches to vegetarian food. In 1891 he publicly renounced copyright ownership of all his works written after 1880.

Under the influence of friends and true admirers of his talent, as well as personal need for literary activity, Tolstoy in the 1890s changed his negative attitude towards art. During these years he created the drama "The Power of Darkness" (1886), the play "The Fruits of Enlightenment" (1886 - 90), and the novel "Sunday" (1889 - 99). In 1891, 1893, 1898 he participated in helping peasants in starving provinces and organized free canteens.

In the last decade, he has been engaged, as always, in intense creative work. The story "Hadji Murat" (1896 - 1904), the drama "The Living Corpse" (1900), and the story "After the Ball" (1903) were written.

At the beginning of 1900 he wrote a number of articles exposing the entire system of public administration. The government of Nicholas II issues a resolution according to which the Holy Synod (the highest church institution in Russia) excommunicates Tolstoy from the church as a “heretic,” which causes a wave of indignation in society.

In 1901 he lived in Crimea, was treated after a serious illness, and often met with A. Chekhov and M. Gorky.

In the last years of his life, when Tolstoy was drawing up his will, he found himself at the center of intrigue and contention between the “Tolstoyites,” on the one hand, and his wife, who defended the well-being of her family and children, on the other. Trying to bring his lifestyle into line with his beliefs and being burdened by the lordly way of life on the estate. Tolstoy secretly leaves Yasnaya Polyana on November 10, 1910. The health of the 82-year-old writer could not withstand the journey. He caught a cold and, falling ill, died on November 20 on the way at the Astapovo station of the Ryazan-Ural Railway. He was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.

Materials used from the book: Russian writers and poets. Brief biographical dictionary. Moscow, 2000.

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich (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), the study of the “fluidity” of the inner world, the moral foundations of the individual became the main theme of Tolstoy’s works. A painful search for the meaning of life, a moral ideal, hidden general laws of existence, spiritual and social criticism, revealing the “untruth” of class relations, runs through all of his work. In the story “Cossacks” (1863), the hero, a young nobleman, seeks a way out by connecting with nature, with the natural and integral life of a common man. The epic "War and Peace" (1863-69) recreates the life of various strata of Russian society during the Patriotic War of 1812, the patriotic impulse of the people that united all classes and determined victory in the war with Napoleon. Historical events and personal interests, the paths of spiritual self-determination of a reflective personality and the elements of Russian folk life with its “swarm” consciousness are shown as equivalent components of natural-historical existence. In the novel "Anna Karenina" (1873-77) - about the tragedy of a woman in the power of destructive "criminal" passion - Tolstoy exposes the false foundations of secular society, shows the collapse of the patriarchal structure, the destruction of family foundations. He contrasts the perception of the world by an individualistic and rationalistic consciousness with the intrinsic value of life as such in its infinity, uncontrollable variability and material concreteness (“the seer of the flesh” - D. S. Merezhkovsky). From the end 1870s experiencing a spiritual crisis, later captured by the idea of ​​moral improvement and “simplification” (which gave rise to the “Tolstoyism” movement), Tolstoy came to an increasingly irreconcilable criticism of the social structure - modern bureaucratic institutions, the state, the church (in 1901 he was excommunicated from the Orthodox Church), civilization and culture , the entire way of life of the “educated classes”: the novel “Resurrection” (1889-99), the story “The Kreutzer Sonata” (1887-89), the dramas “The Living Corpse” (1900, published in 1911) and “The Power of Darkness” (1887) . At the same time, attention to the themes of death, sin, repentance and moral rebirth is increasing (the stories “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, 1884-86, “Father Sergius”, 1890-98, published in 1912, “Hadji Murat”, 1896-1904, published in 1912). Journalistic works of a moralizing nature, including “Confession” (1879-82), “What is my faith?” (1884), where Christian teachings about love and forgiveness are transformed into preaching non-resistance to evil through violence. The desire to harmonize the way of thought and life leads to Tolstoy’s departure from Yasnaya Polyana; died at Astapovo station.

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich, count, Russian writer.

"The joyful period of childhood"

Tolstoy was the fourth child in a large noble family. His mother, nee Princess Volkonskaya, died when Tolstoy was not yet two years old, but according to the stories of family members, he had a good idea of ​​“her spiritual appearance”: some of his mother’s traits (brilliant education, sensitivity to art, a penchant for reflection and even portrait resemblance Tolstoy gave Princess Marya Nikolaevna Bolkonskaya ("War and Peace"). Tolstoy's father, a participant in the Patriotic War, who was remembered by the writer for his good-natured, mocking character, love of reading, and hunting (served as the prototype for Nikolai Rostov), ​​also died early (1837). Raising children studied by a distant relative T. A. Ergolskaya, who had a huge influence on Tolstoy: “she taught me the spiritual pleasure of love.” Childhood memories always remained the most joyful for Tolstoy: family legends, first impressions of the life of a noble estate served as rich material for his works, were reflected in the autobiographical story "Childhood".

Kazan University

When Tolstoy was 13 years old, the family moved to Kazan, to the house of a relative and guardian of the children, P. I. Yushkova. In 1844, Tolstoy entered Kazan University at the Department of Oriental Languages ​​of the Faculty of Philosophy, then transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he studied for less than two years: his studies did not arouse any keen interest in him and he passionately indulged in secular entertainment. In the spring of 1847, having submitted a request for dismissal from the university “due to poor health and home circumstances,” Tolstoy left for Yasnaya Polyana with the firm intention of studying the entire course of legal sciences (in order to pass the exam as an external student), “practical medicine,” languages, agriculture, history, geographical statistics, write a dissertation and “achieve the highest degree of excellence in music and painting.”

"The stormy life of adolescence"

After a summer in the countryside, disappointed by the unsuccessful experience of managing under new conditions favorable to the serfs (this attempt is depicted in the story “The Morning of the Landowner,” 1857), in the fall of 1847 Tolstoy went first to Moscow, then to St. Petersburg to take candidate exams at the university. His lifestyle during this period often changed: he spent days preparing and passing exams, he devoted himself passionately to music, he intended to start an official career, he dreamed of joining a horse guards regiment as a cadet. Religious sentiments, reaching the point of asceticism, alternated with carousing, cards, and trips to the gypsies. In the family he was considered “the most trifling fellow,” and he was able to repay the debts he incurred then only many years later. However, it was precisely these years that were colored by intense introspection and struggle with oneself, which is reflected in the diary that Tolstoy kept throughout his life. At the same time, he had a serious desire to write and the first unfinished artistic sketches appeared.

"War and Freedom"

In 1851, his elder brother Nikolai, an officer in the active army, persuaded Tolstoy to go together to the Caucasus. For almost three years, Tolstoy lived in a Cossack village on the banks of the Terek, traveling to Kizlyar, Tiflis, Vladikavkaz and participating in military operations (at first voluntarily, then he was recruited). The Caucasian nature and the patriarchal simplicity of Cossack life, which struck Tolstoy in contrast with the life of the noble circle and with the painful reflection of a person in an educated society, provided material for the autobiographical story “Cossacks” (1852-63). Caucasian impressions were also reflected in the stories “Raid” (1853), “Cutting Wood” (1855), as well as in the later story “Hadji Murat” (1896-1904, published in 1912). Returning to Russia, Tolstoy wrote in his diary that he fell in love with this “wild land, in which the two most opposite things - war and freedom - are so strangely and poetically combined.” In the Caucasus, Tolstoy wrote the story "Childhood" and sent it to the magazine "Sovremennik" without revealing his name (published in 1852 under the initials L.N.; together with the later stories "Adolescence", 1852-54, and "Youth", 1855 -57, compiled an autobiographical trilogy). Tolstoy's literary debut immediately brought real recognition.

Crimean campaign

In 1854, Tolstoy was assigned to the Danube Army in Bucharest. Boring life at the headquarters soon forced him to transfer to the Crimean Army, to besieged Sevastopol, where he commanded a battery on the 4th bastion, showing rare personal courage (awarded the Order of St. Anne and medals). In Crimea, Tolstoy was captivated by new impressions and literary plans (he was planning, among other things, to publish a magazine for soldiers); here he began writing a series of “Sevastopol stories”, which were soon published and had enormous success (even Alexander II read the essay “Sevastopol in December” ). Tolstoy's first works amazed literary critics with the boldness of his psychological analysis and a detailed picture of the “dialectics of the soul” (N. G. Chernyshevsky). Some of the ideas that appeared during these years allow one to discern in the young artillery officer the late Tolstoy the preacher: he dreamed of “founding a new religion” - “the religion of Christ, but purified of faith and mystery, a practical religion.”

Among writers and abroad

In November 1855, Tolstoy arrived in St. Petersburg and immediately entered the Sovremennik circle (N. A. Nekrasov, I. S. Turgenev, A. N. Ostrovsky, I. A. Goncharov, etc.), where he was greeted as a “great hope of Russian literature" (Nekrasov). Tolstoy took part in dinners and readings, in the establishment of the Literary Fund, became involved in the disputes and conflicts of writers, but felt like a stranger in this environment, which he described in detail later in “Confession” (1879-82): “These people disgusted me, and I was disgusted with myself." In the fall of 1856, Tolstoy, having retired, went to Yasnaya Polyana, and at the beginning of 1857 he went abroad. He visited France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany (Swiss impressions are reflected in the story “Lucerne”), returned to Moscow in the fall, then to Yasnaya Polyana.

Folk school

In 1859, Tolstoy opened a school for peasant children in the village, helped to establish more than 20 schools in the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana, and this activity fascinated Tolstoy so much that in 1860 he went abroad for the second time to get acquainted with the schools of Europe. Tolstoy traveled a lot, spent a month and a half in London (where he often saw A.I. Herzen), was in Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, studied popular pedagogical systems, which generally did not satisfy the writer. Tolstoy outlined his own ideas in special articles, arguing that the basis of education should be “the freedom of the student” and the rejection of violence in teaching. In 1862 he published the pedagogical magazine "Yasnaya Polyana" with books for reading as an appendix, which became in Russia the same classic examples of children's and folk literature as those compiled by him in the early 1870s. "ABC" and "New ABC". In 1862, in the absence of Tolstoy, a search was carried out in Yasnaya Polyana (they were looking for a secret printing house).

"War and Peace" (1863-69)

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 completely devoted himself to family life and household concerns. However, already in the autumn of 1863 he was captured by a new literary project, which for a long time bore the name “One Thousand Eight Hundred and Five.” The time of creation of the novel was a period of spiritual elation, family happiness and calm, solitary work. Tolstoy read memoirs and correspondence of people of the Alexander era (including materials from Tolstoy and Volkonsky), worked in archives, studied Masonic manuscripts, traveled to the Borodino field, moving forward in his work slowly, through many editions (his wife helped him a lot in copying manuscripts, refuting this friends joked that she was still so young, as if she were playing with dolls), and only at the beginning of 1865 he published the first part of “War and Peace” in the “Russian Bulletin”. The novel was read avidly, evoked many responses, striking with its combination of a broad epic canvas with subtle psychological analysis, with a living picture of private life, organically inscribed in history. Heated debate provoked the subsequent parts of the novel, in which Tolstoy developed a fatalistic philosophy of history. There were accusations that the writer “entrusted” the intellectual demands of his era to the people of the beginning of the century: the idea of ​​a novel about the Patriotic War was indeed a response to the problems that worried Russian post-reform society. Tolstoy himself characterized his plan as an attempt to “write the history of the people” and considered it impossible to determine its genre nature (“will not fit any form, no novel, no story, no poem, no history”).

"Anna Karenina" (1873-77)

In the 1870s, still living in Yasnaya Polyana, continuing to teach peasant children and developing his pedagogical views in print, Tolstoy worked on a novel about the life of contemporary society, building a composition on the contrast of two plot lines: the family drama of Anna Karenina is depicted in contrast to the life and home idyll of the young landowner Konstantin Levin, close to the writer himself both in his lifestyle, and in his beliefs, and in his psychological pattern. The beginning of his work coincided with his fascination with Pushkin’s prose: Tolstoy strove for simplicity of style, for an external non-judgmental tone, paving the way for the new style of the 1880s, especially for folk stories. Only tendentious criticism interpreted the novel as a love story. The meaning of the existence of the “educated class” and the deep truth of peasant life - this range of questions, close to Levin and alien to most of the heroes even sympathetic to the author (including Anna), sounded sharply journalistic for many contemporaries, primarily for F. M. Dostoevsky, who highly appreciated “Anna Karenin" in "A Writer's Diary". “The family thought” (the main thought in the novel, according to Tolstoy) is translated into a social channel, Levin’s merciless self-exposures, his thoughts about suicide are read as a figurative illustration of the spiritual crisis that Tolstoy himself experienced in the 1880s, but which matured during the work on the novel .

Turning point (1880s)

The course of the revolution taking place in Tolstoy’s consciousness was reflected in his artistic creativity, primarily in the experiences of the heroes, in the spiritual insight that refracts their lives. These characters occupy a central place in the stories "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" (1884-86), "The Kreutzer Sonata" (1887-89, published in Russia in 1891), "Father Sergius" (1890-98, published in 1912), the drama " Living Corpse" (1900, unfinished, published in 1911), in the story "After the Ball" (1903, published in 1911). Tolstoy's confessional journalism gives a detailed idea of ​​his spiritual drama: painting pictures of social inequality and idleness of the educated strata, Tolstoy in a pointed form posed questions of the meaning of life and faith to himself and to society, criticized all state institutions, going so far as to deny science, art, and court , marriage, achievements of civilization. The writer’s new worldview is reflected in “Confession” (published in 1884 in Geneva, in 1906 in Russia), in the articles “On the Census in Moscow” (1882), “So what should we do?” (1882-86, published in full in 1906), “On Hunger” (1891, published in English in 1892, in Russian in 1954), “What is art?” (1897-98), “Slavery of Our Time” (1900, fully published in Russia in 1917), “On Shakespeare and Drama” (1906), “I Can’t Be Silent” (1908). Tolstoy's social declaration is based on the idea of ​​Christianity as a moral teaching, and he interpreted the ethical ideas of Christianity in a humanistic manner as the basis of the universal brotherhood of man. This set of problems involved an analysis of the Gospel and critical study of theological works, which were the subject of Tolstoy’s religious and philosophical treatises “A Study of Dogmatic Theology” (1879-80), “The Connection and Translation of the Four Gospels” (1880-81), “What is My Faith” ( 1884), "The Kingdom of God is within you" (1893). A stormy reaction in society accompanied Tolstoy's calls for direct and immediate adherence to Christian commandments. In particular, his preaching of non-resistance to evil through violence was widely discussed, which became the impetus for the creation of a number of works of art - the drama “The Power of Darkness, or the Claw Got Stuck, All the Birds Are Abyss” (1887) and folk stories written in a deliberately simplified, “artless” manner. Along with the congenial works of V. M. Garshin, N. S. Leskov and other writers, these stories were published by the publishing house "Posrednik", founded by V. G. Chertkov on the initiative and with the close participation of Tolstoy, who defined the task of the "Mediator" as “an expression in artistic images of the teachings of Christ”, “so that this book can be read to an old man, a woman, a child, and so that both of them become interested, are touched and feel kinder.”

As part of a new worldview and ideas about Christianity, Tolstoy opposed Christian dogma and criticized the rapprochement of the church with the state, which led him to complete separation from the Orthodox Church. In 1901, the reaction of the Synod followed: the internationally recognized writer and preacher was officially excommunicated from the church, which caused a huge public outcry.

"Resurrection" (1889-99)

Tolstoy's last novel embodied the entire range of problems that worried him during the turning point. The main character, Dmitry Nekhlyudov, spiritually close to the author, goes through the path of moral purification, leading him to active good. The narrative is built on a system of emphatically evaluative oppositions that expose the unreasonableness of the social structure (the beauty of nature and the falsity of the social world, the truth of peasant life and the falsehood that dominates the life of the educated strata of society). The characteristic features of the late Tolstoy - a frank, highlighted “tendency” (in these years Tolstoy was a supporter of deliberately tendentious, didactic art), harsh criticism, a satirical beginning - appeared clearly in the novel.

Care and death

The turning point years radically changed the writer’s personal biography, resulting in a break with the social environment and leading to family discord (Tolstoy’s proclaimed refusal to own private property caused sharp discontent among family members, especially his wife). The personal drama Tolstoy experienced was reflected in his diary entries.

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. The journey turned out to be too much for him: on the way, Tolstoy fell ill and was forced to get off the train at the small Astapovo railway station. Here, in the station master's house, he spent the last seven days of his life. All of Russia followed reports about the health of Tolstoy, who by this time had already gained worldwide fame not only as a writer, but also as a religious thinker and preacher of a new faith. Tolstoy's funeral in Yasnaya Polyana became an event of all-Russian scale.

O. E. Mayorova

August 28 (September 9), 1828 - L. N. Tolstoy was born on the Yasnaya Polyana estate, Krapivinsky district, Tula province, into a noble family.

1841 - death of aunt, move to Kazan.

1844 - Oriental Faculty of Kazan University; in a year - legal. Without finishing, he leaves the university.

1850 - service in the office of the Tula provincial government.

1851 - service in the Caucasus

1852- "Childhood".

1854 - "Adolescence".

1851 - ensign of the Danube Regiment.

1853 - "Raid"

1855 - “Sevastopol Stories”; editorial office of the magazine "Contemporary".

1857- "Youth".

Early 60s - social activities.

1862 - marriage to Sofya Andreevna Berne.

1868 - 1869 - novel "War and Peace".

1872 - "Anna Karenina".

1899 - "Resurrection".

1904 - work on Hadji Murad (1896 - 1904) was completed

Leo Tolstoy was born in Yasnaya Polyana in 1828. He was the fourth child in the family, he had three older brothers - Nikolai, Sergei and Dmitry, and a younger sister Maria. The atmosphere that reigned in the Tolstoys’ house is accurately reflected in Lev Nikolaevich’s work “Childhood. Adolescence. Youth". The young Tolstoys were orphaned early. At the birth of Maria, her mother, Maria Nikolaevna, died, and in 1837 her father, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, also died. The orphaned children moved to Kazan to live with their relatives. Tolstoy's older brothers became students in the mathematics department of the Faculty of Philosophy at Kazan University. Leo Tolstoy was not attracted to mathematics, and after lengthy preparation he entered the Faculty of Oriental Languages. However, he forgot his studies for the sake of secular entertainment, and Leo Tolstoy did not pass his first-year exams. This circumstance remained forever in his memory, he experienced his “shame” so hard. Thanks to the patronage of his relatives, he managed to transfer to the Faculty of Law. The young man became interested in the works of Montesquieu and Rousseau, and as a result, his thirst for knowledge turned into a paradox - Leo Tolstoy dropped out of university to devote himself entirely to the study of subjects that interested him.

He went to Yasnaya Polyana and tried to engage in economic reforms and at the same time work on himself. Failing in business. Tolstoy returned to Kazan, passed two exams at the Faculty of Law, but soon left the university again. In 1850 he entered the office of the Tula provincial government. But routine service also could not satisfy young Tolstoy.

In the summer of 1851, Tolstoy again made an attempt to change his life. He went to the Caucasus to join his older brother Nikolai, who served as an officer there. Leo Tolstoy joined the Caucasian army as a volunteer. Arriving in the village of Starogladovskaya, Tolstoy was amazed by the new world of ordinary Cossacks that opened up for him, which was reflected in his story “Cossacks”, written later. At this time, an important event occurred in Tolstoy's life. He completed the long-planned part of the trilogy (“Childhood”) and sent it to the Sovremennik magazine, of which Nekrasov was the editor at that time. “Childhood” was published and earned rave reviews from readers and critics (the other two parts, “Adolescence” and “Youth,” were published in 1854 and 1857).

In 1853, the Russian-Turkish war began. In a patriotic impulse, Leo Tolstoy transferred to the active Danube Army with the rank of ensign, dreaming of military exploits and a military career. However, he was soon disappointed by the poor organization of the Russian army and its military failures. At this time he became interested in the world of a simple soldier. During the Sevastopol campaign of 1854-1855, Tolstoy wrote the essay “Sevastopol in December,” which is the core of “Sevastopol Stories.” This cycle is interesting for its approach to describing the events of the war, which simultaneously gives both a holistic image and an image of specific heroes. Already in this early work, the national character of Tolstoy’s work was evident.

Lev Nikolaevich left the army with the rank of artillery lieutenant and returned to St. Petersburg, where he was enthusiastically received by the editors of Sovremennik. In the early 1860s, Tolstoy made two trips abroad, and upon returning, he devoted himself to social work. Having studied the public education system in Europe, he began publishing a pedagogical magazine and opened a public school in Yasnaya Polyana. Being a staunch supporter of the abolition of serfdom, he was dissatisfied with the reform carried out in 1861 and called the “Regulations” on the emancipation of peasants “completely wasted chatter.” Tolstoy became a peace mediator in one of the districts of the Tula province in order to be able to take part in the protection of peasant interests during the division of land. This, naturally, caused extreme displeasure of the Tula nobility, and a denunciation was written against Tolstoy, which spoke about his revolutionary activities. A search was carried out in Yasnaya Polyana in the absence of Lev Nikolaevich.

In 1862, Tolstoy married the daughter of a famous Moscow doctor, Sofya Andreevna Bers, who became Lev Nikolaevich’s guardian angel throughout his life. For the next twenty years, the Tolstoys lived in Yasnaya Polyana, only occasionally making trips to Moscow. It was during these years that such great works as “War and Peace” (1863-1869) and “Anna Karenina” (1873-1877) were written. “War and Peace,” according to Tolstoy himself, was the result of “an insane authorial effort.” This novel immediately after its publication became widely known not only in Russia, but also abroad, winning unprecedented success. After completing War and Peace, Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy decided to write a historical work about the era of Peter the Great and began collecting material for it. At the same time, he writes “ABC”, consisting of short stories for children. In 1873, Tolstoy abandoned his idea of ​​a historical novel and turned to contemporary life, beginning work on Anna Karenina.

However, Tolstoy’s further spiritual quests did not receive approval from the authorities, and his “Confession” (1882), containing sharp criticism of the existing state and social structure, was banned by censorship. Tolstoy came to the creation of his own religious and philosophical system, the foundations of which were outlined in the work “What is My Faith?” The core of this system was the idea of ​​​​non-resistance to evil through violence. Followers of Lev Nikolayevich, who called themselves “Tolstoyites,” existed not only in Russia, but also in Europe and America, and even in India and Japan.

Tolstoy’s ideas were reflected in his last novel, “Resurrection,” in which correction of one’s guilt and turning to the Gospel commandments are indicated as the path to moral improvement.

In the last years of his life, Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, in his desire for self-improvement and in his critical attitude towards himself, experienced severe mental anguish, believing that he himself did not fully follow the way of life that he preached. The writer repeatedly expressed a desire to leave Yasnaya Polyana, but could not resolve the internal contradiction between the voice of his conscience and his duty to his family. Back in 1894, he transferred all his property to his wife and children, but continued to doubt whether he did the right thing by not giving the land to the Yasnaya Polyana peasants. On the estate, surrounded by his family, Lev Nikolaevich could not lead the lifestyle close to the common people that he aspired to. His relationship with his family became complicated, and on the night of October 28, 1910, Tolstoy left Yasnaya Polyana, accompanied by his beloved daughter Alexandra Lvovna (the only one of the entire large family who completely shared her father’s beliefs) and boarded a train on the Ryazan Railway. On the way, he caught a cold and contracted pneumonia. He had to get off the train at Astapovo station, and on November 7 he died surrounded by his arriving relatives.

Surmina I.O., Usova Yu.V. The most famous dynasties of Russia. Moscow, "Veche", 2001

TOLSTOY Lev Nikolaevich (08/28/1828-11/7/1910), count, Russian writer. Born on the Yasnaya Polyana estate in Tula province. Received his first primary education at home. From 1844 he studied at Kazan University, first at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, then at the Faculty of Law. In 1847 he left the university and returned to Yasnaya Polyana.

In 1851, having entered military service, Tolstoy went to the Caucasus. Here he wrote autobiographical stories “Childhood” and “Adolescence” (published in 1852 and 1854). Later (in 1857) the last story of this trilogy was published, in which Tolstoy expressed the individual’s desire to comprehend his essence, to moral improvement. Service and participation in military operations in the Caucasus (1851-53) gave Tolstoy rich impressions of army life and the life of indigenous peoples, which was later reflected in Tolstoy’s stories and novels. In 1854, Tolstoy voluntarily went to the active Danube Army, and from November 1854 he participated in the defense of Sevastopol, depicted in “Sevastopol Stories” (1855-56).

In 1856, Tolstoy retired with the rank of lieutenant and contributed to the Sovremennik magazine. In the 1850s he took part in the discussion of peasant reform projects. Tolstoy traveled abroad twice: in 1857 to France and Switzerland, in 1860-61 - to France, England and Germany.

Returning to Russia in 1861, Tolstoy took part in the reform of 1861 and was a peace mediator in Krapivensky district. Tula province, defended the interests of the peasants, which caused the displeasure of local landowners and Tolstoy’s removal from office. In 1859 he created the Yasnaya Polyana school for peasants (operating until 1862).

For 20 years (until 1882) Tolstoy lived with his family in Yasnaya Polyana, occasionally visiting Moscow. During this period, he wrote the epic "War and Peace" (1863-69), the novel "Anna Karenina" (1873-77), "The ABC" for children (1871-72), "The New ABC" (1874-75), 4 issues of "Russian books for reading". In n. In the 1880s, Tolstoy breaks with the environment to which he belonged by birth and upbringing, and abandons his previous way of life. He theoretically substantiates his worldview in “Confession”, “Study of Dogmatic Theology”, “Connection and Translation of the Four Gospels” and especially in the treatise “What is My Faith”, creates his own religious and philosophical system. Tolstoy called for the transformation of society through moral and religious self-improvement, renunciation of all violence (he preached the thesis of “non-resistance to evil through violence”).

Tolstoy became a world-famous writer and thinker who had admirers and followers in Russia, Western Europe, India, Japan and other countries. In the 1880s-90s he created novels and stories in which pressing problems of our time were discussed in the social and religious-philosophical aspects: "Resurrection" (1889-99), "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" (1884-86), " The Kreutzer Sonata" (1887-89), "Hadji Murad" (1896-1904), the dramas "The Power of Darkness" (1887) and "The Living Corpse" (1900), the comedy "The Fruits of Enlightenment" (1891). In 1884, on the initiative of Tolstoy, the educational publishing house "Posrednik" was founded in Moscow, publishing affordable fiction, popular science and moralizing literature for the people.

For speaking out against the Orthodox Church, Tolstoy was excommunicated from it in 1901.

On October 28, 1910, Tolstoy secretly left Yasnaya Polyana and headed to Optina Pustyn, possibly to perform a rite of repentance, but on the way he caught a cold and contracted pneumonia. To save the soul of a sinner excommunicated from the Church, the holy Optina elder Barsanuphius arrived at the station where the sick Tolstoy lay. However, the enemies of the Christian faith who surrounded Tolstoy did not allow the Russian saint to see the dying writer.

On November 7, Tolstoy died without repentance at St. Astapovo Ryazan-Ural railway. d. Buried in Yasnaya Polyana without church rites.

V.F.

Full collection op. M.; L., 1928-58. T. 1-90. (Anniversary edition).

Tolstoy I.V. Light of Yasnaya Polyana. M., 1986;

Shklovsky V.B. Lev Tolstoy. M., 1967.

Biryukov P.I. Biography of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. M.; Pg., 1923. T. 1-4.

Gusev N. N. Chronicle of the life and work of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. 1828-1890. M., 1958.

Gusev N. N. Chronicle of the life and work of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. 1891-1910. M., 1960.

Eikhenbaum B. M. Young Tolstoy. Pg.; Berlin, 1922.

Eikhenbaum B. M. About literature. M., 1987.

Bocharov S. G. Novel by L. N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”. M., 1963.

Tolstoy L.N. Raid. Volunteer's story

Tolstoy L.N. Blizzard

Dear friends! Today we are going with you to visit the Tula region, to the Yasnaya Polyana estate. In 1828, the world-famous Russian writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born here. You are familiar with him from the story “Filippok”, the cycle of stories “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”, and older children know his “Sevastopol Stories”, novels “Anna Karenina”, “War and Peace”, “Resurrection” and many , a lot others. And for children, Tolstoy wrote many fables, fairy tales, stories, stories.

Lev Nikolaevich was born into a noble family, received an excellent education: he knew several foreign languages, loved music and played the piano well. He was a silent and shy child. He was left without parents early: his mother died when Lev was not even 2 years old, his father when he was 9. He had three older brothers and a sister. The orphaned children were taken in by Lev’s father’s own aunt. She was a kind person and loved her nephews very much.

Years passed, and Leo grew into a handsome, stately man. He entered Kazan University to study Eastern (Arabic-Turkish) literature, but did not finish his studies because he did not accept the knowledge that was imposed on him. He loved to get to the essence of things himself, believing that “knowledge is only knowledge when it is acquired through the efforts of one’s thoughts, and not through memory.”

Leaving the university, Lev went to St. Petersburg, the then capital of the Russian Empire. His lifestyle was very different: he spent days preparing for exams, he enthusiastically indulged in music studies, and he intended to start a career as an official. He also started playing cards and hanging out with young people. It was during these years that he experienced a period of active introspection and struggle with himself, which was reflected in the diary that Leo kept throughout his life. At the same time, he began to try himself in literary creativity. His first story appeared, which was called “Childhood”.

Lev Nikolaevich decides to go to the Caucasus to enter military service. At that time it was turbulent there: fighting was going on, and he took an active part in it. But internal rejection of violence (and even more so of murder) forced him to decide to retire from military service. Tolstoy travels a lot abroad, writes short works, and searches for the meaning of life.

Returning to Russia, he decides to tie the knot. His wife becomes a beautiful girl from the noble class, Sofya Andreevna Bers, with whom he eventually lived for about 50 years. The marriage produced 13 children, but 5 of them died at an early age.

After his marriage, Tolstoy began to immerse himself more and more in rural life. There were many peasants in his domain, whom he did not consider to be of the lower class. Lev Nikolaevich thinks more and more about the meaning of life, about the purpose of man.

“What is the use of nobles and landowners who live only for themselves? “No,” he argues, “every person must be useful, he must be useful to society.”

Tolstoy, by his example, taught to do good deeds for ordinary people. In his district, he opened a free school for peasant children.

Before Christmas, Lev Nikolaevich and his wife and children made gifts for peasant children with their own hands and happily gave them to them. He spent a lot of money on charity.

During the famine of 1891-1892, Tolstoy opened 187 canteens, which fed 10 thousand people, organized the distribution of firewood, seeds and potatoes for sowing, bought and distributed horses to farmers (almost all farms lost horses during the famine year).

“Faith is knowledge of the meaning of human life.”
L. N. Tolstoy

“Every person is a diamond who can purify himself. To the extent that it is purified, the eternal Light shines through it. Therefore, a person’s job is not to try to shine, but to try to purify himself.”
L. N. Tolstoy

Being a nobleman, Lev Nikolaevich did not feel a craving for a rich, luxurious life. In terms of clothing, food, and home furnishings, he simplified his life and the life of his family as much as possible. He was a vegetarian and wore a simple long shirt made of coarse material, which people later called a “sweatshirt.”

Lev Nikolaevich got up at 6.00 in the morning and worked on his next literary work until lunch. After lunch until late in the evening, he was engaged in physical labor - planting trees, plowing the land, because he believed that “freeing oneself from labor is a crime,” and also rode a horse, skated, walked a lot, and played tennis.

At the end of his life, Lev Nikolaevich renounced copyright to all his works in favor of the state. All property was transferred to family members. Because he sincerely believed that “the goal of humanity is not material progress, this progress is inevitable growth, and there is one goal - the good of all people.”

Tolstoy formulated five commandments, which he believed were the true commandments of Christ and by which a person should be guided in his life: do not fall into anger; don't give in to lust; do not bind yourself with oaths; do not resist evil (do not respond to evil with evil, only goodness and love will defeat evil); be equally good with the righteous and the unrighteous.

This is how he formulated the meaning and purpose of human life: “In life there is only one undoubted happiness - to live for another.”

Inna BAKANOVA

And now, dear guys, we will introduce you to the work of the great writer, whose works are included in the golden fund of our Fatherland. These short stories are very wise and deep. Read them, think about what the author wanted to say, what idea he put into them and what he wanted to teach you.
Enjoy your reading, dears.

Man and merman

The man dropped the ax into the river; Out of grief, he sat down on the shore and began to cry. The merman heard, felt sorry for the man, brought him a golden ax from the river and said: “Is this your ax?” The man says: “No, not mine.” The merman brought out another, silver axe. The man says again: “Not my ax.” Then the merman brought out a real axe. The man says: “This is my ax.”

The merman gave the man all three axes for his truth. At home, the man showed his comrades the axes and told what happened to him. One man decided to do the same thing: he went to the river, deliberately threw his ax into the water, sat down on the bank and cried. The merman brought out a golden ax and asked: “Is this your ax?” The man was delighted and shouted: “Mine, mine!”

The merman did not give him the golden ax and did not give him his own back - for his lies.

Father and sons

The father ordered his sons to live in harmony; they didn't listen. So he ordered a broom to be brought and said:

Break it!

No matter how much they fought, they could not break it. Then the father untied the broom and ordered them to break one rod at a time.

They easily broke the bars one by one.

The father says:

So it is with you: if you live in harmony, no one will defeat you; and if you quarrel and everyone is apart, everyone will easily destroy you.

Tsar and shirt

ONE king was sick and said:

I will give half of the kingdom to the one who cures me.

Then all the wise men gathered and began to judge how to cure the king. No one knew. Only one sage said that the king could be cured. He said:

If you find a happy person, take off his shirt and put it on the king, the king will recover.

The king sent to look for a happy person throughout his kingdom; but the king's ambassadors traveled for a long time throughout the kingdom and could not find a happy person. There was not a single one that everyone was happy with. He who is rich is sick; whoever is healthy is poor; who is healthy and rich, but his wife is not good; and those whose children are not good - everyone complains about something.

One day the king’s son was walking past a hut late in the evening, and he heard someone say:

Now, thank God, I’ve worked, I’ve eaten and I’m going to bed; what else do I need?

The king's son was delighted and ordered to take off the man's shirt, and give him as much money as he wanted for it, and take the shirt to the king.

The messengers came to the happy man and wanted to take off his shirt; but the happy one was so poor that he didn’t even have a shirt on.

Estates of the Great: Yasnaya Polyana

TOLSTOY L.N.

Russian writer, count, public figure, classic of Russian literature of the 19th century.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born in 1828 on the family estate Yasnaya Polyana under Tula. Tolstoy was left without parents at an early age and was raised by his father’s sister. In 1844 he entered the oriental faculty of Kazan University, then transferred to law. He did not like the curriculum, he left the university, went to Yasnaya Polyana and began to educate himself.
In 1851 he entered military service and left for active duty. army. At the same time, Tolstoy's literary activity began. He described episodes of the Caucasian war in short stories and in the story “Cossacks”. During this period, the stories “Childhood” and “Adolescence” were also written.
Tolstoy was a participant Crimean War 1853–1856, impressions of which were reflected in the cycle “Sevastopol Stories”, which describes the courage and dedication of ordinary Russian people - participants defense of Sevastopol, their emotional experiences in extreme situations. “Sevastopol Stories” is united by the idea of ​​complete rejection of war.
In the fall of 1856, Tolstoy retired and went on a trip abroad to France, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany. Returning to Russia, he opened school for peasants ( cm.) children in Yasnaya Polyana, and then more than 20 schools in the surrounding villages ( cm.). Pedagogy became Tolstoy’s second calling: he created textbooks for schools and wrote pedagogical articles.
In 1862, Tolstoy married the daughter of a Moscow doctor, Sofya Andreevna Bers, who became his lifelong companion and assistant in his work.
In the 1860s. The writer was working on the main work of his life - a novel. After the publication of the book, Tolstoy was recognized as the largest Russian prose writer. A few years later, the writer created his next great novel (1873–1877).
In 1873 he was elected corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
At the end of the 1870s. Tolstoy experienced a spiritual crisis. During these years, his “Confession” was written, in which the writer-philosopher reflected on the transformation of society through the religious and moral self-improvement of man, universal love, non-resistance to evil by violence. To do this, in his opinion, people must give up an idle life, wealth and live by their own labor. Tolstoy himself gave up luxury, hunting, horse riding, and eating meat; he began to wear simple clothes, actively engage in physical labor, and plow the land. During the same period, the writer’s attitude towards art and his own works changed. Heroes of Tolstoy's stories of the 1880s. became people trying to reconsider their views on the state, family, God (“Kreutzer Sonata”, “Father Sergius”).
In the late period of his creativity, the writer sharply criticized the social structure of the Russian state and Russian Orthodox Church. He saw the peasantry as the ideal of mutual assistance and spiritual brotherhood of people. community. These ideas were reflected in the novel “Resurrection” (1889–1899). Tolstoy's conflict with the official church led to the fact that in 1900 Holy Synod by his decision he excommunicated Tolstoy from the church.
In the last decade of his life, the writer created the story “Hadji Murat” and the play, stories, including the famous story “After the Ball”.
Dissatisfaction with his life gradually became unbearable for Tolstoy. He wanted to give up the estate and royalties, which could deprive the writer’s entire large family of financial support. The conflict strained the writer's relationship with his wife. In October 1910, Tolstoy made a difficult decision for him to leave his estate and on the night of October 28 he left Yasnaya Polyana. He spent his last days at the Astapovo railway station and died of pneumonia on November 7. Funeral Tolstoy turned into a mass public manifestation. Tolstoy, according to his wishes, was buried without a gravestone and cross, V forest, on the outskirts of Yasnaya Polyana.
Tolstoy is one of the most famous Russian writers abroad. His works have been translated into almost all languages ​​of the world. A. France, T. Mann, E. Hemingway recognized the influence of Tolstoy on their work.
The first collected works of Tolstoy were published during the writer’s lifetime. In 1928–1958 His complete ninety-volume collected works were published.
Many of the writer’s works are constantly included in school curriculum ( cm.) literature program. During Soviet times ( cm. Soviet Union) the study of Tolstoy’s works at school was associated with articles IN AND. Lenin who named the writer mirror of the Russian revolution.
Tolstoy's plays and dramatizations of his stories and novels are constantly staged on the stage of drama theaters. In 1952, based on the novel “War and Peace” S.S. Prokofiev wrote an opera of the same name. The novels “Anna Karenina” and “War and Peace” have been filmed many times in Russia and abroad.
In Yasnaya Polyana and in Moscow Tolstoy's house-museums were created. Two literary museums have been opened in Moscow. Monuments to the writer stand in many cities of Russia. The most famous portraits of Tolstoy were painted I.N. Kramskoy(1873) and N.N. Ge(1884). Yasnaya Polyana became a place of pilgrimage during Tolstoy’s lifetime. Workers of art and science and numerous tourists come here.
Tolstoy's ideas about the internal self-improvement of man, which lie at the basis of his teaching, are called Tolstoyanism . The followers of this teaching (and movement) are called Tolstoyans.
The noun is derived from Tolstoy's surname sweatshirt - the name of a wide, long men's blouse with a pleat and a belt, which the writer liked to wear.
Tolstoy introduced the word into the Russian language is formed(in the novel “Anna Karenina”) in the meaning ‘everything will work out, everything will be fine’. He owns the words that have become popular: I can't be silent(the title of an article from 1908, in which Tolstoy, addressing the government, demands the abolition of the death penalty and harsh punishments); the expression is used in any situations when a person does not agree with any decisions and actively expresses his protest. The fruits of enlightenment(the title of Tolstoy's 1891 comedy) will ironically call the unsuccessful results of someone's activities; living corpse(the title of Tolstoy's 1902 play) will name a person who has lost his human appearance, as well as sick and emaciated. Expression Everything was mixed up in the Oblonskys' house(from the novel “Anna Karenina”) is used when they want to say that everything has gone beyond the usual state of affairs, has become confused. Phrase he's scary, but I'm not scared(from Tolstoy’s review of L.N. Andreev’s story “The Abyss,” which is filled with all kinds of horrors) is used ironically as a characteristic of a person who strives to scare someone. Words power of darkness became popular after the publication of the drama “The Power of Darkness” in 1886. Used in the meaning: ‘the triumph of evil, ignorance, lack of spirituality’; indicate the dominance of inhumane phenomena in society, as well as deep-rooted ignorance, inertia, and a decline in morals. The expression became especially popular after impromptu V.A. Gilyarovsky: There are two misfortunes in Russia: Below is the power of darkness, And above is the darkness of power.
Portrait of the writer L.N. Tolstoy. Artist I.N. Kramskoy. 1873:

Tolstoy House-Museum in Yasnaya Polyana:

Russia. Large linguistic and cultural dictionary. - M.: State Institute of Russian Language named after. A.S. Pushkin. AST-Press. T.N. Chernyavskaya, K.S. Miloslavskaya, E.G. Rostova, O.E. Frolova, V.I. Borisenko, Yu.A. Vyunov, V.P. Chudnov. 2007 .

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Leo Tolstoy is a Russian classic, one of the most revered writers on the world literary stage, creator of the large-scale epic novel War and Peace, Nobel Prize laureate, participant in military operations in the Caucasus and near Sevastopol, thinker and educator.

Leo Tolstoy is a famous Russian writer.

His literary and journalistic works number 90 volumes, and Tolstoy’s life and work served as the basis for the ethical and religious movement - Tolstoyism, which has many followers around the world.

Brief information

Leo Tolstoy was already a recognized literary figure during his lifetime. His work opens a new stage of Russian and world realism. His novels and stories have been used in feature films and performances all over the world. He was the most widely read writer in Soviet times. For the period 1918-1986. the total circulation of his works amounted to 436.261 million copies.

Brief biography of Tolstoy

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born in 1928 in the noble estate Yasnaya Polyana. The heyday of his literary activity occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. At this time he created the novels “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”. In total, he wrote 174 literary works and more than 300 journalistic articles.

Tolstoy placed moral service at the forefront of his creativity and way of life. The writer devoted his entire life to educational work and charity. He opened a school for children from peasant families and helped the poor during the famine.

He was married to one of the Burns sisters, Sofya Andreevna. The couple had 13 children. He was anathematized for his radical views and was subject to secret surveillance by the state. He died at the age of 82 from a long serious illness in a house near the Astapovo railway station on November 20, 1910. He was buried near his estate.

Parents and the first years of life

Lev Nikolaevich was born on September 9, 1928, 14 km from Tula on the family estate Yasnaya Polyana. The main contribution to the arrangement of the estate was made by the writer’s grandfather N. S. Volkonsky. Lev Nikolaevich was the 4th child in the family. His father, Count Tolstoy, belonged to an old noble family. Mother - Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya, nee Princess Volkonskaya, was a descendant of the Ruriks.

Tolstoy had family ties with many Russian aristocrats and even had a common ancestor with Pushkin - Admiral Ivan Golovin. Some of the author's famous relatives later became prototypes for the characters in his novels.

The writer's parents died early, and he, along with the other children of Count Tolstoy, remained in the care of his relative T. A. Ergolskaya, and then Countess A. I. Osten-Sacken. When the latter died in 1841, the children moved to their aunt P.I. Yushkova in Kazan.

The home education of young Tolstoy was carried out by Saint-Thomas, a tutor whose image was reflected in the autobiographical story “Childhood,” and then by the German Reselman. After young Lev settled with the Yushkov family, he set out to enter the Imperial Kazan University, which was considered prestigious in those years.

Lev never received higher education.

In 1844, Tolstoy passed the entrance exams and was enrolled in the Faculty of Oriental Literature. At the end of the academic year, based on the exam results, he did not pass the next course, so he transferred to the law department, where he studied for another 2 years and then left the university without receiving an academic degree.

In 1847, the writer returned to the family estate, where he began self-education. Many facts from the writer’s life still remain a mystery. It is not known for certain how many languages ​​Tolstoy knew, but, according to the testimony of his contemporaries, there were more than 15 of them.

At this time, he begins to rethink the relationship between the landowner and the peasants. Tolstoy became involved in charity work and opened his first school for peasant children, where he often taught classes independently.

Hobbies and military service

In 1848, the future writer went to Moscow. There he intended to prepare for the candidate's exam, but instead he plunged headlong into social life and became interested in card games. Lev Nikolaevich was a gambling man and often lost. In the winter of 1849, he left for St. Petersburg, where he spent time in continuous revelry and entertainment with his friend K. A. Islavin.

During these same years, he became passionate about music. He attended concerts and enjoyed listening to works by Bach, Chopin and Handel. The writer loved to play the piano and settled in his estate a musician named Rudolf, with whom he played four hands. In collaboration with his friend Zybin, he composed a waltz, the musical notation of which was made by composer S.I. Taneyev in the early 1900s.

In order to pay off his gambling debts, in the spring of 1851 Tolstoy left for the Caucasus. There, at the insistence of his older brother Nikolai Tolstoy, he entered military service. In the fall he passed the exam and received the rank of cadet. For 2 years he participated in military skirmishes in the Caucasus. Then he transferred to the Danube Army in Crimea. In 1854-1855 participated in the battles near Sevastopol, for the defense of which he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 4th degree and medals.

Inspired by his military service, Tolstoy wrote the Sevastopol Stories trilogy. He sends the first part of the trilogy for publication to Sovremennik magazine. This work was highly appreciated by Emperor Alexander. During these same years, Tolstoy began work on the stories “Childhood” and “Adolescence”, which were then included in the autobiographical trilogy.

He writes the story “Cutting Wood” and begins work on the story “Cossacks.” In 1856, the writer graduated from service with the rank of lieutenant and plunged into literary creativity.

Traveling around Europe

After completing his service, Tolstoy was already accepted in the literary circles of St. Petersburg, circles and social salons. There he meets and begins to make friends with eminent writers N.A. Nekrasov, I.S. Goncharov, A.V. Druzhinin, V.A. Sollogub. At this time, he was finishing work on the last part of the “Youth” trilogy, writing “Blizzard” and “Two Hussars”.

Despite his busy social life, in 1857 Tolstoy experienced an internal crisis and a disagreement with the writers' circle. He leaves St. Petersburg and goes on a trip to Europe.

During trips to France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and England, he becomes disillusioned with European life. Tolstoy notices the gap between rich and poor that was hidden under the pompous veneer of European culture. He expressed his critical thoughts about the European way of life in the story “Lucerne”.

Pedagogical activity

In 1859, Tolstoy returned to his native estate and founded peasant schools in Yasnaya Polyana. And a year after that, he again goes on a 9-month trip around Europe in order to learn about public education in other countries. When he returned, he abolished disciplinary rules and programs in the schools he created. In 1862, he began publishing a magazine about pedagogy, Yasnaya Polyana.

Leo Tolstoy in Nikolaev.

Later, Tolstoy created “ABC” and “New ABC”, which contain both his own stories for primary school children and adaptations of folk tales and fables.

Early publications

Tolstoy took his first literary steps even before serving in the Caucasus. In 1847, he began to keep a diary, which he would add to for the rest of his life, and occasionally wrote poems. One of them was applied to the monument at the grave of his aunt and guardian A.I. Osten-Sacken. During the period 1850-1851. begins to write the story “Childhood”, but actively takes up creativity only after during military service.

In 1852, he sent “Childhood” for publication in the leading magazine “Sovremennik”, which was published by N. A. Nekrasov. After the publication of his debut, he immediately received recognition in literary circles.

During these years, Tolstoy created:

• “Sevastopol Stories” (1855-1856);
• "Childhood. Adolescence. Youth" (1852-1857);
• "Raid" (1653);
• "Cutting Wood" (1855);
• "Blizzard" (1856);
• “Two Hussars” (1856);
• "Lucerne" (1857).

After the writer left Paris, the literary elite lost interest in Tolstoy. He himself does not strive for communication; A. Fet becomes his only friend during this period of his life.

In his diary entries of these years, he expresses dissatisfaction with life and describes a creative crisis: “Indecision, idleness, melancholy, thoughts of death. We need to get out of this. One remedy. Effort on yourself to work.” In 1862, Tolstoy married 18-year-old Sophia Burns. His marriage marked the heyday of his creativity.

Major Novels

After marriage, the writer begins to experience creative growth. He writes the novels “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”. The first excerpt from the epic novel “War and Peace” was published in 1865 in the magazine “Russian Messenger”. By the time work on the work was completed in 1869, the book was a great success.

In the 1870s, Tolstoy became a recognized writer. He is called the greatest Russian author. Lev Nikolaevich was pleased with his work, but at the same time, in a letter to Fet, he spoke of the novel as “wordy rubbish.”

In 1873, Lev Nikolaevich went to the Samara province with his family and there he began work on Anna Karenina. This novel is considered the transition to the dramatic period of his work. There is no simplicity or idyll in it, and the characters’ characters are complicated.

Conversion

Lev Nikolaevich with his wife Sofya Andreevna.

In the early 1880s, the writer began a period of spiritual and moral search. During these years, he wrote philosophical treatises in which he asked questions about religion, art and life.

While working on “Confession,” he begins to worry about questions about morality and the meaning of existence. Thoughts about suicide creep into his diary entries.

In search of an answer, Tolstoy turns to theology. He reads religious treatises, communicates with monks from Optina Pustyn, talks with elders, and visits many churches.

During these years, the writer studied Hebrew and Ancient Greek in order to read Christian primary sources. He becomes close to the Moscow Jew Shlomo Minor. At the same time, he begins to communicate with Old Believers, peasant preachers, and Muslims.

Over time, Tolstoy became disillusioned with Christianity and in 1880-1881. writes the “Four Gospels,” in which he rewrites the sacred texts and removes from them what he considers redundant and incorrect.

Due to his radical views, some of his works of these years were banned by spiritual and government censorship. On February 24 (old style), 1901, the synod published a statement excommunicating Tolstoy. In his text “Response to the Synod,” the writer talks in detail about the discrepancy between his views on the teachings of Christ and the dogmas of the Orthodox Church.

The result of his spiritual search is the rejection of the comforts and benefits of a rich life. He engages in more and more manual labor, becomes a vegetarian, wears simple clothes, and renounces copyright on his works. Many of his actions were considered eccentricities and became the basis for jokes. So, Daniil Kharms has a cycle of poems in which he ridicules Tolstoy’s passions.

This asceticism and desire for morality opens the third stage of his work. A distinctive feature of the stage is the denial of most of the foundations of state and secular life. Since September 1882, Emperor Alexander 3 established secret supervision over the writer. Tolstoy's ideas are gradually beginning to penetrate the social life of Russia. From them a new religious and ethical movement is formed - Tolstoyism.

Late fiction

The turning point in Tolstoy’s consciousness and religious and moral quest were reflected in his later works.

During these years he writes:

• “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (1884-1886);
• "Confession" (1879-1880);
• “Notes of a Madman” (1884-1903);
• "Kreutzer Sonata" (1887-1889);
• novel “Resurrection” (1889-1899);
• story “Hadji Murat” (1896-1904).

The attitude towards the author's later works was twofold. Fans believed that during these years he reached the pinnacle of his creativity. Others reproached Tolstoy for turning from a writer into a preacher. The Kreutzer Sonata also caused conflicting reviews; the work almost completely escaped censorship, but was published in a truncated form through the efforts of the writer’s wife, who achieved a meeting with the emperor.

Tolstoy's last major literary work was the novel "Resurrection", in which he criticized the justice system, secular life and the rapprochement of the clergy with state power. In his later diary entries, Tolstoy complains that his latest works are underestimated by the public and critics.

He writes: “People love me for those trifles - “War and Peace”, etc., which seem important to them.” The writer himself attached greater importance to his non-fiction texts.

Personal life

Leo Tolstoy with his family.

From his youth, Leo Tolstoy was friends with Lyubov Alexandrovna Islavina, married to Bers, and often spent time with her family. When the Bersov daughters grew up, he decided to marry the eldest Lisa, but could not find a common language with her and opted for his middle sister Sophia. On September 23, 1962, the 34-year-old writer married his 18-year-old beloved.

The wife becomes the writer's assistant. She not only runs the household, but also serves as a personal secretary, rewriting the writer’s drafts. Over time, the relationship between the spouses deteriorates, and disagreements occur between them. One of the reasons for the discord was jealousy. Tolstoy was jealous of his wife towards the composer Taneyev, who often visited their house.

Another reason for the quarrels was Tolstoy’s desire to get rid of the property that burdened him. He gave part of his income to the poor or for the needs of the village school, and gave away what he considered surplus: a piano, furniture, carriage, etc. Under pressure from his wife, in 1892 the writer signed a deed transferring real estate to his wife and children.

From the marriage of Lev Nikolaevich with Sofia Andreevna, 9 sons and 4 daughters were born, 5 children died in childhood. In addition, Tolstoy had an illegitimate son from the Yasnaya Polyana peasant woman Aksinia Bazykina. Tolstoy developed the most trusting relationship with his youngest daughter Sasha. At the age of 16, she became Lev Nikolaevich’s little girlfriend.

She mastered typing, acted as a secretary, and copied her father's works. The daughter was the only person to whom Tolstoy informed about his plans and location when he decided to leave home.

Old age of the writer

Tolstoy devoted his entire life to searching for moral ideals and following them. Over the years, his views took shape in a religious and ethical teaching called Tolstoyism. The main postulates of this teaching are moral self-improvement, love of peace, equality of religions and nationalities, simplification (the term was introduced by Tolstoy himself).

Lev Nikolaevich led an ascetic life in his old age. He walked barefoot, wore a linen shirt, did not eat meat, refused luxury items, worked in the fields himself, communicated with peasants and tried to help them in difficult years.

Due to his fanatical adherence to the idea of ​​simplification, Tolstoy’s relationship with his wife worsened. Sofya Andreevna did not support her husband’s desire to renounce copyright, land and estate. Ultimately, the writer’s conflict with his family became the reason for his leaving home.

Death and legacy

Over the years, Tolstoy became increasingly captivated by his ascetic lifestyle. He was sick of the landowner's life; he considered it too luxurious. On November 13, 1910, he packed his things and left Yasnaya Polyana together with his doctor D.P. Makovetsky. He began his journey from Shchekino station and went from there to the Shamordino Monastery.

Fellow travelers testified that Tolstoy had no travel plan, and his journey was more like an escape. On the way, Lev Nikolaevich felt unwell and was diagnosed with pneumonia. Those accompanying him carried Tolstoy to the Astapovo station, where, after a serious illness, he died in the house of the station chief on November 20, 1910.

Grave of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

On the day of the burial, several thousand people came to Yasnaya Polyana. In addition to relatives and friends, peasants and government officials gathered at the estate.

This was the first public funeral in Russia not held according to church rites. The authorities feared that they could turn into a demonstration. But contrary to fears, everything went quietly and without incident.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was buried in a clearing near the forest in the Yasnaya Polyana estate on November 10, 1910. When the coffin with the writer’s body was lowered into the grave, everyone present knelt down.

After his death, the estate was turned into a house museum. Every year, on Tolstoy’s birthday, a holiday is held here, during which literary readings and performances based on the works of Lev Nikolayevich are held. Tolstoy's books, diaries and journalistic articles are published all over the world in large numbers. The pedagogical and philosophical legacy continues in the works of his followers.

Quotes by Leo Tolstoy

Here are the main ones:

1. “Everyone wants to change humanity, but no one thinks about how to change themselves.”
2. “The greatest truths are the simplest.”
3. “The rational and the moral always coincide.”
4. “A scientist is one who knows a lot from books; educated - one who has mastered all the most common knowledge and techniques of his time; enlightened is one who understands the meaning of his life.”
5. “People live by love; self-love is the beginning of death, love for God and people is the beginning of life.”

During his lectures on literature, V. Nabokov loved to demonstrate the greatness of Tolstoy. He closed the curtains, turned off the lights, pronounced the names of Russian writers and at the same time lit a light bulb, like a star in the sky. When Nabokov reached the name of Leo Tolstoy, he raised all the curtains and the light, personifying the greatness of the writer, flooded the entire audience.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born on August 28 (September 9), 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, now the Shchekinsky district of the Tula region, into an aristocratic count family.

Early on he was left without parents and lived with relatives. In 1844 he entered the Oriental Faculty of Kazan University, but did not actually study and, unable to pass the exams, transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he continued to lead a secular lifestyle.

In 1847 he left the university and, returning to Yasnaya Polyana, was engaged in self-education; in 1848 he left for Moscow, where, in his own words, he lived “very carelessly.” But all this time, intense spiritual work took place in him: Tolstoy tried to understand the world and his place in it. In 1851 he entered military service in the Caucasus and began to seriously study literature: “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, and short stories were written. In 1854 Tolstoy took part in the defense of Sevastopol. In 1856, with the rank of lieutenant, he left military service and traveled around Western Europe. Returning to Russia, he became a peace mediator, taking part in the peasant reform, but aroused the hostility of the landowners by defending peasant interests and was relieved of his post.

In the 60s opened a number of schools in his district, the main center of which was the first experimental Yasnaya Polyana school in Russia, which for Tolstoy became “a poetic, charming thing that you cannot tear yourself away from.” He taught children without coercion, seeing them as free people like himself; created an original technique that has not lost its significance.

In 1862 Tolstoy married S.A. Bers settled in Yasnaya Polyana, where he wrote the novels “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina” and others. In 1884 he moved to Moscow, where he participated in the population census. Socio-religious and philosophical quests led Tolstoy to the creation of his own religious-philosophical system (Tolstoyism), which he set out in the articles “Criticism of Dogmatic Theology”, “What is My Faith”, etc. Tolstoy preached in life and works of art (“Resurrection”, “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, “The Kreutzer Sonata”, etc.) the need for moral improvement, universal love, non-resistance to evil through violence, for which he was attacked both by revolutionary democratic figures and by the church, from which Tolstoy was excommunicated by the decision of the Synod in 1901. Never remaining indifferent to the suffering of people, he fought against hunger in 1891, published the article “I Can’t Be Silent”, protesting against the death penalty in 1908, etc.

Tormented by his belonging to high society and the opportunity to live better than the peasants nearby, Tolstoy in October 1910, fulfilling his decision to live his last years in accordance with his views, secretly left Yasnaya Polyana, renouncing the “circle of the rich and learned.” He fell ill on the way and died. He was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.