Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Born August 28 (September 9), 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, Russian empire- died on November 7 (20), 1910 at Astapovo station, Ryazan province. One of the most widely known Russian writers and thinkers, revered as one of the world's greatest writers. Participant in the defense of Sevastopol. An educator, publicist, religious thinker, his authoritative opinion caused the emergence of a new religious and moral movement - Tolstoyism. Corresponding member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences (1873), honorary academician in the category of fine literature (1900).
A writer who was recognized during his lifetime as the head of Russian literature. The work of Leo Tolstoy marked new stage in Russian and world realism, acting as a bridge between classical novel XIX century and literature of the 20th century. Leo Tolstoy had a strong influence on the evolution of European humanism, as well as on the development of realistic traditions in world literature. The works of Leo Tolstoy have been filmed and staged many times in the USSR and abroad; his plays have been staged on stages all over the world.
The most famous works of Tolstoy are the novels “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”, “Resurrection”, the autobiographical trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”, the stories “Cossacks”, “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, “Kreutzerova” sonata”, “Hadji Murat”, a series of essays “Sevastopol Stories”, dramas “The Living Corpse” and “The Power of Darkness”, autobiographical religious and philosophical works “Confession” and “What is my faith?” and etc..
He came from the noble Tolstoy family, known since 1351. The features of Ilya Andreevich’s grandfather are given in “War and Peace” to the good-natured, impractical old Count Rostov. The son of Ilya Andreevich, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (1794-1837), was the father of Lev Nikolaevich. In some character traits and biographical facts, he was similar to Nikolenka’s father in “Childhood” and “Adolescence” and partly to Nikolai Rostov in “War and Peace.” However, in real life Nikolai Ilyich differed from Nikolai Rostov not only in his good education, but also in his convictions, which did not allow him to serve under Nicholas I.
Participant foreign trip Russian army against, including participating in the “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig and was captured by the French, but was able to escape, and after peace was concluded, he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Pavlograd Hussar Regiment. Soon after his resignation, he was forced to go into bureaucratic service in order not to end up in debtor's prison because of the debts of his father, the Kazan governor, who died under investigation for official abuses. The negative example of his father helped Nikolai Ilyich develop his ideal of life - private independent living with family joys. To put his upset affairs in order, Nikolai Ilyich (like Nikolai Rostov) married the no longer very young Princess Maria Nikolaevna from the Volkonsky family in 1822, the marriage was happy. They had five children: Nikolai (1823-1860), Sergei (1826-1904), Dmitry (1827-1856), Lev, Maria (1830-1912).
Tolstoy's maternal grandfather, Catherine's general, Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky, bore some resemblance to the stern rigorist old Prince Bolkonsky in War and Peace. Lev Nikolaevich's mother, similar in some respects to Princess Marya depicted in War and Peace, had a remarkable gift as a storyteller.
In addition to the Volkonskys, L.N. Tolstoy was closely related to several other aristocratic families: the princes Gorchakovs, Trubetskoys and others.
Leo Tolstoy was born on August 28, 1828 in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province, on his mother’s hereditary estate - Yasnaya Polyana. He was the fourth child in the family. The mother died in 1830, six months after the birth of her daughter, from “childbirth fever,” as they said then, when Leo was not yet 2 years old.
A distant relative, T. A. Ergolskaya, took up the task of raising orphaned children. In 1837, the family moved to Moscow, settling on Plyushchikha, as the eldest son had to prepare to enter the university. Soon, the father, Nikolai Ilyich, suddenly died, leaving affairs (including some litigation related to the family’s property) in an unfinished state, and the three youngest children again settled in Yasnaya Polyana under the supervision of Ergolskaya and their paternal aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Sacken , appointed guardian of the children. Here Lev Nikolaevich remained until 1840, when Countess Osten-Sacken died, and the children moved to Kazan, to a new guardian - their father's sister P. I. Yushkova.
The Yushkov house was considered one of the most fun in Kazan; All family members highly valued external shine. " My good aunt,- says Tolstoy, - the purest being, always said that she would like nothing more for me than for me to have a connection with married woman ».
Lev Nikolaevich wanted to shine in society, but his natural shyness and lack of external attractiveness. The most diverse, as Tolstoy himself defines them, “philosophies” about the most important questions of our existence - happiness, death, God, love, eternity - left an imprint on his character in that era of life. What he told in “Adolescence” and “Youth”, in the novel “Resurrection” about the aspirations of Irtenyev and Nekhlyudov for self-improvement, was taken by Tolstoy from the history of his own ascetic attempts of this time. All this, wrote the critic S. A. Vengerov, led to the fact that Tolstoy created, in the words of his story “Adolescence”, “the habit of constant moral analysis, which destroyed the freshness of feeling and clarity of reason”.
His education was initially carried out by the French tutor Saint-Thomas (the prototype of St.-Jérôme in the story “Boyhood”), who replaced the good-natured German Reselman, whom Tolstoy portrayed in the story “Childhood” under the name of Karl Ivanovich.
In 1843, P.I. Yushkova, taking on the role of guardian of her minor nephews (only the eldest, Nikolai, was an adult) and niece, brought them to Kazan. Following the brothers Nikolai, Dmitry and Sergei, Lev decided to enter the Imperial Kazan University, where Lobachevsky worked at the Faculty of Mathematics, and Kovalevsky worked at the Eastern Faculty. On October 3, 1844, Leo Tolstoy was enrolled as a student of the category of Eastern (Arabic-Turkish) literature as a self-paid student - paying for his studies. In the entrance exams, in particular, he showed excellent results in the “Turkish-Tatar language” required for admission. According to the results of the year, he had poor performance in the relevant subjects, did not pass the transition exam and had to re-take the first-year program.
To avoid repeating the course completely, he transferred to law school, where his problems with grades in some subjects continued. The transitional May 1846 exams were passed satisfactorily (received one A, three Bs and four Cs; the average result was three), and Lev Nikolaevich was transferred to the second year. Leo Tolstoy spent less than two years at the Faculty of Law: “Every education imposed by others was always difficult for him, and everything he learned in life, he learned on his own, suddenly, quickly, with intense work.”, writes S. A. Tolstaya in her “Materials for the biography of L. N. Tolstoy.”
In 1904 he recalled: “The first year I...didn’t do anything. In the second year I began studying...there was Professor Meyer, who...gave me a work - comparing Catherine’s “Order” with Esprit des lois (“Spirit of Laws”). ...this work fascinated me, I went to the village, began to read Montesquieu, this reading opened up endless horizons for me; I started reading and left university precisely because I wanted to study.”.
From March 11, 1847, Tolstoy was in the Kazan hospital; on March 17, he began to keep a diary, where, imitating, he set goals and objectives for self-improvement, noted successes and failures in completing these tasks, analyzed his shortcomings and train of thoughts, the motives of his actions. He kept this diary with short breaks throughout his life.
After finishing the treatment, in the spring of 1847, Tolstoy left his studies at the university and went to Yasnaya Polyana, which he inherited under the division.; his activities there are partly described in the work “The Morning of the Landowner”: Tolstoy tried to establish a new relationship with the peasants. His attempt to somehow assuage his guilt young landowner before the people dates back to the same year when “Anton the Miserable” by D.V. Grigorovich and the beginning of “Notes of a Hunter” appeared.
In his diary, Tolstoy formulated for himself a large number of life rules and goals, but managed to follow only a small part of them. Among those who succeeded were serious studies in English, music, and law. In addition, neither his diary nor his letters reflected the beginning of Tolstoy’s involvement in pedagogy and charity, although in 1849 he first opened a school for peasant children. The main teacher was Foka Demidovich, a serf, but Lev Nikolaevich himself often taught classes.
In mid-October 1848, Tolstoy left for Moscow, settling where many of his relatives and acquaintances lived - in the Arbat area. He stayed at Ivanova’s house on Nikolopeskovsky Lane. In Moscow, he was going to begin preparing for the candidate exams, but classes never started. Instead, he was attracted to a completely different side of life - social life. In addition to the passion for social life, In Moscow, in the winter of 1848-1849, Lev Nikolaevich first developed a passion for playing cards. But since he played very recklessly and did not always think through his moves, he often lost.
Having left for St. Petersburg in February 1849, he spent time in carousing with K. A. Islavin- uncle of his future wife ( “My love for Islavin ruined 8 whole months of my life in St. Petersburg”). In the spring, Tolstoy began to take the exam to become a candidate of rights; He passed two exams, from criminal law and criminal proceedings, successfully, but he did not take the third exam and went to the village.
Later he came to Moscow, where he often spent time gambling, which often had a negative impact on his financial situation. During this period of his life, Tolstoy was especially passionately interested in music (he himself played the piano quite well and greatly appreciated his favorite works performed by others). His passion for music prompted him later to write the Kreutzer Sonata.
Tolstoy's favorite composers were Bach, Handel and. The development of Tolstoy’s love for music was also facilitated by the fact that during a trip to St. Petersburg in 1848, he met in a very unsuitable dance class setting with a gifted but lost German musician, whom he later described in the story “Albert.” In 1849, Lev Nikolaevich settled the musician Rudolf in Yasnaya Polyana, with whom he played four hands on the piano. Having become interested in music at that time, he played works by Schumann, Chopin, and Mendelssohn for several hours a day. In the late 1840s, Tolstoy, in collaboration with his friend Zybin, composed a waltz, which in the early 1900s was performed under the composer S.I. Taneyev, who made a musical notation of this musical work (the only one composed by Tolstoy). A lot of time was also spent on carousing, gaming and hunting.
In the winter of 1850-1851. started writing "Childhood". In March 1851 he wrote “The History of Yesterday.” 4 years after he left the university, Lev Nikolayevich’s brother Nikolai, who served in the Caucasus, came to Yasnaya Polyana and invited his younger brother to join military service in the Caucasus. Lev did not immediately agree, until a major loss in Moscow accelerated the final decision.
The writer’s biographers note the significant and positive influence of brother Nikolai on the young and inexperienced Leo in everyday affairs. In the absence of his parents, his older brother was his friend and mentor. To pay off his debts, it was necessary to reduce his expenses to a minimum - and in the spring of 1851, Tolstoy hastily left Moscow for the Caucasus without a specific goal. Soon he decided to enroll in military service , but for this he lacked, left in Moscow, in anticipation of which Tolstoy lived for about five months in Pyatigorsk, in a simple hut. He spent a significant part of his time hunting, in the company of the Cossack Epishka, the prototype of one of the heroes of the story “Cossacks”, who appears there under the name Eroshka.
In the fall of 1851, Tolstoy, having passed the exam in Tiflis, entered the 4th battery of the 20th artillery brigade, stationed in the Cossack village of Starogladovskaya on the banks of the Terek, near Kizlyar, as a cadet. With some changes in details, she is depicted in the story “Cossacks”. The story reproduces a picture of the inner life of a young gentleman who fled from Moscow life. In the Cossack village, Tolstoy began to write again and in July 1852 he sent the first part of the future autobiographical trilogy - “Childhood”, signed only with initials, to the editors of the most popular magazine at that time, Sovremennik. "L. N.T.”. When sending the manuscript to the journal, Leo Tolstoy included a letter that said: “...I look forward to your verdict. He will either encourage me to continue my favorite activities, or force me to burn everything I started.”.
Having received the manuscript of “Childhood,” the editor of Sovremennik immediately recognized its literary value and wrote a kind letter to the author, which had a very encouraging effect on him. In a letter to I. S. Turgenev, Nekrasov noted: “This talent is new and seems reliable”. The manuscript of an as yet unknown author was published in September of the same year. Meanwhile, the novice and inspired author began to continue the tetralogy “Four Epochs of Development”, the last part of which - “Youth” - never took place. He pondered the plot of “The Landowner’s Morning” (the completed story was only a fragment of “The Roman of a Russian Landowner”), “The Raid,” and “The Cossacks.” Published in Sovremennik on September 18, 1852, “Childhood” was extremely successful; after publication, the author immediately began to be ranked among the luminaries of the young literary school along with I. S. Turgenev, D. V. Grigorovich, Ostrovsky, who already enjoyed great literary fame. Critics Apollo Grigoriev, Annenkov, Druzhinin appreciated the depth of psychological analysis, the seriousness of the author's intentions and the bright salience of realism.
The relatively late start of his career is very characteristic of Tolstoy: he never considered himself a professional writer, understanding professionalism not in the sense of a profession that provides a means of living, but in the sense of the predominance of literary interests. He did not take the interests of literary parties to heart, and was reluctant to talk about literature, preferring to talk about issues of faith, morality, and social relations.
As a cadet, Lev Nikolaevich remained for two years in the Caucasus, where he participated in many skirmishes with the highlanders led by Shamil, and was exposed to the dangers of military Caucasian life. He had the right to the St. George Cross, but in accordance with his convictions, he “gave it” to a fellow soldier, considering that a significant improvement in the conditions of service of a colleague was higher than personal vanity.
With the beginning Crimean War Tolstoy transferred to the Danube Army, participated in the battle of Oltenitsa and the siege of Silistria, and from November 1854 to the end of August 1855 he was in Sevastopol.
For a long time he lived on the 4th bastion, which was often attacked, commanded a battery in the battle of Chernaya, and was during the bombardment during the assault on Malakhov Kurgan. Tolstoy, despite all the everyday hardships and horrors of the siege, at this time wrote the story “Cutting Wood,” which reflected Caucasian impressions, and the first of the three “Sevastopol stories” - “Sevastopol in December 1854.” He sent this story to Sovremennik. It was quickly published and read with interest throughout Russia, making a stunning impression with the picture of horrors that befell the defenders of Sevastopol. The story was noticed Russian Emperor; he ordered to take care of the gifted officer.
Even during the life of Emperor Nicholas I, Tolstoy intended to publish, together with artillery officers, a “cheap and popular” magazine “Military Leaflet”, but Tolstoy failed to implement the magazine project: “For the project, my Sovereign Emperor most graciously deigned to allow our articles to be published in Invalid.”, - Tolstoy bitterly ironized about this.
For the defense of Sevastopol, Tolstoy was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 4th degree with the inscription “For courage,” medals “For the defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855” and “In memory of the war of 1853-1856.”
Tolstoy, enjoying the reputation of a brave officer and surrounded by the brilliance of fame, had every chance of a career. However, his career was spoiled by writing several satirical songs, stylized as soldiers' songs. One of these songs was dedicated to the failure during the battle near the Chernaya River on August 4 (16), 1855, when General Read, misunderstanding the order of the commander-in-chief, attacked Fedyukhin Heights. A song called “Like the fourth, the mountains carried us hard to take away”, which affected a number of important generals, was a huge success. For her, Lev Nikolaevich had to answer to the assistant chief of staff A. A. Yakimakh.
Immediately after the assault on August 27 (September 8), Tolstoy was sent by courier to St. Petersburg, where he completed “Sevastopol in May 1855.” and wrote “Sevastopol in August 1855,” published in the first issue of Sovremennik for 1856 with the author’s full signature. “Sevastopol Stories” finally strengthened his reputation as a representative of a new literary generation, and in November 1856 the writer left military service forever.
In St. Petersburg, the young writer was warmly welcomed in high society salons and in literary circles. He became closest friends with I. S. Turgenev, with whom they lived in the same apartment for some time. Turgenev introduced him to the Sovremennik circle, after which Tolstoy established friendly relations with such famous writers as N. A. Nekrasov, I. S. Goncharov, I. I. Panaev, D. V. Grigorovich, A. V. Druzhinin, V. A. Sollogub.
At this time, “Blizzard”, “Two Hussars” were written, “Sevastopol in August” and “Youth” were completed, and the writing of the future “Cossacks” continued.
However, a cheerful and eventful life left a bitter aftertaste in Tolstoy’s soul, and at the same time he began to have a strong discord with the circle of writers close to him. As a result, “people became disgusted with him, and he became disgusted with himself” - and at the beginning of 1857, Tolstoy left St. Petersburg without any regret and went abroad.
On his first trip abroad, he visited Paris, where he was horrified by the cult of Napoleon I (“The idolization of the villain, terrible”), while at the same time he attended balls, museums, and admired the “sense of social freedom.” However, his presence at the guillotine made such a grave impression that Tolstoy left Paris and went to places associated with the French writer and thinker J.-J. Rousseau - to Lake Geneva. In the spring of 1857, I. S. Turgenev described his meetings with Leo Tolstoy in Paris after his sudden departure from St. Petersburg as follows: “Indeed, Paris is not at all in harmony with its spiritual system; He’s a strange person, I’ve never met anyone like him and I don’t quite understand him. A mixture of poet, Calvinist, fanatic, barich - something reminiscent of Rousseau, but more honest than Rousseau - a highly moral and at the same time unsympathetic creature.".
Trips to Western Europe - Germany, France, England, Switzerland, Italy (in 1857 and 1860-1861) made a rather negative impression on him. Your disappointment in European image he expressed his life in the story “Lucerne”. Tolstoy's disappointment was caused by the deep contrast between wealth and poverty, which he was able to see through the magnificent outer veil European culture.
Lev Nikolaevich writes the story “Albert”. At the same time, his friends never cease to be amazed at his eccentricities: in his letter to I. S. Turgenev in the fall of 1857, P. V. Annenkov told Tolstoy’s project to plant forests throughout Russia, and in his letter to V. P. Botkin, Leo Tolstoy reported how very happy he was the fact that he did not become only a writer, contrary to Turgenev’s advice. However, in the interval between the first and second trips, the writer continued to work on “Cossacks”, wrote the story “Three Deaths” and the novel “Family Happiness”.
His last novel was published in “Russian Bulletin” by Mikhail Katkov. Tolstoy's collaboration with the Sovremennik magazine, which lasted from 1852, ended in 1859. In the same year, Tolstoy took part in organizing the Literary Fund. But his life was not limited to literary interests: on December 22, 1858, he almost died on a bear hunt.
Around the same time, he began an affair with the peasant woman Aksinya Bazykina, and plans for marriage were brewing.
On his next trip, he was mainly interested in public education and institutions aimed at raising the educational level of the working population. He closely studied issues of public education in Germany and France, both theoretically and practically - in conversations with specialists. Of the outstanding people in Germany, he was most interested in him as the author of the “Black Forest Stories” dedicated to folk life and as a publisher of folk calendars. Tolstoy paid him a visit and tried to get closer to him. In addition, he also met with the German teacher Disterweg. During his stay in Brussels, Tolstoy met Proudhon and Lelewell. I visited London and attended a lecture.
Tolstoy’s serious mood during his second trip to the south of France was also facilitated by the fact that his beloved brother Nikolai died of tuberculosis almost in his hands. The death of his brother made a huge impression on Tolstoy.
Gradually, criticism cooled towards Leo Tolstoy for 10-12 years, until the very appearance of “War and Peace”, and he himself did not strive for rapprochement with writers, making an exception only for. One of the reasons for this alienation was the quarrel between Leo Tolstoy and Turgenev, which occurred while both prose writers were visiting Fet on the Stepanovka estate in May 1861. The quarrel almost ended in a duel and ruined the relationship between the writers for 17 long years.
In May 1862, Lev Nikolaevich, suffering from depression, on the recommendation of doctors, went to the Bashkir farm of Karalyk, Samara province, to be treated with a new and fashionable method of kumis treatment at that time. Initially, he was going to stay at Postnikov’s kumiss hospital near Samara, but upon learning that many high-ranking officials were supposed to arrive at the same time ( secular society, which the young count could not stand), went to the Bashkir nomadic camp Karalyk, on the Karalyk River, 130 versts from Samara. There Tolstoy lived in a Bashkir tent (yurt), ate lamb, took sunbathing, drank kumiss, tea, and also had fun with the Bashkirs playing checkers. The first time he stayed there for a month and a half. In 1871, when he had already written War and Peace, he returned there again due to deteriorating health. He wrote about his impressions like this: “The melancholy and indifference have passed, I feel myself returning to the Scythian state, and everything is interesting and new... Much is new and interesting: the Bashkirs, who smell of Herodotus, and Russian peasants, and villages, especially charming in the simplicity and kindness of the people.”.
Fascinated by Karalyk, Tolstoy bought an estate in these places, and already spent the summer of the next year, 1872, with his whole family in it.
In July 1866, Tolstoy appeared at a military court as a defender of Vasil Shabunin, a company clerk stationed near Yasnaya Polyana of the Moscow Infantry Regiment. Shabunin hit the officer, who ordered him to be punished with canes for being drunk. Tolstoy argued that Shabunin was insane, but the court found him guilty and sentenced him to death penalty. Shabunin was shot. This episode made a great impression on Tolstoy, since in this terrible phenomenon he saw the merciless force represented by a state based on violence. On this occasion, he wrote to his friend, publicist P.I. Biryukov: “This incident had much more influence on my entire life than all the seemingly more important events in life: loss or recovery of a condition, success or failure in literature, even the loss of loved ones.”.
During the first 12 years after his marriage, he created War and Peace and Anna Karenina. At the turn of this second era of Tolstoy’s literary life stands “Cossacks,” conceived back in 1852 and completed in 1861-1862, the first of the works in which the talent of the mature Tolstoy was most realized.
The main interest of creativity for Tolstoy manifested itself “in the “history” of characters, in their continuous and complex movement and development.” His goal was to show the individual’s ability for moral growth, improvement, and resistance to the environment, relying on the strength of his own soul.
The release of War and Peace was preceded by work on the novel The Decembrists (1860-1861), to which the author returned several times, but which remained unfinished. And “War and Peace” experienced unprecedented success. An excerpt from the novel entitled "1805" appeared in the Russian Messenger of 1865; in 1868 three of its parts were published, soon followed by the remaining two. The first four volumes of War and Peace quickly sold out, and a second edition was needed, which was released in October 1868. The fifth and sixth volumes of the novel were published in one edition, printed in an already increased edition.
"War and Peace" has become a unique phenomenon both in Russian and foreign literature. This work has absorbed all the depth and intimacy psychological novel with the scope and multi-figure nature of an epic fresco. The writer, according to V. Ya. Lakshin, turned “to a special state of national consciousness in the heroic time of 1812, when people from different segments of the population united in resistance to foreign invasion,” which, in turn, “created the basis for the epic.”
The author showed national Russian traits in the “hidden warmth of patriotism,” in aversion to ostentatious heroism, in a calm faith in justice, in the modest dignity and courage of ordinary soldiers. He portrayed Russia's war with Napoleonic troops as a nationwide war. The epic style of the work is conveyed through the completeness and plasticity of the image, the branching and crossing of destinies, and incomparable pictures of Russian nature.
In Tolstoy’s novel, the most diverse layers of society are widely represented, from emperors and kings to soldiers, all ages and all temperaments throughout the reign of Alexander I.
Tolstoy was pleased with his own work, but already in January 1871 he sent a letter to A. A. Fet: “How happy I am... that I will never write verbose rubbish like “War” again”. However, Tolstoy hardly underestimated the importance of his previous creations. When asked by Tokutomi Rock in 1906 which of his works Tolstoy loved most, the writer replied: "Novel "War and Peace"".
In March 1879, in Moscow, Leo Tolstoy met Vasily Petrovich Shchegolenok, and in the same year, at his invitation, he came to Yasnaya Polyana, where he stayed for about a month and a half. The Shchegolenok told Tolstoy many folk tales, epics and legends, of which more than twenty were written down by Tolstoy, and Tolstoy, if he didn’t write them down on paper, remembered the plots of some of them: six works written by Tolstoy have their source in the stories of the Shchegolenok (1881 - “How People Live” , 1885 - “Two Old Men” and “Three Elders”, 1905 - “Korney Vasiliev” and “Prayer”, 1907 - “Old Man in the Church”). In addition, Tolstoy diligently wrote down many sayings, proverbs, individual expressions and words told by the Goldfinch.
Tolstoy’s new worldview was most fully expressed in his works “Confession” (1879-1880, published in 1884) and “What is My Faith?” (1882-1884). Tolstoy dedicated the story “The Kreutzer Sonata” (1887-1889, published in 1891) and “The Devil” (1889-1890, published in 1911) to the theme of the Christian principle of love, devoid of all self-interest and rising above sensual love in the fight against the flesh. In the 1890s, trying to theoretically substantiate his views on art, he wrote the treatise “What is Art?” (1897-1898). But the main thing artistic work Those years became his novel “Resurrection” (1889-1899), the plot of which was based on a real court case. The sharp criticism of church rituals in this work became one of the reasons for the excommunication of Tolstoy by the Holy Synod from Orthodox Church in 1901.
The highest achievements of the early 1900s were the story “Hadji Murat” and the drama “The Living Corpse”. In “Hadji Murad,” the despotism of Shamil and Nicholas I is equally exposed. In the story, Tolstoy glorified the courage of struggle, the power of resistance and love of life. The play “The Living Corpse” became evidence of Tolstoy’s new artistic quests, which were objectively close to Chekhov’s drama.
At the beginning of his reign, Tolstoy wrote to the emperor with a request to pardon the regicides in the spirit of evangelical forgiveness. Since September 1882, secret surveillance has been established over him to clarify relations with sectarians; in September 1883 he refused to serve as a juror, citing incompatibility with his religious worldview. At the same time, he received a ban on public speaking in connection with the death of Turgenev. Gradually, the ideas of Tolstoyism begin to penetrate society. At the beginning of 1885, a precedent was set in Russia for refusing military service with reference to Tolstoy’s religious beliefs. A significant part of Tolstoy’s views could not receive open expression in Russia and were presented in full only in foreign editions of his religious and social treatises. There was no unanimity regarding Tolstoy's artistic works written during this period. Thus, in a long series of short stories and legends, intended primarily for folk reading
The lofty and terrible truth of “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” according to fans, placing this work on a par with the main works of Tolstoy’s genius, according to others, is deliberately harsh, it sharply emphasized the soullessness of the upper strata of society in order to show the moral superiority of a simple “kitchen peasant” » Gerasima. The Kreutzer Sonata (written in 1887-1889, published in 1890) also caused opposing reviews - analysis marital relations made me forget about the amazing brightness and passion with which this story was written. The work was banned by censorship, but it was published thanks to the efforts of S. A. Tolstoy, who achieved a meeting with Alexander III. As a result, the story was published in a censored form in the Collected Works of Tolstoy with the personal permission of the Tsar. Alexander III was pleased with the story, but the queen was shocked. But the folk drama “The Power of Darkness,” according to Tolstoy’s admirers, became a great manifestation of his artistic power: in the tight framework of an ethnographic reproduction of Russian peasant life, Tolstoy managed to fit so many universal human traits that the drama with tremendous success went around all the stages of the world.
During the famine of 1891-1892. Tolstoy organized institutions to help the hungry and needy in the Ryazan province. He opened 187 canteens, which fed 10 thousand people, as well as several canteens for children, distributed firewood, provided seeds and potatoes for sowing, bought and distributed horses to farmers (almost all farms became horseless during the famine year), and donated Almost 150,000 rubles were collected.
The treatise “The Kingdom of God is within you...” was written by Tolstoy with short breaks for almost 3 years: from July 1890 to May 1893. The treatise aroused the admiration of the critic V.V. Stasov (“the first book of the 19th century”) and I. E. Repin (“this thing of terrifying power”) could not be published in Russia due to censorship, and it was published abroad. The book began to be distributed illegally in huge numbers of copies in Russia. In Russia itself, the first legal publication appeared in July 1906, but even after that it was withdrawn from sale. The treatise was included in the collected works of Tolstoy, published in 1911, after his death.
In his last major work, the novel Resurrection, published in 1899, Tolstoy condemned judicial practice and he portrayed high society life, the clergy and worship as secularized and united with secular power.
The turning point for him from the teachings of the Orthodox Church was the second half of 1879. In the 1880s, he took a position of unambiguously critical attitude towards church doctrine, the clergy, and official church life. The publication of some of Tolstoy's works was prohibited by both spiritual and secular censorship. In 1899, Tolstoy’s novel “Resurrection” was published, in which the author showed the life of various social strata contemporary Russia; the clergy were depicted mechanically and hastily performing rituals, and some took the cold and cynical Toporov for a caricature of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod.
Leo Tolstoy applied his teaching primarily to his own way of life. He denied church interpretations of immortality and rejected church authority; he did not recognize the rights of the state, since it is built (in his opinion) on violence and coercion. He criticized the church teaching, according to which “the life that exists here on earth, with all its joys, beauties, with all the struggle of the mind against darkness, is the life of all the people who lived before me, my whole life with my inner struggle and victories of the mind.” there is not true life, but fallen life, hopelessly spoiled; true, sinless life is in faith, that is, in the imagination, that is, in madness.” Leo Tolstoy did not agree with the teaching of the church that man from his birth, in his essence, is vicious and sinful, since, in his opinion, such a teaching “undercuts at the root everything that is best in human nature.” Seeing how the church was quickly losing its influence on the people, the writer, according to K. N. Lomunov, came to the conclusion: “Everything living is independent of the church.”
In February 1901, the Synod finally decided to publicly condemn Tolstoy and declare him outside the church. Metropolitan Anthony (Vadkovsky) played an active role in this. As it appears in the Chamber-Fourier journals, on February 22, Pobedonostsev visited Nicholas II in the Winter Palace and talked with him for about an hour. Some historians believe that Pobedonostsev came to the Tsar directly from the Synod with a ready-made definition.
In November 1909, he wrote down a thought that indicated his broad understanding of religion: “I do not want to be a Christian, just as I did not advise and would not want there to be Brahmanists, Buddhists, Confucionists, Taoists, Mohammedans and others. We must all find, each in his own faith, what is common to all, and, abandoning what is exclusive, what is our own, cling to what is common.”.
At the end of February 2001, the count's great-grandson Vladimir Tolstoy, manager of the writer's museum-estate in Yasnaya Polyana, sent a letter to Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' with a request to reconsider the synodal definition. In response to the letter, the Moscow Patriarchate stated that the decision to excommunicate Leo Tolstoy from the Church, made exactly 105 years ago, cannot be reviewed, since (according to Church Relations Secretary Mikhail Dudko), it would be wrong in the absence of the person who the action of the ecclesiastical court applies.
On the night of October 28 (November 10), 1910, L. N. Tolstoy, fulfilling his decision to live his last years in accordance with his views, secretly left Yasnaya Polyana forever, accompanied only by his doctor D. P. Makovitsky. At the same time, Tolstoy did not even have a definite plan of action. He began his last journey at Shchekino station. On the same day, having transferred to another train at the Gorbachevo station, I reached the city of Belyov, Tula province, after which, in the same way, but on another train to the Kozelsk station, I hired a coachman and headed to Optina Pustyn, and from there the next day to Shamordinsky monastery, where he met his sister, Maria Nikolaevna Tolstoy. Later, Tolstoy’s daughter Alexandra Lvovna secretly came to Shamordino.
On the morning of October 31 (November 13), L.N. Tolstoy and his entourage set off from Shamordino to Kozelsk, where they boarded train No. 12, Smolensk - Ranenburg, which had already arrived at the station, heading east. There was no time to buy tickets upon boarding; having reached Belyov, they purchased tickets to Volovo station, where they intended to change to some train heading to south direction. Those accompanying Tolstoy later also testified that the trip had no specific purpose. After the meeting, they decided to go to his niece E. S. Denisenko, in Novocherkassk, where they wanted to try to get foreign passports and then go to Bulgaria; if this fails, go to the Caucasus. However, on the way, L.N. Tolstoy felt worse - the cold turned into lobar pneumonia and the accompanying people were forced to interrupt the trip that same day and take the sick Tolstoy out of the train at the first large station near the settlement. This station was Astapovo (now Leo Tolstoy, Lipetsk region).
The news of Leo Tolstoy's illness caused a great stir both in high circles and among members of the Holy Synod. Encrypted telegrams were systematically sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Moscow Gendarmerie Directorate of Railways about his state of health and the state of affairs. An emergency secret meeting of the Synod was convened, at which, on the initiative of Chief Prosecutor Lukyanov, the question was raised about the attitude of the church in the event of a sad outcome of Lev Nikolaevich’s illness. But the issue was never resolved positively.
Six doctors tried to save Lev Nikolaevich, but to their offers to help, he only replied: “God will arrange everything.” When they asked him what he himself wanted, he said: “I want no one to bother me.” His last meaningful words, which he uttered a few hours before his death to his eldest son, which he was unable to understand due to excitement, but which were heard by the doctor Makovitsky, were: “Seryozha... the truth... I love a lot, I love everyone...”.
On November 7 (20), at 6:50 a.m., after a week of severe and painful illness (he was suffocating), Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy died in the house of the station chief, I. I. Ozolin.
When L.N. Tolstoy came to Optina Pustyn before his death, Elder Barsanuphius was the abbot of the monastery and the monastery commander. Tolstoy did not dare to enter the monastery, and the elder followed him to the Astapovo station to give him the opportunity to reconcile with the Church. But he was not allowed to see the writer, just as his wife and some of his closest relatives from among the Orthodox believers were not allowed to see him.
On November 9, 1910, several thousand people gathered in Yasnaya Polyana for the funeral of Leo Tolstoy. Among those gathered were the writer’s friends and admirers of his work, local peasants and Moscow students, as well as representatives government agencies and local police sent to Yasnaya Polyana by authorities who feared that the farewell ceremony for Tolstoy could be accompanied by anti-government statements, and perhaps even result in a demonstration. In addition, in Russia this was the first public funeral of a famous person, which was not supposed to take place according to the Orthodox rite (without priests and prayers, without candles and icons), as Tolstoy himself wished. The ceremony was peaceful, as noted in police reports. The mourners, observing complete order, accompanied Tolstoy's coffin from the station to the estate with quiet singing. People lined up and silently entered the room to say goodbye to the body.
On the same day, the newspapers published the resolution of Nicholas II on the report of the Minister of Internal Affairs on the death of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy: “I sincerely regret the death of the great writer, who, during the heyday of his talent, embodied in his works the images of one of the glorious times of Russian life. May the Lord God be his merciful judge.".
On November 10 (23), 1910, L. N. Tolstoy was buried in Yasnaya Polyana, on the edge of a ravine in the forest, where as a child he and his brother were looking for a “green stick” that held the “secret” of how to make all people happy. When the coffin with the deceased was lowered into the grave, everyone present reverently knelt.
Family of Leo Tolstoy:
From his youth, Lev Nikolaevich knew Lyubov Alexandrovna Islavina, married to Bers (1826-1886), and loved to play with her children Lisa, Sonya and Tanya. When the Bersov daughters grew up, Lev Nikolaevich thought about marrying his eldest daughter Lisa, he hesitated for a long time until he made a choice in favor of his middle daughter Sophia. Sofya Andreevna agreed when she was 18 years old, and the count was 34 years old, and on September 23, 1862, Lev Nikolaevich married her, having previously admitted his premarital affairs.
For some time, the brightest period begins in his life - he is truly happy, largely thanks to the practicality of his wife, material well-being, outstanding literary creativity and, in connection with it, the All-Russian and worldwide fame. In his wife, he found an assistant in all matters, practical and literary - in the absence of a secretary, she rewrote his drafts several times. However, very soon happiness is overshadowed by inevitable minor disagreements, fleeting quarrels, and mutual misunderstandings, which only worsened over the years.
For his family, Leo Tolstoy proposed a certain “life plan”, according to which he proposed giving part of his income to the poor and schools, and significantly simplifying his family’s lifestyle (life, food, clothing), while also selling and distributing “everything unnecessary”: piano, furniture, carriages. His wife, Sofya Andreevna, was clearly not happy with this plan, which is why their first serious conflict broke out and the beginning of her “undeclared war” for a secure future for their children. And in 1892, Tolstoy signed a separate deed and transferred all the property to his wife and children, not wanting to be the owner. Nevertheless, they lived together in great love for almost fifty years.
In addition, his older brother Sergei Nikolaevich Tolstoy was going to marry Sophia Andreevna’s younger sister, Tatyana Bers. But Sergei’s unofficial marriage to the gypsy singer Maria Mikhailovna Shishkina (who had four children from him) made the marriage of Sergei and Tatyana impossible.
In addition, Sofia Andreevna’s father, physician Andrei Gustav (Evstafievich) Bers, even before his marriage to Islavina, had a daughter, Varvara, from Varvara Petrovna Turgeneva, the mother of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. On her mother’s side, Varya was the sister of Ivan Turgenev, and on her father’s side, S. A. Tolstoy, thus, together with marriage, Leo Tolstoy acquired a relationship with I. S. Turgenev.
From the marriage of Lev Nikolaevich with Sofia Andreevna, 13 children were born, five of whom died in childhood. Children:
1. Sergei (1863-1947), composer, musicologist.
2. Tatiana (1864-1950). Since 1899 she has been married to Mikhail Sergeevich Sukhotin. In 1917-1923 she was the curator of the Yasnaya Polyana museum-estate. In 1925 she emigrated with her daughter. Daughter Tatyana Mikhailovna Sukhotina-Albertini (1905-1996).
3. Ilya (1866-1933), writer, memoirist. In 1916 he left Russia and went to the USA.
4. Leo (1869-1945), writer, sculptor. In exile in France, Italy, then in Sweden.
5. Maria (1871-1906). Since 1897 she has been married to Nikolai Leonidovich Obolensky (1872-1934). She died of pneumonia. Buried in the village. Kochaki of Krapivensky district (modern Tula region, Shchekinsky district, village of Kochaki).
6. Peter (1872-1873)
7. Nikolai (1874-1875)
8. Varvara (1875-1875)
9. Andrey (1877-1916), official of special assignments under the Tula governor. Participant in the Russian-Japanese War. He died in Petrograd from general blood poisoning.
10. Mikhail (1879-1944). In 1920 he emigrated and lived in Turkey, Yugoslavia, France and Morocco. Died on October 19, 1944 in Morocco.
11. Alexey (1881-1886)
12. Alexandra (1884-1979). At the age of 16 she became her father's assistant. For her participation in the First World War, she was awarded three St. George Crosses and was awarded the rank of colonel. In 1929 she emigrated from the USSR and in 1941 received US citizenship. She died on September 26, 1979 in Valley Cottage, New York.
13. Ivan (1888-1895).
As of 2010, there were a total of more than 350 descendants of Leo Tolstoy (including both living and deceased), living in 25 countries around the world. Most of them are descendants of Lev Lvovich Tolstoy, who had 10 children, the third son of Lev Nikolaevich. Since 2000, once every two years, meetings of the writer’s descendants have been held in Yasnaya Polyana.
Quotes about Leo Tolstoy:
French writer and member of the French Academy Andre Maurois argued that Leo Tolstoy is one of the three greatest writers in the entire history of culture (along with Shakespeare and Balzac).
German writer, laureate Nobel Prize on literature Thomas Mann said that the world did not know another artist in whom the epic, Homeric principle would be as strong as Tolstoy’s, and that the elements of the epic and indestructible realism live in his works.
The Indian philosopher and politician spoke of Tolstoy as the most honest man of his time, who never tried to hide the truth or embellish it, fearing neither spiritual nor temporal power, backing up his preaching with deeds and making any sacrifices for the sake of the truth.
The Russian writer and thinker said in 1876 that only Tolstoy shines because, in addition to the poem, he “knows to the smallest accuracy (historical and current) the reality depicted.”
Russian writer and critic Dmitry Merezhkovsky wrote about Tolstoy: “His face is the face of humanity. If the inhabitants of other worlds asked our world: who are you? - humanity could answer by pointing to Tolstoy: here I am.”
The Russian poet spoke of Tolstoy: “Tolstoy is the greatest and only genius of modern Europe, the highest pride of Russia, a man whose one name is fragrance, a writer of great purity and holiness.”
The Russian writer in the English “Lectures on Russian Literature” wrote: “Tolstoy is an unsurpassed Russian prose writer. Leaving aside his predecessors Pushkin and Lermontov, all the great Russian writers can be arranged in the following sequence: the first is Tolstoy, the second is Gogol, the third is Chekhov, the fourth is Turgenev.”
Russian religious philosopher and writer V. V. Rozanov about Tolstoy: “Tolstoy is only a writer, but not a prophet, not a saint, and therefore his teaching does not inspire anyone.”
Famous theologian Alexander Men said that Tolstoy is still the voice of conscience and a living reproach for people who are confident that they live in accordance with moral principles.
Genealogy of the Tolstoys
Lev Nikolaevich belongs to a rich and noble family, which occupied a prominent position already in the time of Peter I. His great-grandfather, Count Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy, played a sad role in the history of Tsarevich Alexei. The traits of Pyotr Andreevich’s great-grandson, Ilya Andreevich, are given in “War and Peace” to the good-natured, impractical old Count Rostov. The son of Ilya Andreevich, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (1794-1837), was the father of Lev Nikolaevich. In some character traits and biographical facts, he was similar to Nikolenka’s father in “Childhood” and “Adolescence” and partly to Nikolai Rostov in “War and Peace.” However, in real life, Nikolai Ilyich differed from Nikolai Rostov not only in his good education, but also in his convictions, which did not allow him to serve under Nikolai. A participant in the foreign campaign of the Russian army, including participating in the “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig and being captured by the French, after the conclusion of peace he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Pavlograd Hussar Regiment. Soon after his resignation, he was forced to go into bureaucratic service in order not to end up in debtor's prison because of the debts of his father, the Kazan governor, who died under investigation for official abuses. For several years, Nikolai Ilyich had to save. The negative example of his father helped Nikolai Ilyich develop his ideal of life - a private, independent life with family joys. To put his upset affairs in order, Nikolai Ilyich, like Nikolai Rostov, married the ugly and no longer very young Princess Volkonskaya. The marriage, however, was happy. They had four sons: Nikolai, Sergei, Dmitry and Lev and a daughter Maria. Besides Lev, an outstanding person was Nikolai, whose death (abroad, in 1860) Tolstoy so amazingly described in one of his letters to Fet.
Tolstoy's maternal grandfather, Catherine's general, served as the prototype for the stern rigorist - the old Prince Bolkonsky in War and Peace. Lev Nikolaevich undoubtedly borrowed the best features of his moral character from the Volkonskys. Lev Nikolayevich’s mother, similar to Princess Marya depicted in “War and Peace,” had a wonderful gift of storytelling, for which, with her shyness passed on to her son, she had to lock herself in with those who gathered around her in large number listeners in dark room. In addition to the Volkonskys, Tolstoy is closely related to a number of other aristocratic families - princes Gorchakov, Trubetskoy and others.
Childhood
Lev Nikolaevich was born on August 28 (September 9), 1828 in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province, on his mother’s hereditary estate - Yasnaya Polyana. By that time, Tolstoy already had three older brothers - Nikolai (-), Sergei (-) and Dmitry (-). In 1830, sister Maria (-) was born. Tolstoy was not even two years old when his mother died. Many are misled by the fact that in “ Childhood“Irtenyev’s mother dies when the boy is already 10-12 years old and he is quite conscious of his surroundings, but in fact the mother is depicted here by Tolstoy based on the stories of others.
A distant relative, T. A. Ergolskaya, took up the upbringing of orphaned children (some of her features were passed on to Sonya from “ War and Peace"). In 1837, the family moved to Moscow, settling on Plyushchikha, because the eldest son had to prepare to enter the university, but soon the father died suddenly, leaving affairs in a rather disordered state, and the three younger children again settled in Yasnaya Polyana under the supervision of T. A. Ergolskaya and paternal aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Sacken. Here Lev Nikolaevich remained until 1840, when Countess Osten-Sacken died and the children moved to Kazan, to a new guardian - their father's sister P. I. Yushkova. This ends the first period of Tolstoy’s life, described by him in “ Childhood».
The Yushkov house, somewhat provincial in style, but typically secular, was one of the most cheerful in Kazan; All family members highly valued external shine. “My good aunt,” says Tolstoy, “a pure being, always said that she would want nothing more for me than for me to have a relationship with a married woman: rien ne forme un jeune homme comme une liaison avec une femme comme il faut" (" Confession»).
Two strong principles of Tolstoy’s nature - enormous pride and the desire to achieve something real, to know the truth - have now entered into a struggle. He passionately wanted to shine in society, to earn the reputation of a young man comme il faut. But he did not have the external qualities for this: he was ugly, it seemed to him awkward, and, in addition, he was hampered by natural shyness. At the same time, there was tension in him internal struggle and the development of a strict moral ideal. Everything that is told in " adolescence" And " Youth"about the aspirations of Irtenyev and Nekhlyudov for self-improvement, Tolstoy took from the history of his own ascetic attempts. The most varied, as Tolstoy himself defines them, “philosophies” about the most important questions of our existence - happiness, death, God, love, eternity - painfully tormented him in that era of life when his peers and brothers were completely devoted to the cheerful, easy and carefree pastime of the rich and noble people. All this led to the fact that Tolstoy developed a “habit of constant moral analysis,” as it seemed to him, “which destroyed the freshness of feelings and clarity of reason” (“ Youth»).
Education
Tolstoy's education first proceeded under the guidance of the rude French tutor Saint-Thomas (Mr. Jerome in Boyhood), who replaced the good-natured German Reselman, whom Tolstoy so lovingly portrayed in Childhood under the name Karl Ivanovich.
It was at this time, while in a Kazan hospital, that Tolstoy began to keep a diary, where, imitating Franklin, he set goals and rules for self-improvement and noted successes and failures in completing these tasks, analyzed his shortcomings and his train of thoughts and motives for his actions. In 1904, Tolstoy recalled: “... for the first year... I did nothing. In the second year I began to study... there was Professor Meyer, who... gave me a job - comparing Catherine’s “Order” with " Esprit des lois "Montesquieu. ... this work fascinated me, I went to the village, began to read Montesquieu, this reading opened up endless horizons for me; I began to read Rousseau and left the university, precisely because I wanted to study." Having never completed his university course, Tolstoy subsequently acquired enormous knowledge through self-education, including using the skills of working with literature acquired at the university.
Beginning of literary activity
Having left the university, Tolstoy settled in Yasnaya Polyana in the spring of 1847. What he did there is partly clear from “The Morning of the Landowner”: Tolstoy’s attempts to establish new relations with the peasants are described here.
Tolstoy's attempt to become a benefactor of his men is remarkable as an illustration of the fact that lordly philanthropy is not capable of improving the health of serf life, and as a page from the history of Tolstoy's impulses. He stands out of touch with the democratic trends of the second half of the 1840s, which did not affect Tolstoy at all.
He followed journalism very little; although his attempt to somehow attenuate the guilt of the nobility before the people dates back to the same year when Grigorovich’s “Anton the Miserable” and the beginning of Turgenev’s “Notes of a Hunter” appeared, but this is a simple accident. If there were literary influences here, they were of much older origin: Tolstoy was very fond of Rousseau, a hater of civilization and a preacher of a return to primitive simplicity.
However, this is only a small part of the activities. In his diary, Tolstoy sets himself great amount goals and rules. Only a small number of them can be followed. Among those who succeeded were serious studies in English, music, and law. In addition, neither the diary nor the letters reflected the beginning of Tolstoy's studies in pedagogy and charity - in 1849 he first opened a school for peasant children. The main teacher was Foka Demidych, a serf, but also L.N. himself. often taught classes.
The men, however, did not completely capture Tolstoy: he soon left for St. Petersburg and in the spring of 1848 began taking the exam to become a candidate of rights. He passed two exams, from criminal law and criminal procedure, but then he got tired of it and went to the village.
Later, he visited Moscow, where he often succumbed to his inherited passion for gambling, thereby greatly upsetting his financial affairs. During this period of his life, Tolstoy was especially passionately interested in music (he played the piano quite well and loved classical composers). The author of the “Kreutzer Sonata” drew an exaggerated description in relation to most people of the effect that “passionate” music produces from the sensations excited by the world of sounds in his own soul.
The development of Tolstoy’s love for music was also facilitated by the fact that during a trip to St. Petersburg in 1848, he met in a very unsuitable dance class setting with a gifted but lost German musician, whom he later described in Alberta. Tolstoy came up with the idea of saving him: he took him to Yasnaya Polyana and played a lot with him. A lot of time was also spent on carousing, gaming and hunting.
This is how 4 years passed after leaving the university, when Tolstoy’s brother Nikolai, who served in the Caucasus, came to Yasnaya Polyana and began inviting him there. Tolstoy did not give in to his brother’s call for a long time, until a major loss in Moscow helped the decision. In order to pay off, it was necessary to reduce his expenses to a minimum - and in the spring of 1851, Tolstoy hastily left Moscow for the Caucasus, at first without any specific purpose. Soon he decided to enter military service, but obstacles arose in the form of a lack of necessary papers, which were difficult to obtain, and Tolstoy lived for about 5 months in complete solitude in Pyatigorsk, in a simple hut. He spent a significant part of his time hunting, in the company of the Cossack Epishka, who appears in “Cossacks” under the name Eroshka.
Tolstoy also endured all the horrors, hardships and suffering that befell his heroic defenders. He lived for a long time on the terrible 4th bastion, commanded a battery in the battle of Chernaya, and was during the hellish bombardment during the assault on Malakhov Kurgan. Despite all the horrors of the siege, to which he soon became accustomed, like all other epically brave Sevastopol residents, Tolstoy at this time wrote a battle story from Caucasian life, “Cutting Wood,” and the first of three “Sevastopol stories,” “Sevastopol in December 1854.” " He sent this last story to Sovremennik. Immediately printed, the story was eagerly read by all of Russia and made a stunning impression with the picture of the horrors that befell the defenders of Sevastopol. The story was noticed by Emperor Nicholas; he ordered to take care of the gifted officer, which, however, was impossible for Tolstoy, who did not want to go into the category of the “staff” he hated.
For the defense of Sevastopol, Tolstoy was awarded the Order of St. Anne with the inscription “For Bravery” and the medals “For the Defense of Sevastopol” and “In Memory of the War of 1853-1856.” Surrounded by the brilliance of fame and enjoying the reputation of a very brave officer, Tolstoy had every chance of a career, but he “ruined” it for himself. Almost the only time in his life (except for the “Combination of different versions of epics into one” made for children in his pedagogical works) he dabbled in poetry: he wrote a satirical song, in the manner of a soldier, about the unfortunate case of August 4 (16), when General Read, misunderstanding the order of the commander-in-chief, unwisely attacked the Fedyukhinsky heights. The song (As on the fourth, it was not easy for us to take away the mountain, etc.), which affected a number of important generals, was a huge success and, of course, harmed the author. Immediately after the assault on August 27 (September 8), Tolstoy was sent by courier to St. Petersburg, where he wrote “Sevastopol in May 1855.” and "Sevastopol in August 1855".
“Sevastopol Stories,” which finally strengthened Tolstoy’s fame as one of the main “hopes” of the new literary generation, is to a certain extent the first sketch of that huge canvas that 10-12 years later Tolstoy unfolded with such brilliant skill in “War and Peace.” Tolstoy was the first in Russian, and perhaps in world literature, to engage in a sober analysis of military life; he was the first to approach it without any exaltation. He demoted military valor from the pedestal of pure “heroism,” but at the same time exalted it like no one else. He showed that the brave man of a given moment, a minute before and a minute later, is the same person as everyone else: good - if he is always like this, petty, envious, dishonest - if he was like this until circumstances demanded heroism from him. Destroying the idea of military valor in the style of Marlinsky, Tolstoy vividly exposed the greatness of simple heroism, not draping in anything, but climbing forward, doing only what is necessary: if necessary, then hide, if necessary, then die. For this, Tolstoy endlessly fell in love with a simple soldier near Sevastopol and, in his person, the entire Russian people.
Traveling around Europe
Noisy and have a fun life Tolstoy lived in St. Petersburg, where he was greeted with open arms both in high society salons and in literary circles. He became especially close friends with Turgenev, with whom he lived in the same apartment for a while. Turgenev introduced Tolstoy to the circle of Sovremennik and other literary luminaries: he became on friendly terms with Nekrasov, Goncharov, Panaev, Grigorovich, Druzhinin, Sollogub.
“After the hardships of Sevastopol, life in the capital had a double charm for a rich, cheerful, impressionable and sociable young man. Tolstoy spent whole days and even nights on drinking and gambling, carousing with gypsies” (Levenfeld).
The cheerful life was not slow to leave a bitter aftertaste in Tolstoy’s soul, especially since he began to have a strong discord with the circle of writers close to him. Even then he understood “what holiness is,” and therefore did not want to be satisfied, like some of his friends, with the fact that he “ wonderful artist", could not recognize literary activity as something particularly sublime, something that frees a person from the need to strive for self-improvement and devote himself entirely to the good of his neighbor. On this basis, fierce disputes arose, complicated by the fact that the always truthful and therefore often harsh Tolstoy did not hesitate to note traits of insincerity and affectation in his friends. As a result, “people became disgusted with him and he became disgusted with himself” - and at the beginning of 1857, Tolstoy left St. Petersburg without any regret and went abroad.
Western Europe - Germany, France, England, Switzerland, Italy - made an unexpected impression on him, where Tolstoy spent only about a year and a half (in 1857 and 1860-61). In general, this impression was definitely negative. It was expressed indirectly in the fact that nowhere in his writings did Tolstoy say any kind words about one or another aspect of life abroad, and nowhere did he set the cultural superiority of the West as an example for us. He directly expressed his disappointment in European life in the story “Lucerne”. The underlying contrast between wealth and poverty in European society is captured here by Tolstoy with striking force. He was able to see it through the magnificent outer cover of European culture, because the thought of the structure never left him. human life on the principles of brotherhood and justice.
Abroad, he was interested only in public education and institutions aimed at raising the level of the working population. He carefully studied issues of public education in Germany, both theoretically and practically, and through conversations with specialists. Of the outstanding people in Germany, he was most interested in Auerbach, as the author of the “Black Forest Stories” dedicated to folk life and the publisher of folk calendars. Proud and reserved, never the first to seek acquaintance, Tolstoy made an exception for Auerbach, paid him a visit and tried to get close to him. During his stay in Brussels, Tolstoy met Proudhon and Lelewel.
Tolstoy’s deeply serious mood during his second trip to the south of France was also facilitated by the fact that his beloved brother Nikolai died of tuberculosis in his arms. The death of his brother made a huge impression on Tolstoy.
Pedagogical experiments
Tolstoy returned to Russia immediately after the liberation of the peasants and became a peace mediator. This was done less under the influence of the democratic movements of the sixties. At that time they looked at the people as a younger brother who needed to be lifted up; Tolstoy thought, on the contrary, that the people are infinitely higher than the cultural classes and that the gentlemen need to borrow the heights of spirit from the peasants. He actively began setting up schools in his Yasnaya Polyana and throughout the Krapivensky district.
The Yasnaya Polyana school is one of the most original pedagogical attempts ever made. In an era of boundless admiration for the latest German pedagogy, Tolstoy resolutely rebelled against any regulation and discipline in school; the only method of teaching and education that he recognized was that no method was needed. Everything in teaching should be individual - both the teacher and the student, and their mutual relationships. At the Yasnaya Polyana school, the children sat where they wanted, as much as they wanted, and as they wanted. There was no specific teaching program. The teacher's only job was to get the class interested. The classes were going great. They were led by Tolstoy himself with the help of several regular teachers and several random ones, from his closest acquaintances and visitors.
This curious misunderstanding lasted for about 15 years, bringing closer to Tolstoy such a writer as organically opposed to him as N. N. Strakhov. Only in 1875, N.K. Mikhailovsky, in the article “The Hand and Shuyts of Count Tolstoy,” striking with the brilliance of his analysis and prediction of Tolstoy’s future activities, outlined the spiritual appearance of the most original of Russian writers in the present light. The little attention that was paid to Tolstoy's pedagogical articles is partly due to the fact that little attention was paid to it at that time.
Apollo Grigoriev had the right to title his article about Tolstoy (“Time”, g.) “Phenomena of modern literature missed by our criticism.” Having extremely cordially greeted Tolstoy’s debits and credits and “Sevastopol Tales”, recognizing in him the great hope of Russian literature (Druzhinin even used the epithet “genius” in relation to him), critics then 10-12 years before the appearance of “War and Peace” not only ceases to recognize him as a very important writer, but somehow grows cold towards him. In an era when the interests of the moment and the party were in the foreground, this writer, who was interested only in eternal questions, was not captivated.
Meanwhile, Tolstoy provided primary material for criticism even before the appearance of War and Peace. “Sovremennik” appeared “Blizzard” - a real artistic gem in its ability to interest the reader with a story about how someone traveled in a snowstorm from one postal station to another. There is no content or plot at all, but all the little details of reality are depicted with amazing brightness, and the mood is reproduced characters. “Two Hussars” gives an extremely colorful picture of the past and is written with that freedom of attitude to the plot that is inherent only in great talents. It was easy to fall into the idealization of the old hussars with the charm that is characteristic of the elder Ilyin - but Tolstoy provided the dashing hussar with exactly the same number of shadow sides that charming people actually have - and the epic shade was erased, the real truth remained. This same freedom of attitude constitutes the main advantage of the story “The Morning of the Landowner.”
To fully appreciate it, we must remember that it was published at the end of 1856 (Otechestvennye zapiski, No. 12). At that time, men appeared in literature only in the form of sentimental “paisans” of Grigorovich and Slavophiles and peasant figures of Turgenev, standing incomparably higher in purely artistically, but undoubtedly upbeat. In the peasants of “The Morning of the Landowner” there is not a shadow of idealization, just as there is not - and this is precisely where Tolstoy’s creative freedom was reflected - and anything similar to bitterness against the peasants for the fact that they treated good intentions with such little gratitude his landowner. The whole purpose of the autobiographical confession was to show the groundlessness of Nekhlyudov’s attempt. Tragic character the lordly undertaking takes place in the story “Polikushka” belonging to the same period; a man dies here because a lady who wants to be kind and fair decided to believe in the sincerity of repentance and she entrusts the delivery to the not completely dead, but not without reason, the disreputable yard yard boy Polikushka. large sum. Polikushka loses money and, out of despair that they won’t believe him that he really lost it and didn’t steal it, hangs himself.
The stories and essays written by Tolstoy in the late 1850s include the above-mentioned “Lucerne” and excellent parallels: “Three Deaths,” where the delicacy of the nobility and its tenacious attachment to life are contrasted with the simplicity and calmness with which the peasants die . The parallels end with the death of a tree, described with that pantheistic insight into the essence of the world process, which Tolstoy so magnificently succeeds in both here and later. This ability of Tolstoy to generalize the life of man, animals and “inanimate nature” into one concept of life in general received its highest artistic expression in “The History of a Horse” (“Kholstomer”), published only in the 1870s, but written in 1860. Especially The final scene makes a stunning impression: the she-wolf, filled with tenderness and care for her wolf cubs, tears pieces of meat from the body of the once famous horse Kholstomer, abandoned by the flayers, and then slaughtered due to old age and unfitness, chews these pieces, then coughs them up and thus feeds the wolf cubs. The joyful pantheism of Platon Karataev (from War and Peace) has already been prepared here, who is so deeply convinced that life is a cycle, that the death and misfortunes of one are replaced by the fullness of life and joy for another, and that this is what the world order consists of, from centuries unchanged.
Family
In the late 1850s, Tolstoy met Sofia Andreevna Bers (1844-1919), the daughter of a Moscow doctor from the Baltic Germans. He was already in his fourth decade, Sofya Andreevna was only 17 years old. It seemed to him that this difference was very great, that even if his love had been reciprocated, the marriage would have been unhappy and sooner or later the young woman would have fallen in love with another, also young and not “outdated” man. Based on a personal motive that worried him, he wrote his first novel, “Family Happiness,” in which the plot develops precisely along this path.
In reality, Tolstoy's novel played out completely differently. Having carried a passion for Sophia in his heart for three years, Tolstoy married her in the fall of 1862, and to his lot fell the greatest completeness of family happiness that can ever be found on earth. In his wife, he found not only his most faithful and devoted friend, but also an irreplaceable assistant in all matters, practical and literary. Seven times she endlessly rewrote the works he reworked, supplemented and corrected, and a kind of shorthand, that is, thoughts that were not fully agreed upon, words and phrases that were not completed, often received a clear and definite expression under her experienced hand in deciphering this kind. For Tolstoy, the brightest period of his life begins - the rapture of personal happiness, very significant thanks to the practicality of Sofia Andreevna, material well-being, the greatest, easily given tension of literary creativity and, in connection with it, unprecedented all-Russian and then worldwide fame.
Recognized by critics around the world as the greatest epic work of the new European literature, “War and Peace” amazes from a purely technical point of view with the size of its fictional canvas. Only in painting can one find some parallel in the huge paintings of Paolo Veronese in the Venetian Doge's Palace, where hundreds of faces are also painted with amazing clarity and individual expression. In Tolstoy's novel all classes of society are represented, from emperors and kings to the last soldier, all ages, all temperaments and throughout the entire reign of Alexander I.
On December 6, 1908, Tolstoy wrote in his diary: “People love me for those trifles - “War and Peace”, etc., which seem very important to them.”
In the summer of 1909, one of the visitors to Yasnaya Polyana expressed his delight and gratitude for the creation of War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Tolstoy replied: “It’s the same as if someone came to Edison and said: “I really respect you because you dance the mazurka well.” I attribute meaning to completely different books of mine (religious ones!).”
In the sphere of material interests, he began to say to himself: “Well, okay, you will have 6,000 dessiatines in the Samara province - 300 heads of horses, and then?”; in the literary sphere: “Well, okay, you will be more famous than Gogol, Pushkin, Shakespeare, Moliere, all the writers in the world - so what!” Starting to think about raising children, he asked himself: “why?”; arguing “about how the people can achieve prosperity,” he “suddenly said to himself: what does it matter to me?” In general, he “felt that what he stood on had given way, that what he had lived on was no longer there.” The natural result was thoughts of suicide.
"I, happy man, hid the cord from myself so as not to hang myself on the crossbar between the wardrobes in my room, where I was alone every day, undressing, and stopped going hunting with a gun so as not to be too tempted the easy way ridding yourself of life. I myself didn’t know what I wanted: I was afraid of life, I wanted to get away from it and, meanwhile, I hoped for something else from it.”
Religious quest
To find an answer to the questions and doubts that tormented him, Tolstoy first of all took up the study of theology and wrote and published in 1891 in Geneva “A Study of Dogmatic Theology,” in which he criticized Orthodox dogmatic theology in five volumes Macarius (Bulgakov). He began to have conversations with priests and monks, went to the elders in Optina Pustyn, read theological treatises, studied ancient Greek and Hebrew (the Moscow rabbi Shlomo Minor helped him in studying the latter) in order to learn in the original the original sources of Christian teaching. At the same time, he looked closely at the schismatics, became close to the thoughtful peasant sectarian Syutaev, and talked with the Molokans and Stundists. With the same feverishness he sought the meaning of life in the study of philosophy and in becoming acquainted with the results of the exact sciences. He made a number of attempts at greater and greater simplification, striving to live a life close to nature and agricultural life.
He gradually gives up whims and conveniences rich life, does a lot physical labor, dresses in simple clothes, becomes a vegetarian, gives his entire large fortune to his family, and renounces literary property rights. On this basis of unalloyed pure impulse and desire for moral improvement, the third period of Tolstoy’s literary activity is created, distinctive feature which is the denial of all established forms of state, social and religious life. A significant part of Tolstoy’s views could not receive open expression in Russia and were presented in full only in foreign editions of his religious and social treatises.
No unanimous attitude was established even in relation to Tolstoy’s fictional works written during this period. Thus, in a long series of short stories and legends intended primarily for popular reading (“How people live”, etc.), Tolstoy, in the opinion of his unconditional admirers, reached the pinnacle of artistic power - that elemental mastery that is given only to folk tales, because that they embody the creativity of an entire people. On the contrary, according to people who are indignant at Tolstoy for turning from an artist into a preacher, these artistic teachings, written for a specific purpose, are grossly tendentious. The lofty and terrible truth of “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, according to fans, placing this work along with the main works of the genius of Tolstoy, according to others, is deliberately harsh, deliberately sharply emphasizes the soullessness of the upper strata of society in order to show the moral superiority of the simple “kitchen man” Gerasim. The explosion of the most opposite feelings, caused by the analysis of marital relations and the indirect demand for abstinence from married life, in the “Kreutzer Sonata” made us forget about the amazing brightness and passion with which this story was written. The folk drama “The Power of Darkness,” according to Tolstoy’s admirers, is a great manifestation of his artistic power: within the tight framework of an ethnographic reproduction of Russian peasant life, Tolstoy was able to accommodate so many universal human traits that the drama with tremendous success went around all the stages of the world. But for others, Akim alone with his undoubtedly one-sided and tendentious condemnations of city life is enough to declare the entire work immensely tendentious.
Finally, in relation to Tolstoy’s last major work - the novel “Resurrection” - fans do not find enough words to admire the completely youthful freshness of feeling and passion shown by the 70-year-old author, the mercilessness in the depiction of judicial and high society life, the complete originality of the first in Russian literature reproducing the world of political criminals. Opponents of Tolstoy emphasize the pallor of the main character, Nekhlyudov, and his harshness towards the depravity of the upper classes and the “state church” (in response to which the Synod issued the so-called “Definition of the Synod on Tolstoy”, opening the accompanying social and journalistic conflict).
In general, opponents of the last phase of Tolstoy’s literary and preaching activity find that artistic power he certainly suffered from the predominance of theoretical interests and that creativity is now only needed by Tolstoy in order to propagate his socio-religious views in a publicly accessible form. In his aesthetic treatise (“On Art”) one can find enough material to declare Tolstoy an enemy of art: in addition to the fact that Tolstoy here in part completely denies, in part significantly belittles artistic value Dante, Raphael, Goethe, Shakespeare (at the performance of Hamlet he experienced “special suffering” for this “false likeness of works of art”), Beethoven and others, he directly comes to the conclusion that “the more we surrender to beauty, the more The more we move away from good.”
Excommunication
In response to the indignant letter from Lev Nikolaevich’s wife Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy, written by her regarding the publication of the Synod’s definition in newspapers, St. Petersburg Metropolitan Anthony (Vadkovsky) wrote: “Dear Empress Countess Sofia Andreevna! It is not cruel what the Synod did by announcing your husband’s fall from the Church, but cruel what he did to himself by renouncing his faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, our Redeemer and Savior. It is this renunciation that should have given vent to your woeful indignation long ago. And it’s not because of a piece of printed paper that your husband is dying, of course, but because he has turned away from the Source of eternal life.” .
...The fact that I renounced the Church that calls itself Orthodox is completely fair. But I renounced it not because I rebelled against the Lord, but on the contrary, only because I wanted to serve him with all the strength of my soul. Before renouncing the Church and unity with the people, which was inexpressibly dear to me, I, having some signs of doubting the correctness of the Church, devoted several years to theoretically and practically studying the teachings of the Church: theoretically, I re-read everything I could about the teachings of the Church, studied and critically examined dogmatic theology; practically, he strictly followed, for more than a year, all the instructions of the Church, observing all fasts and visiting all church services. And I became convinced that the teaching of the Church is theoretically an insidious and harmful lie, but in practice it is a collection of the grossest superstitions and witchcraft, completely hiding the entire meaning Christian teaching.
...The fact that I reject the incomprehensible Trinity and the fable about the fall of the first man, which has no meaning in our time, the blasphemous story about God born of the Virgin, redeeming the human race, is absolutely fair. I not only do not reject God - the Spirit, God - love, the one God - the beginning of everything, but I do not recognize anything as truly existing except God, and I see the whole meaning of life only in the fulfillment of the will of God, expressed in Christian teaching.
...It is also said: “Does not recognize the afterlife and retribution.” If we understand the afterlife in the sense of the second coming, hell with eternal torment, devils, and heaven - constant bliss, then it is absolutely fair that I do not recognize such an afterlife; but eternal life and retribution here and everywhere, now and always, I recognize to such an extent that, standing at my age on the edge of the grave, I often have to make an effort not to desire carnal death, that is, birth to a new life, and I believe that every good deed increases my true good eternal life, and every evil deed reduces it.
…It is also said that I reject all sacraments. This is completely fair. I consider all sacraments to be base, rude, incompatible with the concept of God and Christian teaching, witchcraft and, moreover, a violation of the most direct instructions of the Gospel...
In infant baptism I see a clear distortion of the entire meaning that baptism could have for adults who consciously accept Christianity; in performing the sacrament of marriage over people who had obviously been united before, and in allowing divorces and in sanctifying the marriages of divorced people, I see a direct violation of both the meaning and the letter of the Gospel teaching. In the periodic forgiveness of sins in confession, I see a harmful deception that only encourages immorality and destroys the fear of sin. In the consecration of oil, just as in the anointing, I see methods of crude witchcraft, as in the veneration of icons and relics, as in all those rituals, prayers, and spells with which the missal is filled. In communion I see the deification of the flesh and a perversion of Christian teaching. In the priesthood, in addition to obvious preparation for deception, I see a direct violation of the words of Christ, who directly forbids calling anyone teachers, fathers, mentors (Matt. XXIII, 8-10). It is said, finally, as the last and highest degree my guilt that I, “while scolding the most sacred objects of faith, did not shudder to mock the most sacred of sacraments - the Eucharist.”
The fact that I did not shudder to describe simply and objectively what the priest does to prepare this so-called sacrament is completely fair; but the fact that this so-called sacrament is something sacred and that to describe it simply as it is done is blasphemy is completely unfair. The blasphemy is not in calling a partition a partition and not an iconostasis, and a cup a cup and not a chalice, etc., but the most terrible, never-ending, outrageous blasphemy is that people, using all possible means of deception and hypnotization - they assure children and simple-minded people that if you cut pieces of bread in a certain way and while pronouncing certain words and put them in wine, then God enters these pieces; and that the one in whose name a living piece is taken out will be healthy; In the name of whomever has died such a piece is taken out, it will be better for him in the next world; and that whoever ate this piece, God Himself will enter into him.
Dedicated to the theme of Leo Tolstoy’s excommunication from the church famous story Kuprin "Anathema".
Philosophy
Leo Tolstoy was the founder of the Tolstoyanism movement, one of the fundamental theses of which is the Gospel “non-resistance to evil by force.”
This position of non-resistance is recorded, according to Tolstoy, in numerous places in the Gospel and is the core of the teachings of Christ, as well as of Buddhism.
Moscow census of 1882. L. N. Tolstoy - census participant
The 1882 census in Moscow is famous for the fact that he took part in it great writer Count L.N. Tolstoy. Lev Nikolaevich wrote: “I proposed to use the census in order to find out poverty in Moscow and help it with deeds and money, and make sure that there are no poor people in Moscow.”
Tolstoy believed that the interest and significance of the census for society is that it gives it a mirror into which, like it or not, the whole society and each of us can look. He chose one of the most difficult and difficult sites, Protochny Lane, where the shelter was located; among the Moscow chaos, this gloomy two-story building was called “Rzhanova Fortress.” Having received the order from the Duma, Tolstoy, a few days before the census, began to walk around the site according to the plan that was given to him. Indeed, the dirty shelter, filled with beggars and desperate people who had sunk to the very bottom, served as a mirror for Tolstoy, reflecting the terrible poverty of the people. Under the fresh impression of what he saw, L. N. Tolstoy wrote his famous article"About the census in Moscow." In this article he writes:
The purpose of the census is scientific. The census is a sociological survey. The goal of the science of sociology is the happiness of people." This science and its methods differ sharply from other sciences. The peculiarity is that sociological research is not carried out through the work of scientists in their offices, observatories and laboratories, but is carried out by two thousand people from society. Another feature , that the research of other sciences is carried out not on living people, but here on living people. The third feature is that the goal of other sciences is only knowledge, but here the good of people can be explored alone, but to study Moscow you need 2000 people. foggy spots is only to find out everything about foggy spots, the purpose of studying the inhabitants is to derive the laws of sociology and, on the basis of these laws, establish better life of people. The foggy spots don’t care whether they are being investigated or not, they have waited and are ready to wait for a long time, but the residents of Moscow care, especially those unfortunate people who make up the most interesting subject of the science of sociology. The census taker comes to the shelter, in the basement, finds a man dying from lack of food and politely asks: rank, name, patronymic, occupation; and after a slight hesitation about whether to add him to the list as alive, he writes it down and moves on.
Despite the good goals of the census declared by Tolstoy, the population was suspicious of this event. On this occasion, Tolstoy writes: “When they explained to us that people had already learned about the bypass of the apartments and were leaving, we asked the owner to lock the gate, and we ourselves went into the yard to persuade the people who were leaving.” Lev Nikolaevich hoped to arouse sympathy among the rich for urban poverty, collect money, recruit people who wanted to contribute to this cause and, together with the census, go through all the dens of poverty. In addition to fulfilling the duties of a copyist, the writer wanted to enter into communication with the unfortunate, find out the details of their needs and help them with money and work, expulsion from Moscow, placing children in schools, old men and women in shelters and almshouses.
According to the census results, the population of Moscow in 1882 was 753.5 thousand people and only 26% were born in Moscow, and the rest were “newcomers”. Of the Moscow residential apartments, 57% faced the street, 43% faced the courtyard. From the 1882 census we can find out that in 63% the head of the household is a married couple, in 23% it is the wife, and only in 14% it is the husband. The census noted 529 families with 8 or more children. 39% have servants and most often they are women.
The last years of Leo Tolstoy's life
Leo Tolstoy's grave
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 began his last journey at Kozlova Zaseka station. On the way, he fell ill with pneumonia and was forced to make a stop at the small station of Astapovo (now Leo Tolstoy, Lipetsk region), where he died on November 7 (20).
Criticism of Tolstoy
Bibliography
- Childhood - a story, 1852
- Boyhood - a story, 1854
- Sevastopol stories - 1855
- "Sevastopol in December"
- "Sevastopol in May"
- "Sevastopol in August 1855"
- Blizzard - story, 1856
- Two Hussars - a story, 1856
- Youth - a story, 1857
- Albert - story, 1858
- Family Happiness - Novel, 1859
- Polikushka - a story, 1863
- Cossacks - a story, 1863
- War and Peace - a novel in 4 volumes, 1867-1869
- Prisoner of the Caucasus- story, 1872
- Anna Karenina - novel, 1878
- Confession, 1882
- Kholstomer - a story, 1886
- The Death of Ivan Ilyich - a story, 1886
- The Devil - a story, 1889
- Kreutzer Sonata - story, 1890
- Father Sergius - a story, 1890
- The Kingdom of God is within you - a treatise, 1890-1893
- Hadji Murat - story, 1896
- Resurrection - novel, 1899
World recognition
Scientists, cultural figures, politicians about L. N. Tolstoy
His face is the face of humanity. If the inhabitants of other worlds asked our world: who are you? - humanity could answer, pointing to Tolstoy: here I am.
What struck me most about Tolstoy was that he backed up his preaching with actions and made any sacrifices for the sake of the truth.<...>He was the most fair man of its time. His whole life is a constant search, a continuous desire to find the truth and bring it to life. Tolstoy never tried to hide the truth or embellish it; fearing neither spiritual nor temporal power, he showed the world the universal truth, unconditional and uncompromising.
Tolstoy is the greatest and only genius of modern Europe, the highest pride of Russia, a man whose one name is fragrance, a writer of great purity and holiness.
The world may not have known another artist in whom the eternally epic, Homeric element would have been as strong as Tolstoy. In his creations lives the element of the epic, its majestic monotony and rhythm, similar to the measured breath of the sea, its tart, powerful freshness, its burning spice, indestructible health, indestructible realism.
The sacred thought of a beautiful country lived in Tolstoy’s heart when he walked behind the plow, like a true Mikula Selyaninovich ancient Russian epic, and when he, like Boehme, made boots, he generally looked for an opportunity to touch all phases of labor. This sower tirelessly scattered the seeds of life, and they sank firmly into the consciousness of the Russian people. There are countless houses named after Tolstoy, Tolstoy museums, libraries and reading rooms named after him. And was it possible to imagine a better conclusion to Tolstoy’s work than his departure into the desert and death at a small railway stop? An amazing end for a great traveler! It was so unspeakable that all of Russia didn’t even believe it at first. I remember how Elena Ivanovna was the first to bring this news, repeating: “I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it! Something would definitely have gone away from Russia itself. It would be as if life would be limited.
Film adaptations
- "Resurrection"(English) Resurrection, 1909, UK). A 12-minute silent film based on the novel of the same name (filmed during the writer’s lifetime).
- "Anna Karenina"(1914, Russia). Silent film. Dir. - V. Gardin
- "War and Peace"(1915, Russia). Silent film. Dir. - Y. Protazanov, V. Gardin
- "Natasha Rostova"(1915, Russia). Silent film. Producer -
Count Leo Tolstoy, a classic of Russian and world literature, is called a master of psychologism, the creator of the epic novel genre, an original thinker and teacher of life. The works of this brilliant writer are Russia’s greatest asset.
In August 1828, a classic was born on the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Tula province Russian literature. Future author"War and Peace" became the fourth child in a family of eminent nobles. On his father's side, he belonged to the old family of Count Tolstoy, who served and. On the maternal side, Lev Nikolaevich is a descendant of the Ruriks. It is noteworthy that Leo Tolstoy also has a common ancestor - Admiral Ivan Mikhailovich Golovin.
Lev Nikolayevich’s mother, nee Princess Volkonskaya, died of childbirth fever after the birth of her daughter. At that time, Lev was not even two years old. Seven years later, the head of the family, Count Nikolai Tolstoy, died.
Caring for the children fell on the shoulders of the writer’s aunt, T. A. Ergolskaya. Later, the second aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Sacken, became the guardian of the orphaned children. After her death in 1840, the children moved to Kazan, to a new guardian - their father’s sister P. I. Yushkova. The aunt influenced her nephew, and the writer called his childhood in her house, which was considered the most cheerful and hospitable in the city, happy. Later, Leo Tolstoy described his impressions of life at the Yushkov estate in his story “Childhood.”
Silhouette and portrait of Leo Tolstoy's parents The classic received his primary education at home from German and French teachers. In 1843, Leo Tolstoy entered Kazan University, choosing the Faculty of Oriental Languages. Soon, due to low academic performance, he transferred to another faculty - law. But he did not succeed here either: after two years he left the university without receiving a degree.
Lev Nikolaevich returned to Yasnaya Polyana, wanting to establish relations with the peasants in a new way. The idea failed, but the young man regularly kept a diary, loved social entertainment and became interested in music. Tolstoy listened for hours, and...
Disappointed with the life of the landowner after spending the summer in the village, 20-year-old Leo Tolstoy left the estate and moved to Moscow, and from there to St. Petersburg. The young man rushed between preparing for candidate exams at the university, studying music, carousing with cards and gypsies, and dreams of becoming either an official or a cadet in a horse guards regiment. Relatives called Lev “the most trifling fellow,” and it took years to pay off the debts he incurred.
Literature
In 1851, the writer’s brother, officer Nikolai Tolstoy, persuaded Lev to go to the Caucasus. For three years Lev Nikolaevich lived in a village on the banks of the Terek. Nature of the Caucasus and patriarchal life Cossack village later appeared in the stories “Cossacks” and “Hadji Murat”, the stories “Raid” and “Cutting the Forest”.
In the Caucasus, Leo Tolstoy composed the story “Childhood,” which he published in the magazine “Sovremennik” under the initials L.N. Soon he wrote the sequels “Adolescence” and “Youth,” combining the stories into a trilogy. The literary debut turned out to be brilliant and brought Lev Nikolaevich his first recognition.
The creative biography of Leo Tolstoy is developing rapidly: an appointment to Bucharest, a transfer to besieged Sevastopol, and command of a battery enriched the writer with impressions. From the pen of Lev Nikolaevich came the series “Sevastopol Stories”. The works of the young writer amazed critics with their bold psychological analysis. Nikolai Chernyshevsky found in them a “dialectic of the soul,” and the emperor read the essay “Sevastopol in December” and expressed admiration for Tolstoy’s talent.
In the winter of 1855, 28-year-old Leo Tolstoy arrived in St. Petersburg and entered the Sovremennik circle, where he was warmly welcomed, calling him “the great hope of Russian literature.” But over the course of a year, I got tired of the writing environment with its disputes and conflicts, readings and literary dinners. Later in Confession Tolstoy admitted:
“These people disgusted me, and I disgusted myself.”
In the fall of 1856, the young writer went to the Yasnaya Polyana estate, and in January 1857 he went abroad. Leo Tolstoy traveled around Europe for six months. Visited Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland. He returned to Moscow, and from there to Yasnaya Polyana. On the family estate, he began arranging schools for peasant children. In the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana, with his participation, twenty educational institutions. In 1860, the writer traveled a lot: in Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium he studied pedagogical systems European countries to apply what we saw in Russia.
A special niche in the work of Leo Tolstoy is occupied by fairy tales and works for children and teenagers. The writer has created hundreds of works for young readers, including good and instructive fairy tales “Kitten”, “Two Brothers”, “Hedgehog and Hare”, “Lion and Dog”.
Leo Tolstoy wrote the school textbook “ABC” to teach children writing, reading and arithmetic. The literary and pedagogical work consists of four books. The writer included instructive stories, epics, fables, as well as methodological advice for teachers. The third book includes the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus.”
Leo Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina" In the 1870s, Leo Tolstoy, while continuing to teach peasant children, wrote the novel Anna Karenina, in which he contrasted the two storylines: family drama Karenins and the home idyll of the young landowner Levin, with whom he identified himself. The novel only at first glance seemed to be a love affair: the classic raised the problem of the meaning of existence of the “educated class”, contrasting it with the truth of peasant life. "Anna Karenina" was highly appreciated.
The turning point in the writer’s consciousness was reflected in the works written in the 1880s. Life-changing spiritual insight occupies a central place in the stories and stories. “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, “The Kreutzer Sonata”, “Father Sergius” and the story “After the Ball” appear. A classic of Russian literature paints pictures social inequality, castigates the idleness of the nobles.
In search of an answer to the question of the meaning of life, Leo Tolstoy turned to the Russian Orthodox Church, but even there he did not find satisfaction. The writer came to the conclusion that the Christian Church is corrupt, and under the guise of religion, priests are promoting false teaching. In 1883, Lev Nikolaevich founded the publication “Mediator,” where he outlined his spiritual beliefs and criticized the Russian Orthodox Church. For this, Tolstoy was excommunicated from the church, and the writer was monitored by the secret police.
In 1898, Leo Tolstoy wrote the novel Resurrection, which received favorable reviews from critics. But the success of the work was inferior to “Anna Karenina” and “War and Peace”.
For the last 30 years of his life, Leo Tolstoy, with his teachings on non-violent resistance to evil, was recognized as the spiritual and religious leader of Russia.
"War and Peace"
Leo Tolstoy disliked his novel War and Peace, calling the epic “wordy rubbish.” The classic writer wrote the work in the 1860s, while living with his family in Yasnaya Polyana. The first two chapters, entitled “1805,” were published by Russkiy Vestnik in 1865. Three years later, Leo Tolstoy wrote three more chapters and completed the novel, which caused heated controversy among critics.
Leo Tolstoy writes "War and Peace" The novelist took the features of the heroes of the work, written during the years of family happiness and spiritual elation, from life. In Princess Marya Bolkonskaya, the features of Lev Nikolaevich’s mother are recognizable, her penchant for reflection, brilliant education and love of art. The writer awarded Nikolai Rostov with his father’s traits - mockery, love of reading and hunting.
When writing the novel, Leo Tolstoy worked in the archives, studied the correspondence of Tolstoy and Volkonsky, Masonic manuscripts, and visited the Borodino field. His young wife helped him, copying his drafts out clean.
The novel was read avidly, striking readers with the breadth of its epic canvas and subtle psychological analysis. Leo Tolstoy characterized the work as an attempt to “write the history of the people.”
According to the calculations of literary critic Lev Anninsky, by the end of the 1970s, the works of the Russian classic were filmed 40 times abroad alone. Until 1980, the epic War and Peace was filmed four times. Directors from Europe, America and Russia have made 16 films based on the novel “Anna Karenina”, “Resurrection” has been filmed 22 times.
“War and Peace” was first filmed by director Pyotr Chardynin in 1913. The most famous film was made by a Soviet director in 1965.
Personal life
Leo Tolstoy married 18-year-old in 1862, when he was 34 years old. The count lived with his wife for 48 years, but the couple’s life can hardly be called cloudless.
Sofia Bers is the second of three daughters of the Moscow palace office doctor Andrei Bers. The family lived in the capital, but in the summer they vacationed on a Tula estate near Yasnaya Polyana. For the first time Leo Tolstoy saw his future wife as a child. Sophia was educated at home, read a lot, understood art, and graduated from Moscow University. The diary kept by Bers-Tolstaya is recognized as an example of the memoir genre.
At the beginning of his married life, Leo Tolstoy, wanting there to be no secrets between him and his wife, gave Sophia a diary to read. The shocked wife learned about her husband’s stormy youth, passion for gambling, wild life and the peasant girl Aksinya, who was expecting a child from Lev Nikolaevich.
The first-born Sergei was born in 1863. In the early 1860s, Tolstoy began writing the novel War and Peace. Sofya Andreevna helped her husband, despite her pregnancy. The woman taught and raised all the children at home. Five of the 13 children died in infancy or early childhood childhood.
Problems in the family began after Leo Tolstoy finished his work on Anna Karenina. The writer plunged into depression, expressed dissatisfaction with the life that Sofya Andreevna so diligently arranged in the family nest. The count's moral turmoil led to Lev Nikolayevich demanding that his relatives give up meat, alcohol and smoking. Tolstoy forced his wife and children to dress in peasant clothes, which he himself made, and wished to give the acquired property to the peasants.
Sofya Andreevna made considerable efforts to dissuade her husband from the idea of distributing goods. But the quarrel that occurred split the family: Leo Tolstoy left home. Upon returning, the writer entrusted the responsibility of rewriting drafts to his daughters.
Death last child– seven-year-old Vanya – brought the spouses closer together for a short time. But soon mutual grievances and misunderstandings alienated them completely. Sofya Andreevna found solace in music. In Moscow, a woman took lessons from a teacher for whom romantic feelings developed. Their relationship remained friendly, but the count did not forgive his wife for “half-betrayal.”
The couple's fatal quarrel occurred at the end of October 1910. Leo Tolstoy left home, leaving Sophia Farewell letter. He wrote that he loved her, but could not do otherwise.
Death
82-year-old Leo Tolstoy, accompanied by his personal doctor D.P. Makovitsky, left Yasnaya Polyana. On the way, the writer fell ill and got off the train. railway station Astapovo. Lev Nikolaevich spent the last 7 days of his life in the house stationmaster. The whole country followed the news about Tolstoy’s health.
The children and wife arrived at the Astapovo station, but Leo Tolstoy did not want to see anyone. The classic died on November 7, 1910: he died of pneumonia. His wife survived him by 9 years. Tolstoy was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.
Quotes by Leo Tolstoy
- Everyone wants to change humanity, but no one thinks about how to change themselves.
- Everything comes to those who know how to wait.
- All happy families are similar to each other, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
- Let everyone sweep in front of his own door. If everyone does this, the whole street will be clean.
- It's easier to live without love. But without it there is no point.
- I don't have everything I love. But I love everything I have.
- The world moves forward because of those who suffer.
- The greatest truths are the simplest.
- Everyone is making plans, and no one knows whether he will survive until the evening.
Bibliography
- 1869 – “War and Peace”
- 1877 – “Anna Karenina”
- 1899 – “Resurrection”
- 1852-1857 – “Childhood”. "Adolescence". "Youth"
- 1856 – “Two Hussars”
- 1856 – “Morning of the Landowner”
- 1863 – “Cossacks”
- 1886 – “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”
- 1903 – “Notes of a Madman”
- 1889 – “Kreutzer Sonata”
- 1898 – “Father Sergius”
- 1904 – “Hadji Murat”
Be one of best writers world history is an honorable right, and Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy deserved it, leaving behind a huge creative legacy. The stories, tales, novels, which are presented in a whole series of volumes, were appreciated not only by the writer’s contemporaries, but also by his descendants. What is the secret of this brilliant author, who was able to fit “” into his life?
The writer's childhood
Where was the future fiction writer born? Master of the pen was born in 1828 September 9 on his mother's estate Yasnaya Polyana, located in Tula province. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy's family was large. Father had count's title, and the mother was born Princess Volkonskaya. When he was two years old, his mother died, and 7 years later, his father died.
Lev was the fourth child in a noble family, so he was not deprived of the attention of his relatives. The literary genius never thought about his losses with heartache. On the contrary, only warm memories of his childhood were preserved, because his mother and father were very affectionate with him. In the work of the same name, the author idealizes his childhood years and writes that it was the most wonderful time of his life.
The little count received his education at home, where he was invited French and German teachers. After graduating from school, Lev was fluent in three languages and also had extensive knowledge in various fields. In addition, the young man was fond of musical creativity, could play works by his favorite composers for a long time: Schumann, Bach, Chopin and Mozart.
Early years
In 1843, the young man became student at the Imperial Kazan University, chooses the Faculty of Oriental Languages, however, later changes his specialty due to low academic performance and begins to study law. Unable to complete the course. The young count returns to his estate in order to become a real farmer.
But here, too, failure awaits him: frequent travel completely distracts the owner from the important affairs of the estate. Keeping your diary- the only activity that was done with amazing scrupulousness: a habit that lasted a lifetime and became the foundation of most future works.
Important! The unfortunate student did not remain inactive for long. Having allowed himself to be persuaded by his brother, he went to serve as a cadet in the south, after which, after spending some time in the Caucasus mountains, he received a transfer to Sevastopol. There, from November 1854 to August 1855, the young count participated in.
Early creativity
The rich experience gained on the battlefields, as well as in the era of the Junkers, pushed the future writer to create the first literary works. Even during his years of service as a cadet, having a lot of free time, the count begins to work on his first autobiographical story "Childhood".
Natural observation and a special flair were clearly reflected in the style: the author wrote about what was close and understandable not only to him. Life and creativity merge into one.
In the story “Childhood” every boy or young man would recognize himself. The story was originally a short story and was published in a magazine "Contemporary" in 1852. It is noteworthy that already the first story was excellently received by critics, and the young writer was compared to Turgenev, Ostrovsky and Goncharov, which was already a real recognition. All these masters of words were already quite famous and loved by the people.
What works did Leo Tolstoy write at that time?
The young count, feeling that he has finally found his calling, continues his work. From his pen one after another comes brilliant stories, novels that instantly become popular thanks to their originality and stunning realistic approach to reality: “Cossacks” (1852), “Adolescence” (1854), “Sevastopol Stories” (1854 – 1855), "Youth" (1857).
IN literary world rushes in quickly new writer Lev Tolstoy, which amazes the reader with detailed details, does not hide the truth and uses a new writing technique: the second collection "Sevastopol Stories" written from the point of view of the soldiers to bring the narrative even closer to the reader. The young author is not afraid to write openly and frankly about the horrors and contradictions of war. The characters are not heroes from paintings and paintings by artists, but ordinary people who are capable of performing real feats to save the lives of others.
Belong to anything literary movement or to be a supporter of a particular philosophical school, Lev Nikolaevich refused, declaring himself anarchist. Later, the master of words, in the course of a religious search, would take the right path, but for now the whole world lay before the young, successful genius, and he did not want to be one of many.
Family status
Tolstoy returns to Russia, where he lived and was born, after a riotous trip to Paris without a single penny in his pocket. took place here marriage to Sofya Andreevna Bers, daughter of a doctor. This woman was main companion in life Tolstoy, became his support until the very end.
Sophia expressed her readiness to be a secretary, wife, mother of his children, girlfriend and even a cleaner, although the estate, for which servants were commonplace, was always kept in exemplary order.
The title of count constantly obliged household members to maintain a certain status. Over time, the husband and wife diverged in religious views: Sophia did not understand and did not accept the attempts of her loved one to create her own philosophical creed and follow it.
Attention! Only eldest daughter writer Alexandra supported her father’s endeavors: in 1910 they made a pilgrimage trip together. The other children adored Dad as a great storyteller, albeit a rather strict parent.
According to the recollections of descendants, the father could scold the little dirty trickster, but after a moment he would sit him on his lap and feel sorry for him, making up an amusing story as he went. In the literary arsenal of the famous realist there are many children's works recommended for study in preschool and junior high schools. school age- This “Book to read” and “ABC”. The first work contains stories by L.N. Tolstoy for the 4th grade of the school, which was organized on the Yasnaya Polyana estate.
How many children did Lev and Sophia have? A total of 13 children were born, three of whom died in infancy.
Maturity and creative flowering of a writer
From the age of thirty-two, Tolstoy began work on his main work - the epic novel. The first part was published in 1865 in the magazine "Russian Messenger", and in 1869 the final edition of the epic was published. Most of the 1860s were devoted to this monumental work, which the count repeatedly rewrote, corrected, supplemented, and at the end of his life he was so tired of it that he called “War and Peace” “long-winded rubbish.” The novel was written in Yasnaya Polyana.
The work, four volumes long, turned out to be truly unique. What advantages does it have? This is first of all:
- historical veracity;
- the action in the novel of both realistic and fictional characters, the number of which exceeded a thousand according to philologists;
- interspersing into the outline of the plot three historical essays on the laws of history; accuracy in describing life and everyday life.
This is the basis of the novel - a person’s path, his position and the meaning of life are formed precisely from these everyday actions.
After the success of the military-historical epic, the author begins to work on a novel "Anna Karenina", taking much from his autobiography as a basis. In particular, the relationship between Kitty and Levina- these are partial memories of the life of the author himself with his wife Sophia, a kind of short biography of the writer, as well as a reflection of the outline of real events of the Russian-Turkish war.
The novel was published in 1875 - 1877, and almost immediately became the most discussed literary event of that time. Anna's story, written with amazing warmth and attention to female psychology, created a sensation. Before him, only Ostrovsky in his poems addressed female soul And revealed the rich inner world the beautiful half of humanity. Naturally, high fees for the work were not long in coming, because every educated person had read Tolstoy’s Karenina. After the release of this rather secular novel, the author was not at all happy, but was in constant mental torment.
Change of worldview and later literary successes
Many years of life were devoted searching for the meaning of life, which led the writer to the Orthodox faith, however, this step only confuses the count. Lev Nikolaevich sees corruption in the church diaspora, complete subordination to personal convictions, which does not correspond to the doctrine that his soul longed for.
Attention! Leo Tolstoy becomes an apostate and even publishes an accusatory magazine “Mediator” (1883), because of which he is excommunicated from the church and accused of “heresy.”
However, Leo does not stop there and tries to follow the path of purification, taking quite bold steps. For example, gives away all his property to the poor, which Sofya Andreevna categorically opposed. The husband reluctantly transferred all the property to her and gave away the copyrights to the works, but still did not give up the search for his destiny.
This period of creativity is characterized huge religious upsurge– treatises and moral stories are created. What works with religious overtones did the author write? Among the most successful work between 1880 and 1990 there were:
- the story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (1886), which describes a man near death who is trying to understand and comprehend his “empty” life;
- the story “Father Sergius” (1898), aimed at criticizing his own religious quests;
- the novel “Resurrection”, which tells about the moral pain of Katyusha Maslova and the ways of her moral purification.
Completion of life's journey
Having written many works during his life, the count appeared to his contemporaries and descendants as a strong religious leader and spiritual mentor, such as Mahatma Gandhi, with whom he corresponded. The writer’s life and work are permeated by the idea of what is necessary resist evil every hour with all the strength of your soul, while demonstrating humility and saving thousands of lives. The master of words became a real teacher among lost souls. Entire pilgrimage trips were organized to the Yasnaya Polyana estate; students of the great Tolstoy came to “get to know themselves,” spending hours on end listening to their ideological guru, whom the writer became in his declining years.
The author-mentor accepted everyone who came with problems, questions and aspirations of the soul, and was ready to give away his savings and shelter wanderers for any period of time. Unfortunately, this increased the degree of tension in relations with his wife Sophia and, in the end, resulted in the great realist's reluctance to live in his own house. Together with his daughter, Lev Nikolaevich went on a pilgrimage around Russia, wanting to travel incognito, but often this was to no avail - they were recognized everywhere.
Where did Lev Nikolaevich die? November 1910 was fatal for the writer: already sick, he stayed in the house of the head of the railway station, where he died on November 20. Lev Nikolaevich was a real idol. During the funeral of this truly national writer, according to the recollections of contemporaries, people cried bitterly and followed the coffin in a crowd of thousands. There were so many people as if they were burying a king.
Brief biography of L. N. Tolstoy
Lev Tolstoy. Short biography.
Conclusion
The story about the life and work of Leo Tolstoy can be continued endlessly; many monographs have been written about this. The writer's novels still remain the standard literary art, and the military epic "War and Peace" was included in the golden collection of the world's greatest works. Lev Nikolaevich became the first writer who drew attention to the depths of the human subconscious, unconscious and subtle motives of character, as well as the great role of everyday life, which determines the entire essence of the individual.
Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in the Tula province (Russia) into a family belonging to the noble class. In the 1860s, he wrote his first great novel, War and Peace. In 1873, Tolstoy began work on the second of his most famous books, Anna Karenina.
He continued to write fiction throughout the 1880s and 1890s. One of his most successful later works is “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.” Tolstoy died on November 20, 1910 in Astapovo, Russia.
First years of life
On September 9, 1828, the future writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born in Yasnaya Polyana (Tula province, Russia). He was the fourth child in a large noble family. In 1830, when Tolstoy's mother, née Princess Volkonskaya, died, his father's cousin took over the care of the children. Their father, Count Nikolai Tolstoy, died seven years later, and their aunt was appointed guardian. After the death of his aunt, Leo Tolstoy, his brothers and sisters moved to their second aunt in Kazan. Although Tolstoy experienced many losses in early age, he later idealized his childhood memories in his work.
It is important to note that elementary education in Tolstoy's biography, he received lessons at home from French and German teachers. In 1843 he entered the Faculty of Oriental Languages at the Imperial Kazan University. Tolstoy failed to succeed in his studies - low grades forced him to transfer to an easier law faculty. Further difficulties in his studies led Tolstoy to eventually leave the Imperial Kazan University in 1847 without a degree. He returned to his parents' estate, where he planned to start farming. However, this endeavor also ended in failure - he was absent too often, leaving for Tula and Moscow. What he really excelled at was keeping his own diary - it was this lifelong habit that inspired much of Leo Tolstoy's writing.
Tolstoy was fond of music; his favorite composers were Schumann, Bach, Chopin, Mozart, and Mendelssohn. Lev Nikolaevich could play their works for several hours a day.
One day, Tolstoy’s elder brother, Nikolai, during his army leave, came to visit Lev, and convinced his brother to join the army as a cadet in the south, in the Caucasus mountains, where he served. After serving as a cadet, Leo Tolstoy was transferred to Sevastopol in November 1854, where he fought in the Crimean War until August 1855.
Early publications
During his years as a cadet in the army, Tolstoy had a lot of free time. During quiet periods, he worked on an autobiographical story called Childhood. In it, he wrote about his favorite childhood memories. In 1852, Tolstoy sent a story to Sovremennik, the most popular magazine of the time. The story was happily accepted, and it became Tolstoy's first publication. From that time on, critics put him on a par with already famous writers, among whom were Ivan Turgenev (with whom Tolstoy became friends), Ivan Goncharov, Alexander Ostrovsky and others.
After completing his story “Childhood,” Tolstoy began writing about his daily life at an army outpost in the Caucasus. The work “Cossacks”, which he began during his army years, was completed only in 1862, after he had already left the army.
Surprisingly, Tolstoy managed to continue writing while actively fighting in the Crimean War. During this time he wrote Boyhood (1854), a sequel to Childhood, the second book in Tolstoy's autobiographical trilogy. At the height of the Crimean War, Tolstoy expressed his views on the startling contradictions of the war through a trilogy of works, Sevastopol Tales. In the second book of Sevastopol Stories, Tolstoy experimented with a relatively new technique: part of the story is presented as a narration from the point of view of a soldier.
After the end of the Crimean War, Tolstoy left the army and returned to Russia. Arriving home, the author enjoyed great popularity on the literary scene of St. Petersburg.
Stubborn and arrogant, Tolstoy refused to belong to any particular school of philosophy. Declaring himself an anarchist, he left for Paris in 1857. Once there, he lost all his money and was forced to return home to Russia. He also managed to publish Youth, the third part of an autobiographical trilogy, in 1857.
Returning to Russia in 1862, Tolstoy published the first of 12 issues of the thematic magazine Yasnaya Polyana. That same year he married the daughter of a doctor named Sofya Andreevna Bers.
Major Novels
Living in Yasnaya Polyana with his wife and children, Tolstoy spent much of the 1860s working on his first famous novel"War and Peace". Part of the novel was first published in “Russian Bulletin” in 1865 under the title “1805”. By 1868 he had published three more chapters. A year later, the novel was completely finished. Both critics and the public debated the historical accuracy of the novel's Napoleonic Wars, coupled with the development of the stories of its thoughtful and realistic, yet still fictional, characters. The novel is also unique in that it includes three long satirical essays on the laws of history. Among the ideas that Tolstoy also tries to convey in this novel is the belief that a person’s position in society and the meaning of human life are mainly derived from his daily activities.
After the success of War and Peace in 1873, Tolstoy began work on the second of his most famous books, Anna Karenina. It was partly based on real events during the war between Russia and Turkey. Like War and Peace, this book describes some of the biographical events in Tolstoy's own life, most notably in the romantic relationship between the characters Kitty and Levin, which is said to be reminiscent of Tolstoy's courtship with his own wife.
The first lines of the book “Anna Karenina” are among the most famous: “All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Anna Karenina was published in installments from 1873 to 1877, and was highly acclaimed by the public. The royalties received for the novel quickly enriched the writer.
Conversion
Despite the success of Anna Karenina, after the completion of the novel Tolstoy experienced spiritual crisis and was depressed. The next stage of Leo Tolstoy's biography is characterized by the search for the meaning of life. The writer first turned to the Russian Orthodox Church, but did not find answers to his questions there. He concluded that Christian churches were corrupt and, instead of organized religion, promoted their own beliefs. He decided to express these beliefs by founding a new publication in 1883 called The Mediator.
As a result, for his unconventional and controversial spiritual beliefs, Tolstoy was excommunicated from the Russian Orthodox Church. He was even watched by the secret police. When Tolstoy, driven by his new conviction, wanted to give away all his money and give up everything unnecessary, his wife was categorically against this. Not wanting to escalate the situation, Tolstoy reluctantly agreed to a compromise: he transferred the copyright and, apparently, all royalties on his work until 1881 to his wife.
Late fiction
In addition to his religious treatises, Tolstoy continued to write fiction throughout the 1880s and 1890s. The genres of his later work included morality tales and realistic fiction. One of the most successful of his later works was the story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” written in 1886. The main character tries his best to fight the death hanging over him. In short, Ivan Ilyich is horrified by the realization that he wasted his life on trifles, but the realization of this comes to him too late.
In 1898, Tolstoy wrote the story “Father Sergius”, piece of art, in which he criticizes the beliefs he developed after his spiritual transformation. The following year he wrote his third voluminous novel, Resurrection. Got the job good feedback, but it is unlikely that this success corresponded to the level of recognition of his previous novels. Other late works Tolstoy are essays about art, this satirical play entitled “The Living Corpse,” written in 1890, and a story called “Hadji Murat” (1904), which was discovered and published after his death. In 1903 Tolstoy wrote short story“After the Ball,” which was first published after his death, in 1911.
Old age
During it later years, Tolstoy reaped the benefits of international recognition. However, he still struggled to reconcile his spiritual beliefs with the tensions he created in his family life. His wife not only did not agree with his teachings, she did not approve of his students, who regularly visited Tolstoy on the family estate. In an effort to avoid his wife's growing discontent, Tolstoy and his youngest daughter Alexandra went on pilgrimage in October 1910. Alexandra was the doctor for her elderly father during the trip. Trying not to expose their private lives, they traveled incognito, hoping to evade unnecessary questions, but sometimes this was to no avail.
Death and legacy
Unfortunately, the pilgrimage proved too onerous for the aging writer. In November 1910, the head of the small Astapovo railway station opened the doors of his house to Tolstoy so that the ailing writer could rest. Shortly after this, on November 20, 1910, Tolstoy died. He was buried in the family estate, Yasnaya Polyana, where Tolstoy lost so many people close to him.
To this day, Tolstoy's novels are considered one of the best achievements of literary art. “War and Peace” is often cited as greatest novel ever written. In the modern scientific community, Tolstoy is widely recognized as having a gift for describing the unconscious motives of character, the subtlety of which he championed by emphasizing the role of everyday actions in determining the character and goals of people.
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