1. Brief biographical information.
2. Trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”, the formation of a typical Tolstoy hero.
3. The history of the appearance of the novel “War and Peace”.
4. The tragedy of the main character of the novel “Anna Karenina”.
5. A turning point in the life of L. N. Tolstoy.
The great Russian writer L.N. Tolstoy was born on August 28 (September 9), 1828 in the Yasnaya Polyana estate of the Krapivinsky district of the Tula province into a noble family. Tolstoy lost his parents very early, and his distant relative T. A. Ergolskaya took up his upbringing. She was a person of strong, decisive character and at the same time a soft and loving person.
According to the memoirs of the writer himself, his childhood was a cloudless and happy irrevocable time. In his childhood, L.N. Tolstoy was surrounded by very good and loving people. Years passed, but everything that was connected with these people, memories, sensations and impressions remained forever in the writer’s heart. L.N. Tolstoy was equally sensitive to the wonderful nature that surrounded him in childhood. Yasnaya Polyana is not just the place where L.N. Tolstoy was born, but also where he spent the best years of his life, where many works were written. It was here that the writer received inspiration and material for his work.
In 1844, L.N. Tolstoy entered Kazan University, first to the Faculty of Philosophy, and then transferred to Law. In 1851, L.N. Tolstoy left for the Caucasus. Inspired by the Caucasian temperament of people and the beauty of nature, the writer creates an autobiographical story “Cossacks” (1852-1963), where the main character is an ordinary person who is looking for a way out in his life and finds it in unity with nature. Also, all these impressions were reflected in the stories “Cutting Wood” (1855), “Raid” (1853).
It was in the Caucasus that L. N. Tolstoy began work on the story “Childhood”, which became the beginning for the creation of the trilogy “Childhood” (1852), “Adolescence” (1852-1854), “Youth” (1855-1857, the story is not finished) . Most of the childhood memories were reflected by the writer in the first story. The main character of “Childhood” Nikolenko Irtenyev is a child whose interests do not go beyond the family; he is characterized by childishness, carelessness and cheerfulness. “Adolescence” is a time of awakening and understanding how complex life is. At this age, a person has a desire to understand not only the events that happen around him, but also the people around him. An attempt to know everything and everyone begins to prevail in a person. “Youth” during this period of life, a person first thinks about the question of the meaning of life, and develops his own worldview on the world around him. Thus, it is clear that the hero of the trilogy is growing, his character and attitude towards the world around him and towards people are gradually being formed.
The significance of this trilogy is very great in the history of L. N. Tolstoy’s work. This is where the same one begins to appear Tolstoy's hero- a person seeking the truth, lover of truth, observant and possessing a vision of life not only through the prism of cold reason, but also through the heart itself and love. This is a highly moral person who sometimes made mistakes, but still strived to become better and fairer.
The following work created by L. N. Tolstoy is one of greatest novels Russian literature. In October 1863, the writer stated: “I have never felt my mental and even all my moral powers so free and so capable of work. And I have this job. This work is a novel from the time of 1810 and 20s, which has been occupying me since the fall...” This statement is the first mention of the creation famous novel L. N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”. Reading the novel “War and Peace”, you are amazed by its wide coverage of events - more than fifteen years of life are described in the work. More than six hundred characters are involved in the novel. Before starting to write this novel, L. N. Tolstoy studied a huge amount of materials from the times Patriotic War 1812. I read many newspapers and magazines of those years, where I made important notes. These newspapers are still kept in libraries to this day. The book itself is like a kind of historical document, consisting of many documents, letters, and memories of real people. The writer himself spoke about his book “War and Peace” in the following way: “...When I write historical things, I like to be faithful to reality down to the smallest detail.” Main problem The novel "War and Peace" is a question of what place a person occupies in society, what is the meaning of his existence. Each individual strives to contribute to a single cause - the defense of their homeland and the preservation of its freedom from “ruler-administrators”. People act not as they are ordered from above, but according to their inner convictions. The main idea of the novel is “folk thought.” L.N. Tolstoy tried to write precisely the history of the people, to reveal their entire national character. And he managed to show all the strength and power of the Russian man. Reading this novel by L.N. Tolstoy, it becomes clear that it is the people who are the main creator and engine of history.
In the 1870s, the writer lives in Yasnaya Polyana and is already working on a new novel. This is the only novel of all the others written by L. N. Tolstov, which was named after the main character - “Anna Karenina” (1873-1877). The main theme of the work concerns family, although in essence it can hardly be called a family or family novel. This novel raised many important questions about Russian life at that time. Subsequently, the public began to call the novel “Anna Karenina” social novel. The entire life of that society was built on the model of contrasting two storylines. On the one hand, this family drama the main character, and on the other - the idyll and tranquility of the home life of the landowner Konstantin Levin. Anna represents a loving, kind person who lives according to the dictates of her heart. Levin is a man of mind, thinking about the eternal questions of existence. But he sincerely sympathizes with the main character. Anna does not want to measure up to the hypocrisy around her. For the sake of love, the main character sacrifices everything: society, family, son, peace of mind. She challenged the environment in which she was raised - a protest against the law and secular morality. In the end, Anna experiences terrible disappointment both in love and in life. All this leads to tragedy.
In the 80s, a major turning point occurred in the worldview of the writer himself. All this is reflected in the experiences of his heroes (the story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (1884-1886), “Father Sergius” (1890-1898, published in 1912), the drama “The Living Corpse” (1900, published in 1911), in the story “ After the Ball" (1903, published in 1911). L. N. Tolstoy describes it in his works. social inequality layers of the population: how the poor beg and how the rich always celebrate. The writer speaks sharply and criticizes state institutions, even to the point of misunderstanding the existence of science, the court, the institution of marriage and various achievements. L. N. Tolstoy showed a new understanding of existence in the articles “On the Census in Moscow” (1882), “So what should we do?” (1906) and in “Confession” (1906).
In 1910, 82-year-old L.N. Tolstoy, secretly from his family, left Yasnaya Polyana. But the road for the writer turned out to be too long and difficult. On the way, Tolstoy fell ill and got off at the Astapovo station, and seven days later the writer died.
The main goal of L. N. Tolstoy’s entire creative life is not to solve any theoretical issues, but to strive to make readers cry and laugh, to love life itself.
Russian writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, the fourth child in a wealthy aristocratic family. Tolstoy lost his parents early; his further upbringing was carried out by his distant relative T. A. Ergolskaya. In 1844, Tolstoy entered Kazan University at the Department of Oriental Languages of the Faculty of Philosophy, but because... classes did not arouse any interest in him, in 1847. submitted his resignation from the university. At the age of 23, Tolstoy, together with his older brother Nikolai, left for the Caucasus, where he took part in hostilities. These years of the writer's life were reflected in the autobiographical story "Cossacks" (1852-63), in the stories "Raid" (1853), "Cutting Wood" (1855), as well as in the later story "Hadji Murat" (1896-1904, published in 1912). In the Caucasus, Tolstoy began to write the trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”.
During Crimean War went to Sevastopol, where he continued to fight. After the end of the war, he left for St. Petersburg and immediately joined the Sovremennik circle (N. A. Nekrasov, I. S. Turgenev, A. N. Ostrovsky, I. A. Goncharov, etc.), where he was greeted as " the great hope of Russian literature" (Nekrasov), published "Sevastopol Stories", which clearly reflected his outstanding writing talent. In 1857, Tolstoy went on a trip to Europe, which he was later disappointed with.
In the fall of 1856, Tolstoy, having retired, decided to interrupt his literary activity and become a landowner, went to Yasnaya Polyana, where he studied educational work, opened a school, created his own pedagogy system. This activity fascinated Tolstoy so much that in 1860 he even went abroad to get acquainted with the schools of Europe.
In September 1862, Tolstoy married the eighteen-year-old daughter of a doctor, Sofya Andreevna Bers, and immediately after the wedding, he took his wife from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana, where he devoted himself completely to family life and economic concerns, but by the autumn of 1863 he was captured by a new literary idea, as a result of which the fundamental work “War and Peace” was born. In 1873-1877 created the novel Anna Karenina. During these same years, the writer’s worldview, known as Tolstoyism, was fully formed, the essence of which is visible in the works: “Confession”, “What is my faith?”, “The Kreutzer Sonata”.
Admirers of the writer’s work came to Yasnaya Polyana from all over Russia and the world, whom they treated as a spiritual mentor. In 1899, the novel “Resurrection” was published.
The writer’s latest works were the stories “Father Sergius”, “After the Ball”, “ Posthumous notes Elder Fyodor Kuzmich" and the drama "The Living Corpse".
In the late autumn of 1910, at night, secretly from his family, 82-year-old Tolstoy, accompanied only by his personal doctor D.P. Makovitsky, left Yasnaya Polyana, fell ill on the road and was forced to get off the train at the small Astapovo railway station of the Ryazan-Ural Railway. Here, in the house of the station chief, he spent the last seven days of his life. November 7 (20) Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy died.
Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a writer of multifaceted and brilliant talent. He created novels about the present and historical past of our Motherland, stories and plays, scripts and political pamphlets, autobiographical story and fairy tales for children.
A. N. Tolstoy was born in the city of Nikolaevsk, Samara province - now the city of Pugachev, Saratov region. He grew up in the wild life of the bankrupt Trans-Volga landowners. The writer colorfully depicted this life in his stories and novels written in 1909–1912. (“Mishuka Nalymov”, “Weirdos”, “The Lame Master”, etc.).
Great October socialist revolution Tolstoy did not accept it right away. He emigrated abroad.
“Life in exile was the most difficult period of my life,” Tolstoy later wrote in his autobiography. “There I understood what it means to be a guy, a person, cut off from his homeland, weightless, barren, not needed by anyone under any circumstances.”
Homesickness evoked in the writer's memory childhood memories, paintings native nature. This is how the autobiographical story “Nikita’s Childhood” (1919) appeared, in which one can feel how deeply and sincerely Tolstoy loved his homeland, how he yearned away from it. The story tells about the writer’s childhood, beautifully depicting pictures of Russian nature, Russian life, and images of Russian people.
In Paris, Tolstoy wrote the science fiction novel Aelita.
Returning to his homeland in 1923, Tolstoy wrote: “I became a participant in a new life on earth. I see the tasks of the era." The writer creates stories about Soviet reality (“Black Friday”, “Mirage”, “Union of Five”), a science fiction novel “Engineer Garin’s Hyperboloid”, a trilogy “Walking in Torment” and a historical novel “Peter I”.
Tolstoy worked on the trilogy “Walking Through Torment” (“Sisters”, “The Eighteenth Year”, “Gloomy Morning”) for about 22 years. The writer defined its theme as follows: “This is the lost and returned Motherland.” Tolstoy talks about the life of Russia during the period of revolution and civil war, about the difficult path to the people of Russian intellectuals Katya, Dasha, Telegin and Roshchin. The revolution helps the heroes of the trilogy determine their place in the national struggle for socialism and find personal happiness. The reader leaves them at the end civil war. Begins new stage in the life of the country. The victorious people begin to build socialism. But, saying goodbye to his regiment, the heroes of the novel Telegin says: “I warn you - there is still a lot of work ahead, the enemy has not yet been broken, and it is not enough to break him, he must be destroyed... This war is such that it must be won, it cannot be won cannot win... On a stormy, gloomy morning we went out into battle for a bright day, but our enemies want a dark robber night. And the day will rise, even if you burst out of frustration...”
The Russian people appear in the epic as the creators of history. Under the leadership of the Communist Party, he fights for freedom and justice. In the images of representatives of the people - Ivan Gora, Agrippina, Baltic sailors - Tolstoy reflects fortitude, courage, purity of feelings, devotion to the Motherland Soviet people. With a big artistic power the writer managed to capture the image of Lenin in the trilogy, to show the depth of thoughts of the leader of the revolution, his determination, energy, modesty and simplicity.
Tolstoy wrote: “To understand the secret of the Russian people, their greatness, you need to know their past well and deeply: our history, its fundamental nodes, the tragic and creative eras in which the Russian character was born.”
One of these eras was the era of Peter the Great. A. Tolstoy addressed her in the novel “Peter I” (the first book – 1929–1930, the second book – 1933–1934). This is a novel not only about the great transformer Peter I, but also about the fate of the Russian nation in one of the “tragic and creative” periods of its history. The writer truthfully talks about the most important events of Peter's era: the Streltsy revolt, the Crimean campaigns of Prince Golitsyn, Peter's struggle for Azov, Peter's travels abroad, his transformative activities, the war between Russia and the Swedes, the creation of the Russian fleet and new army, about the founding of St. Petersburg, etc. Along with all this, Tolstoy shows the life of the most diverse segments of the population of Russia, the life of the masses.
When creating the novel, Tolstoy used a huge amount of material - historical research, notes and letters from Peter’s contemporaries, military reports, court archives. “Peter I” is one of the best Soviet historical novels; it helps to understand the essence of a distant era, fosters love for the Motherland and legitimate pride in its past.
For children younger age Tolstoy wrote the fairy tale “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio.” Based on the material of the fairy tale, he made a film script and a play for the children's theater.
During the Great Patriotic War, A. Tolstoy talked about the strength and heroism of the Soviet people in the fight against the enemies of the Motherland. His articles and essays: “Motherland”, “Blood of the People”, “Moscow is Threatened by an Enemy”, the story “Russian Character” and others - inspired the Soviet people to new exploits.
During the war years, A. Tolstoy also created the dramatic story “Ivan the Terrible,” consisting of two plays: “The Eagle and the Eaglet” (1941–1942) and “Difficult Years” (1943).
A wonderful writer was also outstanding public figure. He was repeatedly elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Patriotic writer and humanist, artist of a wide creative range, master of the perfect literary form Having mastered all the riches of the Russian language, Tolstoy went through a difficult creative path and took a prominent place in Russian Soviet literature.
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Born on 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 a new stage in Russian and world realism, acting as a bridge between the classic novel of the 19th century and the 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", 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?" etc..
Came from noble family Tolstoy, 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.
A participant in the foreign campaign of the Russian army against, including participating in the “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig and was captured by the French, but was able to escape, 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. 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 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, she always said that she would like nothing more for me than for me to have a relationship with a married woman».
Lev Nikolaevich wanted to shine in society, but his natural shyness and lack of external attractiveness. The most varied, 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 compulsory “Turkish-Tatar language” 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 he managed to follow only a small part of them. Among the successful ones are serious studies English, music, 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, Lev Nikolaevich first developed a hobby in the winter of 1848-1849 card game . 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. Taneev, who made a musical notation of this piece of music(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 significant and positive influence 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. He soon decided to enlist in military service, but for this he lacked the necessary documents left in Moscow, while waiting for 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 as a cadet in the 4th battery of the 20th artillery brigade, stationed in Cossack village Starogladovskaya on the banks of the Terek, near Kizlyar. With some changes in details, she is depicted in the story “Cossacks”. The story reproduces the picture inner life 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 of the 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.” Subsequently, he was awarded two medals “In memory of the 50th anniversary of the defense of Sevastopol”: a silver one as a participant in the defense of Sevastopol and a bronze medal as the author of “Sevastopol Stories”.
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, like 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. He expressed his disappointment in the European way of 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 veneer of 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”.
Last novel was published by him in the “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 maturing.
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 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. 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 literary life Tolstoy’s works are 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 of a psychological novel with the scope and diversity of an epic fresco. The writer, according to V. Ya. Lakshin, turned “to a special state 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 belief 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. Sharp criticism of church rituals in this work became one of the reasons for the excommunication of Tolstoy by the Holy Synod from the 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 popular reading (“How People Live,” etc.), Tolstoy, in the opinion of his unconditional admirers, reached the pinnacle of artistic power. At the same time, according to people who reproach Tolstoy for turning from an artist into a preacher, these artistic teachings, written for a specific purpose, were grossly tendentious.
High and terrible truth“The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” according to fans, which puts this work on a par with the main works of Tolstoy’s genius, according to others, is deliberately harsh, it sharply emphasizes callousness upper strata society to show the moral superiority of the simple “kitchen man” Gerasim. “The Kreutzer Sonata” (written in 1887-1889, published in 1890) also aroused opposite reviews - the analysis of marital relations made us 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 folk drama“The Power of Darkness,” according to Tolstoy’s admirers, became a great manifestation of his artistic power: within the tight framework of the ethnographic reproduction of Russian peasant life Tolstoy managed to contain so many universal human traits that the drama went around all the stages of the world with tremendous success.
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 a huge number 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. Yours last trip he started at Shchyokino 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 who accompanied 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 about his state of health and the state of affairs. railways. 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, this was the first public funeral in Russia. famous person, which were 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:
Lev Nikolaevich with teenage years was acquainted with Lyubov Alexandrovna Islavina, married Bers (1826-1886), loved to play with her children Lisa, Sonya and Tanya. When the Bersov daughters grew up, Lev Nikolaevich thought about marrying eldest daughter Lise, 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 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. According to her mother, Varya was sister Ivan Turgenev, and on his 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 Russo-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, to embellish it, without fear of either spiritual or temporal power, reinforcing 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.”
A 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.
In 1828, on August 26, in the Yasnaya Polyana estate, the future great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was born. The family was well-born - his ancestor was a noble nobleman who received the title of count for his services to Tsar Peter. The mother was from the ancient noble family of the Volkonskys. Belonging to a privileged layer of society influenced the behavior and thoughts of the writer throughout his life. A brief biography of Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich does not fully reveal the entire history of the ancient family.
Serene life in Yasnaya Polyana
The writer's childhood was quite prosperous, despite the fact that he lost his mother early. Thanks to family stories, he preserved her bright image in his memory. A short biography of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy indicates that his father was the embodiment of beauty and strength for the writer. He instilled in the boy a love of hound hunting, which was later described in detail in the novel War and Peace.
He also had a close relationship with his older brother Nikolenka - he taught little Levushka various games and told him interesting stories. Tolstoy's first story, “Childhood,” contains many autobiographical memories of the writer’s childhood years.
Youth
A serene, joyful stay in Yasnaya Polyana was interrupted due to the death of his father. In 1837, the family was taken under the care of an aunt. In this city, according to a short biography of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, the writer spent his youth. Here he entered the university in 1844 - first at the Faculty of Philosophy and then at the Faculty of Law. True, studies attracted him little; the student preferred various amusements and revelries.
In this biography of Tolstoy, Lev Nikolaevich characterizes him as a person who disdainfully treated people of the lower, non-aristocratic class. He denied history as a science - in his eyes it had no practical use. The writer retained the sharpness of his judgments throughout his life.
As a landowner
In 1847, without graduating from university, Tolstoy decides to return to Yasnaya Polyana and try to improve the life of his serfs. Reality sharply diverged from the writer’s ideas. The peasants did not understand the master’s intentions, and a short biography of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy describes his management experience as unsuccessful (the writer shared it in his story “The Morning of the Landowner”), as a result of which he leaves his estate.
The path to becoming a writer
The next few years spent in St. Petersburg and Moscow were not in vain for the future great prose writer. From 1847 to 1852, diaries were kept in which Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy carefully verified all his thoughts and reflections. A short biography tells that during his service in the Caucasus, work was being carried out in parallel on the story “Childhood”, which will be published a little later in the magazine “Sovremennik”. This marked the beginning of further creative path great Russian writer.
Ahead of the writer lies the creation of his great works "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina", but for now he is honing his style, publishing in Sovremennik and basking in favorable reviews from critics.
Later years of creativity
In 1855, Tolstoy came to St. Petersburg for a short time, but literally a couple of months later he left it and settled in Yasnaya Polyana, opening a school there for peasant children. In 1862 he married Sophia Bers and was very happy in the first years.
In 1863-1869, the novel “War and Peace” was written and revised, which bore little resemblance to the classic version. It lacks traditional key elements of the time. Or rather, they are present, but are not key.
1877 - Tolstoy completed the novel Anna Karenina, in which the technique of internal monologue is repeatedly used.
Since the second half of the 60s, Tolstoy has been going through an experience that was only overcome at the turn of the 1870s and 80s by completely rethinking his previous life. Then Tolstoy appears - his wife categorically did not accept his new views. The ideas of the late Tolstoy are similar to socialist teachings, the only difference being that he was an opponent of the revolution.
In 1896-1904, Tolstoy completed the story, which was published after his death, which occurred in November 1910 at the Astapovo station on the Ryazan-Ural road.