Tolstoy was a representative of the highest noble circle of Russia, a count. Until the 80s, he led a completely aristocratic lifestyle, believing that a person of his circle should strive to increase wealth. This is exactly how he initially raised his wife of semi-noble origin, S.A. Bers, who was 16 years younger than her husband. At the same time, he always despised immoral people and actively sympathized with powerless peasants. So, back in the late 50s, he opened a school for peasant children in Yasnaya Polyana and taught there himself, helping those in need financially.
The entire ideological position of the writer, both before and after the turning point in his consciousness that occurred in the 80s, was built on the denial of violence, “non-resistance to evil through violence.” However, it is well known that Tolstoy always decisively exposed evil both in his actions and in his articles and works. He believed that the world would change for the better when every person engaged in self-improvement based on doing good to other people. Therefore, it would be more correct to call Tolstoy’s formula “resistance to evil with good.”
The essence of the turning point in Tolstoy’s worldview in the 80s lies in the rejection of lordly life and an attempt to transition to the positions and lifestyle of the patriarchal Russian peasantry. The writer considered various kinds of self-restraint, including vegetarianism, simplification of life, recognition of the need for everyday life, as necessary attributes of such changes. physical labor, including agricultural, assistance to the poor and almost complete renunciation of property. The latter circumstance hit hardest of all on his large family, to which he himself had instilled completely different habits in past times.
Towards the end of the century, Tolstoy delved deeper into the essence of the Gospel and, seeing the enormous gap between the teachings of Christ and official Orthodoxy, renounced the official church. His position was the need for every Christian to search for God within himself, and not in the official church. In addition, his views at this time were influenced by Buddhist philosophy and religion.
Being himself a thinker, philosopher, rationalist, prone to all kinds of schemes and classifications, he at the same time believed that a person should live exclusively with his heart, and not with his mind. That is why his favorite heroes always seek naturalness, live by feelings rather than by reason, or come to this as a result of long spiritual searches.
A person, according to L. Tolstoy, must constantly change, develop, going through mistakes, new searches and overcomings. And he considered complacency to be “mental meanness.”
Literary discovery of L. Tolstoy - deep and detailed analysis thoughts and experiences of the hero, the motives of his actions. Internal struggle in the human soul has become the main subject for the writer artistic research. N.G. Chernyshevsky called this discovery Tolstoy artistic method"dialectics of the soul."
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 of Russian literature was born on the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Tula province. 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 childbed 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 Primary education the classic received at home from German and French teachers. In 1843, Leo Tolstoy entered Kazan University, choosing the Faculty of Oriental Languages. Soon, due to low academic performance, he transferred to another faculty - law. But he did not succeed here either: after two years he left the university without receiving a degree.
Lev Nikolaevich returned to Yasnaya Polyana, wanting to establish relations with the peasants in a new way. The idea failed, but the young man regularly kept a diary, loved social entertainment and became interested in music. Tolstoy listened for hours, and...
Disillusioned with the life of the landowner after spending the summer in the village, 20-year-old Leo Tolstoy left the estate and moved to Moscow, and from there to St. Petersburg. The young man rushed between preparing for candidate exams at the university, studying music, carousing with cards and gypsies, and dreams of becoming either an official or a cadet in a horse guards regiment. Relatives called Lev “the most trifling fellow,” and it took years to pay off the debts he incurred.
Literature
In 1851, the writer’s brother, officer Nikolai Tolstoy, persuaded Lev to go to the Caucasus. For three years Lev Nikolaevich lived in a village on the banks of the Terek. Nature of the Caucasus and patriarchal life Cossack village later appeared in the stories “Cossacks” and “Hadji Murat”, the stories “Raid” and “Cutting the Forest”.
In the Caucasus, Leo Tolstoy composed the story “Childhood,” which he published in the magazine “Sovremennik” under the initials L.N. Soon he wrote the sequels “Adolescence” and “Youth,” combining the stories into a trilogy. 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 cycle “ Sevastopol stories" The works of the young writer amazed critics with their bold psychological analysis. Nikolai Chernyshevsky found in them a “dialectic of the soul,” and the emperor read the essay “Sevastopol in December” and expressed admiration for Tolstoy’s talent.
In the winter of 1855, 28-year-old Leo Tolstoy arrived in St. Petersburg and entered the Sovremennik circle, where he was warmly welcomed, calling him “the great hope of Russian literature.” But over the course of a year, I got tired of the writing environment with its disputes and conflicts, readings and literary dinners. Later in Confession Tolstoy admitted:
“These people disgusted me, and I disgusted myself.”
In the fall of 1856, the young writer went to the Yasnaya Polyana estate, and in January 1857 he went abroad. Leo Tolstoy traveled around Europe for six months. Visited Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland. He returned to Moscow, and from there to Yasnaya Polyana. On the family estate, he began arranging schools for peasant children. With his participation, twenty educational institutions appeared in the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana. In 1860, the writer traveled a lot: in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium he studied pedagogical systems European countries to apply what we saw in Russia.
A special niche in Leo Tolstoy’s work is occupied by fairy tales and works for children and teenagers. The writer has created hundreds of works for young readers, including good and cautionary tales“Kitten”, “Two Brothers”, “Hedgehog and Hare”, “Lion and Dog”.
Leo Tolstoy wrote the school textbook “ABC” to teach children writing, reading and arithmetic. The literary and pedagogical work consists of four books. The writer included instructive stories, epics, fables, as well as methodological advice for teachers. The third book includes the story “ Caucasian prisoner».
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 home idyll 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 about the meaning of life, Leo Tolstoy turned to the Russian Orthodox Church, but didn’t find satisfaction there either. 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, only works abroad Russian classic filmed 40 times. Until 1980, the epic War and Peace was filmed four times. Directors from Europe, America and Russia have made 16 films based on the novel “Anna Karenina”, “Resurrection” has been filmed 22 times.
“War and Peace” was first filmed by director Pyotr Chardynin in 1913. The most famous film was made by a Soviet director in 1965.
Personal life
Leo Tolstoy married 18-year-old in 1862, when he was 34 years old. The count lived with his wife for 48 years, but the couple’s life can hardly be called cloudless.
Sofia Bers is the second of three daughters of the Moscow palace office doctor Andrei Bers. The family lived in the capital, but in the summer they vacationed on a Tula estate near Yasnaya Polyana. For the first time Leo Tolstoy saw 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 found out about her husband's turbulent youth, his passion gambling, wild life and the peasant girl Aksinya, who was expecting a child from Lev Nikolaevich.
The first-born Sergei was born in 1863. In the early 1860s, Tolstoy began writing the novel War and Peace. Sofya Andreevna helped her husband, despite her pregnancy. The woman taught and raised all the children at home. Five of the 13 children died in infancy or early childhood childhood.
Problems in the family began after Leo Tolstoy finished working on Anna Karenina. The writer plunged into depression, expressed dissatisfaction with the life that 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 made himself, 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 alike, 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”
The name of the writer, educator, Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is known to every Russian person. During his lifetime, 78 were published works of art, another 96 are preserved in the archives. And in the first half of the 20th century it turned out full meeting works, numbering 90 volumes and including, in addition to novels, novellas, short stories, essays, etc., numerous letters and diary entries of this great man, distinguished by his enormous talent and extraordinary personal qualities. In this article we will recall the most interesting facts from the life of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy.
Selling a house in Yasnaya Polyana
In his youth the count had a reputation a gambling person and liked, unfortunately, not very successfully, to play cards. It so happened that part of the house in Yasnaya Polyana, where the writer spent his childhood, was given away for debts. Subsequently, Tolstoy planted trees in the empty space. Ilya Lvovich, his son, recalled how he once asked his father to show him the room in the house where he was born. And Lev Nikolaevich pointed to the top of one of the larches, adding: “There.” And he described the leather sofa on which this happened in the novel “War and Peace.” These are interesting facts from the life of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy related to the family estate.
As for the house itself, its two two-story wings have been preserved and have grown over time. After marriage and the birth of children, the Tolstoy family grew larger, and at the same time new premises were added.
Thirteen children were born into the Tolstoy family, five of whom died in infancy. The Count never spared time for them, and before the crisis of the 80s he loved to play pranks. For example, if jelly was served during lunch, my father noticed that it was good for them to glue the boxes together. The children immediately brought table paper to the dining room, and the creative process began.
Another example. Someone in the family became sad or even cried. The count, who noticed this, immediately organized the “Numidian Cavalry”. He jumped up from his seat, raised his hand and rushed around the table, and the children rushed after him.
Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich has always been distinguished by his love of literature. He regularly held evening readings in his house. Somehow I picked up a Jules Verne book without pictures. Then he began to illustrate it himself. And although he was not a very good artist, the family was delighted with what they saw.
The children also remembered the humorous poems of Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich. He read them in the wrong German for the same purpose: home. By the way, few people know that the writer’s creative heritage includes several poetic works. For example, “Fool”, “Volga the Hero”. They were mainly written for children and were included in the well-known “ABC”.
Thoughts of suicide
The works of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy became for the writer a way to study human characters in their development. Psychologism in the image often required great emotional effort from the author. So, while working on Anna Karenina, trouble almost happened to the writer. He was in such a difficult situation state of mind, that he was afraid to repeat the fate of his hero Levin and commit suicide. Later, in “Confession,” Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy noted that the thought of this was so persistent that he even took a lace out of the room where he was changing clothes alone and gave up hunting with a gun.
Disappointment in the Church
Nikolaevich’s story has been well studied and contains many stories about how he was excommunicated from the church. Meanwhile, the writer always considered himself a believer, and from 1977, for several years, he strictly observed all fasts and visited every church service. However, after visiting Optina Pustyn in 1981, everything changed. Lev Nikolaevich went there with his lackey and school teacher. They walked, as expected, with a knapsack and bast shoes. When we finally found ourselves in the monastery, we discovered terrible dirt and strict discipline.
The arriving pilgrims were accommodated on a general basis, which outraged the footman, who always treated the owner as a gentleman. He turned to one of the monks and said that the old man was Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. The writer’s work was well known, and he was immediately transferred to best number hotels. After returning from Optina Hermitage, the count expressed his dissatisfaction with such veneration, and from then on he changed his attitude towards church conventions and its employees. It all ended with him taking a cutlet for lunch during one of the posts.
By the way, in recent years During his life, the writer became a vegetarian, completely giving up meat. But at the same time, I ate scrambled eggs in different forms every day.
Physical labor
In the early 80s - this is reported in the biography of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy - the writer finally came to the conviction that an idle life and luxury do not make a person beautiful. For a long time he was tormented by the question of what to do: sell off all his property and leave his beloved wife and children, unaccustomed to hard work, without funds? Or transfer the entire fortune to Sofya Andreevna? Later, Tolstoy would divide everything between family members. During this difficult time for him - the family had already moved to Moscow - Lev Nikolaevich loved to go to the Sparrow Hills, where he helped the men cut wood. Then he learned the craft of shoemaking and even designed his own boots and summer shoes from canvas and leather, which he wore all summer. And every year he helped peasant families in which there was no one to plow, sow and harvest grain. Not everyone approved of Lev Nikolaevich’s life. Tolstoy was not understood even in his own family. But he remained adamant. And one summer all of Yasnaya Polyana broke up into artels and went out to mow. Among those working was even Sofya Andreevna, raking the grass.
Help for the hungry
Noting interesting facts from the life of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, we can also recall the events of 1898. In Mtsensk and Chernen districts in once again famine broke out. The writer, dressed in an old retinue and props, with a knapsack on his shoulders, together with his son, who volunteered to help him, personally toured all the villages and found out where the situation was truly miserable. Within a week, they compiled lists and created approximately twelve canteens in each district, where they fed, first of all, children, the elderly and the sick. Food was brought from Yasnaya Polyana and two hot meals were prepared a day. Tolstoy's initiative caused negativity from the authorities, who established constant control over him, and local landowners. The latter considered that such actions of the count could lead to the fact that they themselves would soon have to plow the fields and milk the cows.
One day a police officer entered one of the dining rooms and started a conversation with the count. He complained that although he approved of the writer’s action, he was a forced person, and therefore did not know what to do - they were talking about permission for such activities from the governor. The writer’s answer turned out to be simple: “Do not serve where you are forced to act against your conscience.” And this was the whole life of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.
Serious illness
In 1901, the writer fell ill with a severe fever and, on the advice of doctors, went to Crimea. There, instead of being cured, he also contracted inflammation and there was practically no hope that he would survive. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, whose work contains many works describing death, prepared mentally for it. He was not at all afraid of losing his life. The writer even said goodbye to his loved ones. And although he could only speak in a half-whisper, he gave each of his children valuable advice for the future, as it turned out, nine years before his death. This was very helpful, since nine years later, none of the family members - and almost all of them gathered at the Astapovo station - were not allowed to see the patient.
Writer's funeral
Back in the 90s, Lev Nikolaevich spoke in his diary about how he would like to see his funeral. Ten years later, in “Memoirs,” he tells the story of the famous “green stick,” buried in a ravine next to the oak trees. And already in 1908 he dictated a wish to the stenographer: to bury him in a wooden coffin in the place where they looked for the source in childhood eternal goodness brothers.
Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich, according to his will, was buried in the Yasnaya Polyana park. The funeral was attended by several thousand people, among whom were not only friends, admirers of creativity, writers, but also local peasants, whom he treated with care and understanding all his life.
History of the will
Interesting facts from the life of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy also relate to his expressions of will regarding his creative heritage. The writer drew up six wills: in 1895 (diary entries), 1904 (letter to Chertkov), 1908 (dictated to Gusev), twice in 1909 and in 1010. According to one of them, all his records and works came into general use. According to others, the right to them was transferred to Chertkov. Ultimately, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy bequeathed his work and all his notes to his daughter Alexandra, who became her father’s assistant at the age of sixteen.
Number 28
According to his relatives, the writer always had an ironic attitude towards prejudice. But he considered the number twenty-eight special for himself and loved it. Was it just a coincidence or fate? Unknown, but many major events The life and first works of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy are connected precisely with it. Here is their list:
- August 28, 1828 is the date of birth of the writer himself.
- On May 28, 1856, censorship gave permission to publish the first book of stories, “Childhood and Adolescence.”
- On June 28, the first child, Sergei, was born.
- On February 28, the wedding of Ilya’s son took place.
- On October 28, the writer left Yasnaya Polyana forever.
Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich (28.08. (09.09.) 1828 - 07 (20).11.1910)
Russian writer, philosopher. Born in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, into a wealthy aristocratic family. He entered Kazan University, but then left it. At the age of 23 he went to war with Chechnya and Dagestan. Here he began to write the trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”.
In the Caucasus he took part in hostilities as an artillery officer. During Crimean War went to Sevastopol, where he continued to fight. After the end of the war, he went to St. Petersburg and published “Sevastopol Stories” in the Sovremennik magazine, which clearly reflected his outstanding writing talent. In 1857, Tolstoy went on a trip to Europe, which disappointed him.
From 1853 to 1863 wrote the story “Cossacks”, after which he decided to interrupt literary activity and become a landowner by doing educational work in the village. For this purpose, he went to Yasnaya Polyana, where he opened a school for peasant children and created own system pedagogy.
In 1863-1869. wrote his fundamental work “War and Peace”. 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”.
The teaching is set forth in the philosophical and religious works “Study of Dogmatic Theology”, “Connection and Translation of the Four Gospels”, where the main emphasis is on the moral improvement of man, the denunciation of evil, and non-resistance to evil through violence.
Later, a duology was published: the drama “The Power of Darkness” and the comedy “The Fruits of Enlightenment,” then a series of stories and parables about the laws of existence.
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 are the stories “Father Sergius”, “After the Ball”, “ Posthumous notes Elder Fyodor Kuzmich" and the drama "The Living Corpse".
Tolstoy's confessional journalism gives a detailed idea of his spiritual drama: painting pictures of social inequality and idleness of the educated strata, Tolstoy harshly posed questions of the meaning of life and faith to society, criticized all state institutions, going so far as to deny science, art, court, marriage, and the achievements of civilization. Tolstoy's social declaration is based on the idea of Christianity as a moral teaching, and he interpreted the ethical ideas of Christianity in a humanistic manner, as the basis of the universal brotherhood of man. In 1901 the reaction of the Synod followed: worldwide famous writer was officially excommunicated from the church, which caused enormous public outcry.
On October 28, 1910, Tolstoy secretly left Yasnaya Polyana from his family, fell ill on the way and was forced to get off the train at the small Astapovo Ryazan-Uralskaya railway station railway. Here, in the station master's house, he spent the last seven days of his life.
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is brilliant writer, who was able to leave an indelible mark on the history of Russian literature. Currently, his works are studied in schools, colleges and other educational institutions. Leo Tolstoy was distinguished by his modesty. He simply liked to write, interpret ideas in different ways and convey the main ideas to people. Existence for the writer was an integral part of life, and not to write about everyday life and ordinary life peasants was impossible. Leo Tolstoy - biography: childhood, life principles, creativity, offspring - we’ll talk about all this now.
The writer's life position
Leo Tolstoy called himself a Christian until the end of his days. In his heart he wanted to be on par with others ordinary people and look at their lives, live just like them. By decision of the Synod, he was excommunicated from the Orthodox Church, but this did not stop him from communicating with peasants and learning from them their difficult way of life. In the 70s he became seriously interested in philosophy. Today it is known that he prepared articles for publication in the Posrednik publishing house. These were articles about philosophers in India and the Middle East. The writer remained interested in philosophy until last days his life. Tolstoy knew by heart such works as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
As it became known later, the writer was in a group with famous Indian scientists. From them he learned about the philosophy of India, about the lives of people and about their plans. From the correspondence one could understand that he agreed with the religion of India and was trying to copy the model of life of ordinary Indians.
What was Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy like?
As his contemporaries noted, the writer was a complex person. It was very difficult to prove my point of view to him and convince him. If he considered it necessary to do one way or another, he always did crazy things. This did not stop him from traveling a lot and looking at the world with different eyes. The writer had few friends, so everything was his own free time he spent at work.
The work of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy did not pass without a trace. In his article “The First Step,” he proved the sequence of acquiring virtues. He believed that the first virtue should be abstinence. And it doesn’t matter at all what you do, the main thing is to abstain and try to overcome your desires. He himself forbade himself from basic things: sitting for a long time reading books, thinking a lot and traveling. However, all this could be noticed throughout unusual life writer.
The children of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy positively assessed his work. His daughter Tatyana joined the teachings and helped the writer defend the foundations of the new teaching. Tatyana Lvovna wrote a collection that is associated with the doom of philosophy and self-knowledge. The article was published by the Posrednik publishing house. Tolstoy's youngest daughter translated from English language the book “Ethics of Food” into Russian.
Leo Tolstoy had 13 children, many of them died in infancy. All children are from his wife Sofia Andreevna Bers. They got married when Sophia was only 17 years old, and Leo Tolstoy was in his fourth decade. However, the large age difference did not interfere with their family happiness. His wife became the writer’s life support and assistant in his work. She rewrote, reread and corrected his texts, and helped shape the phrases and thoughts of his works.
Leo Tolstoy was a vegetarian. In this regard, the Tolstoy family was divided into two parts. On the one hand, there was his wife Sofia Tolstaya, who was against her husband’s vegetarian beliefs, on the other, the daughters who supported their father. The writer believed that soon everyone would give up meat and be happy. He thought so before his death, but his beliefs did not come true.
Leo Tolstoy was a difficult person, like all geniuses. However, he left a great legacy to Russian literature - his immortal and famous works.