Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born December 29, 1882 (January 10 n.s.) 1883 in the city of Nikolaevsk, Samara province, in the family of a landowner. Tolstoy's father is Count N.A. Tolstoy; mother – nee A.L. Turgenev. He was raised by his stepfather A. Bostrom, a liberal and heir to the “sixties”, to whom A. Tolstoy’s mother, an educated woman who was no stranger to writing, went. My childhood years were spent on the Sosnovka farm, which belonged to my stepfather.
He received his primary education at home under the guidance of a visiting teacher. In 1897 The family moves to Samara, where the future writer enters a real school. Having graduated from it in 1901, goes to St. Petersburg to continue his education. Enters the Mechanics Department of the Technological Institute. His first poems, not free from imitation of Nekrasov and Nadson, date back to this time.
In 1907, shortly before defending his diploma, left the institute, deciding to devote himself literary work. In 1905 Tolstoy first published several poems in the spirit of civic poetry in provincial newspapers . In 1907 published a collection of poems “Lyrics”, in which the influence of decadence was felt - the result of the author’s rapprochement with the metropolitan literary environment. In 1908 Tolstoy's first story, “The Old Tower,” is published in the Niva magazine. Following this, the collection “Magpie Tales” was published ( 1910 ) and a book of poems “Beyond the Blue Rivers” ( 1911 ), in which Tolstoy turned to various motives folk art.
In 1909-1911 spoke with realistic stories and stories from the life of a bankrupt landed nobility. These works are the “Trans-Volga” cycle, as well as the related novels “Eccentrics” (“Two Lives”, 1911 ) and "The Lame Master" ( 1912 ) - brought Tolstoy fame. Continuing traditions critical realism 19th century, young Tolstoy learned his craft from I.S. Turgeneva, L.N. Tolstoy and N.V. Gogol.
First world war changes Tolstoy's plans. As a war correspondent for Russkie Vedomosti, he is at the fronts and has visited England and France. He wrote a number of essays and stories about the war (stories “On the Mountain”, 1915 ; "Underwater", "Beautiful Lady", 1916 ). During the war years he turned to dramaturgy - comedy " Evil spirits" and "Killer Whale" ( 1916 ).
The events of the February Revolution aroused his interest in the problems of Russian statehood, which prompted him to study the history of Peter the Great's times. He devoted a lot of time to working with archives, trying to discover the true reality of that time, the images of Peter 1 and his entourage.
Tolstoy perceived the October Revolution with hostility. IN 1918 appears in his work historical theme(stories “Obsession”, “The Day of Peter”).
Autumn 1918 leaves with his family for Odessa, and from there to Paris. Becomes an emigrant. In 1920 The story "Nikita's Childhood" was written. In 1921“migrated” to Berlin and joined the Smenovekhov group “Nakanune” (the socio-political movement of the Russian emigrant intelligentsia, which abandoned the fight against Soviet power and moved to its actual recognition). Former friends turned away from A. Tolstoy. IN 1922 M. Gorky arrived in Berlin, with whom friendly relations were established. During the Berlin period the following were written: the novel “Aelita” ( 1922-1923 ), the story “Black Friday” ( 1924 ) and "Manuscript found under the bed."
In 1923 Tolstoy returns to the USSR. Among the works written after his return, the trilogy “Walking in Torment” (“Sisters”, “The Eighteenth Year”, 1927-1928 ; "Gloomy morning" 1940-1941 ). The trilogy is thematically adjacent to the story “Bread” ( 1937 ). Interesting, talented people - writers, actors, musicians - gathered in the open, hospitable house of A. Tolstoy. A significant achievement of A. Tolstoy was his historical novel “Peter I,” on which he worked for sixteen years.
During Patriotic War often spoke with articles, essays, stories, the heroes of which were ordinary people who proved themselves in the difficult trials of war. During the war years he created the dramatic duology “Ivan the Terrible” ( 1941-1943 ).
Tolstoy Alexey Nikolaevich (12/20/1882 – 02/23/1945) - Russian writer, author of many works that have become classics Russian literature. Among the most famous are “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio”, “Walking through Torment”, “Peter I” and “Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin”. Winner of three Stalin Prizes.
“Every person has enormous sources of creativity. And all you have to do is open them and free them. But this must be done not by begging for justice, but by placing a person in conditions that suit him.”
Childhood
Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born on December 20, 1882 in Samara region. Historians still argue about its origin. Some sources claim that he is the son of Count Nikolai Tolstoy. Others say that his true parent is Alexei Bostrom. The fact is that Alexei’s mother, Alexandra Tolstaya, was married to Nikolai, but shortly before the birth of her son she went to Bostrom, who is officially considered the stepfather of the future writer.
Alexey Tolstov spent his childhood on the estate of Alexey Bostrom. And then the young man moved to St. Petersburg, where he graduated from the Technological Institute. After his studies, he was sent to practice in the Urals, and specifically in the city of Nevyansk. A local landmark was a leaning tower, and it was to it that the writer dedicated his first story. It was called “The Old Tower”.
Creation
Alexey Tolstoy spent the entire First World War at the front. He was a war correspondent and wrote many essays. And after the revolution noble origin not allowed to stay in new Russia. I had to emigrate to Europe and spend almost 5 years there (1918-1923). This forced journey later formed the basis of the story “The Adventures of Nevzorov.”
But later Alexey Tolstoy nevertheless returned to his homeland and became very popular writer in the USSR. Soviet citizens were very fond of the novel “Walking Through Torment”, since in it the author showed Bolshevism and revolution as the highest good. “Peter I” was received even better, which spoke about strong reforms and their necessity for the development of the country.
But Tolstoy wrote not only to please the Soviet regime, but also for the mass reader. His “Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin” is still considered a classic of Soviet science fiction. But most of all, his name became famous after the release of the fairy tale “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio.” This book was read by all children and adults in the USSR. It formed the basis for many film adaptations, both feature and animated.
“Patriotism is not only love for the Motherland. This is a more comprehensive concept. This is the ability to experience both moments of uplift and unhappy days with your homeland.”
In the late 30s, Alexei Tolstoy headed the Union of Writers of the USSR. And he also wrote the famous speech to Stalin in 1941, in which Soviet leaders called on the people to turn to the experience of their great ancestors. And during the Great Patriotic War, Tolstoy headed the commission to investigate the crimes of the Nazis. And he did not live to see the Victory for only a few months. Alexey Tolstov died on February 23, 1945 from cancer.
Personal life
During his life, Alexey Tolstoy was married four times. The first wife was Yulia Rozhanskaya. They were together from 1901 to 1907, although the relationship was not officially legalized.
The second wife, Sophia Dymshits, was an artist and a Jew. They simply lived together for several years. But then the woman decided to change her religion in order to legally become engaged to Tolstoy. From this marriage the writer had a daughter, Maryana.
Tolstoy's most famous wife was the poetess Natalya Krandievskaya. It was this woman who became the prototype of Katya Roshchina in the trilogy “Walking Through Torment”. From this marriage, Alexei Nikolaevich had two more children - Nikita and Dmitry.
And finally, the last wife of the writer was Lyudmila Krestinskaya-Barsheva. There were no children from this marriage.
Video about the life of Alexei Tolstoy:
1882 (1883)
, December 29 (January 10) - born into the family of Count Nikolai Alexandrovich Tolstoy (1849–1900). Mother - Alexandra Leontyevna (1854–1906), née Turgeneva - writer, great-niece Decembrist Nikolai Turgenev.
My childhood years were spent on the small estate of A. A. Bostrom on the Sosnovka farm, not far from Samara (currently the village of Pavlovka in the Krasnoarmeysky district).
1897–1898 - lives with his mother in the city of Syzran, where he studies at a real school.
1898 – moving to Samara. Start of studies at the Samara Real School.
1901 , May - graduated from the Samara Real School and leaves for St. Petersburg, where he enters the Technological Institute.
1905 - as a student of the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology, he was sent to practice in the Urals, where he lived in Nevyansk for more than a month. Later, in the book “The Best Travels in the Middle Urals: Facts, Legends, Traditions,” Tolstoy dedicated his very first story “The Old Tower” to the Nevyansk Inclined Tower (published in 1908 in Niva).
1906
, January - three poems by Alexei Tolstoy were published in the Kazan newspaper "Volzhsky Listok".
February - leaves for Dresden, where he lived and studied until July.
1907
, March - the book of poems "Lyrics" is published. The magazines "Luch" and "Education" publish poems and articles.
Lives in Paris and is working on preparing a book of poetry for publication.
1908 - return from Paris to St. Petersburg, where Tolstoy becomes close with the staff of the Apollo magazine.
1909
, autumn – the story “A Week in Turenev” was written; published in the magazine "Apollo" (with illustrations by V.P. Belkin in 1910, No. 4, January).
The book "Magpie Tales" was published by the publishing house "Public Benefit". The publishing house "Rosehip" is publishing the first volume of his novels and short stories, about which Gorky speaks approvingly.
1911 – the novel “Two Lives” (“Cranks”) was published in the literary and artistic anthology “Rosehip” (No. 14–15). Collection of poems "Beyond the Blue Rivers" in the publishing house "Grif".
1912
, autumn - moves from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
The novel "The Lame Master" has been published.
1914 , January - the newspaper "Pravda" positively evaluates creative work Alexei Tolstoy. August - as a war correspondent for Russian Vedomosti, he travels to the South-Western Front.
1915 , February - as a war correspondent, he travels to the Caucasus, where the war with Turkey began.
1916
, January – the premiere of the play “Evil Spirit” took place.
February-March - as part of a delegation of Russian writers and journalists, he visited England, France, and visited the Western Front. Summer - working on the plays "Rocket" and "Killer Whale", on the stories "Beautiful Lady", "In July".
1917
, September 2 – premiere of the play “Bitter Color”.
October – “The Story of a Passing Man” was published in the journal “Narodopravostvo”.
November – the newspaper “Ray of Truth” published articles “At the stake”, “The power of the three-inchers”, “Night shift”.
1918
, January - premiere of the play "Cuckoo's Tears".
Publication of stories about the time of Peter the Great - “Obsession”, “The First Terrorists”, working on the story “The Day of Peter”.
July - leaves Moscow for Odessa.
1919 , April - on the steamer "Caucasus" sails from Odessa to Constantinople, and then to Paris, where he begins to work on the novel "Walking Through Torment".
1920 – the first chapters of the novel “Walking Through Torment” were published in the magazine “Coming Russia”.
1921
– the novel “Walking in Torment” was published in its entirety in the journal “Modern Notes”. The novels “The Lame Master” and “Cranks” are being republished.
October – moves with his family to Berlin.
1923 , August - returned to the USSR.
1925 , March – the premiere of the play “The Empress’s Conspiracy” took place. Publication of the story "Blue Cities" and the novel "Engineer Garin's Hyperboloid".
1928
, April – the play “Factory of Youth” is published.
May and his family moved to Detskoe Selo near Leningrad.
In the July issue of "New World" the publication of the second book of the novel "Walking Through Torment" - "The Eighteenth Year" - has been completed.
August the story "The Viper" was published.
1929
, February – start of work on the novel “Peter the Great”.
July – magazine " New world"began publication of the novel "Peter the Great".
1932 , March - goes to Gorky in Sorrento.
1937 - Elected deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
1939
, January - elected to full membership of the USSR Academy of Sciences and awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.
February – working on the second part dramatic play about Ivan the Terrible (“Difficult Years”).
1941
– completes work on the trilogy “Walking in Torment”.
In the first months of the war he writes dozens of journalistic articles. In them, the writer often turns to folklore and episodes of Russian history.
1942 , February – finished the first part of the dramatic duology “Ivan the Terrible”.
1943
, March 19 – the Stalin Prize of the first degree was awarded for the novel “Walking but torment”.
March 30 - newspaper reports that Alexey Tolstoy is donating the prize of one hundred thousand rubles awarded to him for the construction of the Grozny tank.
December 31 – in Barvikha he begins work on the third part of the novel “Peter the Great”.
1944
, May 7 – the story “Russian Character” was published in “Red Star” (see the story on the “Literature for Schoolchildren” website).
August - finishes the fifth chapter of the third book of Peter the Great.
1945 , February 23 – died in Moscow. In connection with his death, state mourning was declared.
Addresses in St. Petersburg:
1901 – apartment building Nikolai and Elena Brusnitsyn (9 line V.O., no. 42), here in the summer of 1901 18-year-old A. Tolstoy settled in the apartment of his mother’s sister. After graduating from the Samara Real School, he came to the capital to enter the Technological Institute. Having successfully passed the exams, he moved to 3rd line, 16, where he rented a room;
1907–1910 – apartment building of I. I. Dernov (Tavricheskaya street, 35);
1910–1912 – apartment building of I. I. Kruglov (Nevsky Prospekt, 147);
1925 – May 1928 – apartment building on the embankment. Zhdanovka River, 3;
May 1928 – May 1930 – Detskoe Selo (Pushkin), Moskovskaya street, 8;
May 1930 – beginning of 1938 – House of Writers’ Creativity (Detskoe Selo (Pushkin), Proletarskaya (Tserkovnaya) street, 6).
Born on January 10, 1883 (new style) in the city of Nikolaevsk (now Pugachevsk in the Saratov region). Father - Count N.A. Tolstoy, mother - children's writer A.L. Tolstaya.
He was brought up by his stepfather A. A. Bostrom (on the Sosnovka farm near Samara). He studied at the Samara Real School, in 1901 he entered the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology, and in 1907 he went to art school.
The first books are “Lyrics” (1907) and “Magpie Tales” (1910).
First World War and October Revolution forced Tolstoy to turn to the topic of a great personality in history. “Four eras attract me: the era of Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Civil War 1918-1920 and ours today,” he wrote in his diary. He managed to implement all these plans.
Tolstoy was captivated and fantasy worlds. Being outside Russia from 1918 to 1923 and then returning to his homeland, he created the story “The Day of Peter” (1918), the first part of the epic “Walking in Torment” (1919-1922), science fiction novels “Aelita” (1922-1923), “Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin” (1925-1927).
In the 30-40s. Tolstoy completed “Walking Through Torment” (1940-1941) and worked on the novel “Peter the Great” (1929-1945). Tolstoy dedicated the plays “The Eagle and the Eaglet” (1941-1942) and “Difficult Years” (1943) to another beloved historical figure, Ivan IV the Terrible.
For children he wrote the fairy tale “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio” (1936). The prototype of Pinocchio here was Pinocchio from the fairy tale of the same name by Carlo Collodi, however, the differences in the plot and characters of the characters are quite significant, and “Pinocchio” can be spoken of as an independent work.
During the Great Patriotic War, Tolstoy in his articles talked about exploits at the front and in the rear. The writer admired the strength of spirit of the Russian people in “Stories of Ivan Sudarev” (1942-1944). I was planning a great novel about the war.
Russian folk tales
Biography of Tolstoy Alexey Nikolaevich
Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy born January 10 (December 29), 1883 in the city of Nikolaevsk, Samara province.
Tolstoy's father, Count Nikolai Alexandrovich, was the leader of the Samara district nobility.
His stepfather, Alexey Apollonovich Bostrom, was the chairman of the district zemstvo government.
Tolstoy’s mother, Alexandra Leontievna, née Turgeneva, was the granddaughter of the Decembrist N.I. Turgenev. She was an educated woman who studied literature.
The future writer spent his childhood in the village of Sosnovka, which belonged to his stepfather. Here, under the guidance of a visiting teacher, he received his initial education.
1897 - the Tolstoy family moves to Samara, and Alexey enters a real school.
1901 - after graduating from college, Alexei Tolstoy leaves Samara for St. Petersburg, intending to continue his education. He enters the Institute of Technology to study mechanics. Then he begins to write his first poems.
1905 – industrial practice at the Baltic plant.
1906 – first publication. The Kazan newspaper “Volzhsky Listok” publishes three poems by Alexei Tolstoy.
February - July of the same year - study in Dresden.
1907 - having completed almost the entire course of study at the institute, Tolstoy leaves it without defending his diploma. He intends to devote himself to literature. This year the first book of poems by Alexei Tolstoy, “Lyrics,” is published. His poems and articles are published in the magazines “Luch” and “Education”. The writer himself lives in Paris at this time, where he is preparing a second book of poems for publication.
1908 - return to St. Petersburg. A book of poems “Beyond the Blue Rivers” has been published. Tolstoy tries to work with prose and writes Magpie Tales. Exactly prose works will bring him fame.
1909 - Alexey Tolstoy writes the story “A Week in Turenev” (included in the collection “Trans-Volga Region”), which is published in the magazine “Apollo”. The Rosehip Publishing House is releasing the first book of stories and short stories by Alexei Tolstoy.
1910 - 1914 - two of the writer’s novels, “Cranks” and “The Lame Master,” are published. Critics favorably perceive his works, and M. Gorky himself praises Tolstoy’s works.
1912 – move to Moscow.
1913 - Alexei Tolstoy begins to collaborate with the newspaper “Russian Vedomosti”, publishing his novels and short stories in it.
1914 – the beginning of the First World War. Tolstoy, as a war correspondent for Russian Vedomosti, goes to the Southwestern Front.
1914 - 1916 - the war allows Tolstoy to visit Europe again, he visits France and England. In addition to journalistic work, he is engaged in his own creativity, writes stories about the war (“Under Water”, “Beautiful Lady”, “On the Mountain”), turns to drama (writes comedies “Killer Whale” and “Evil Spirit”).
Beginning of 1917 – February Revolution makes Tolstoy think about Russian statehood, he is interested in the Petrine era. A historical theme gradually comes into the writer’s work.
Alexei Tolstoy does not accept the October Revolution.
1918 - Tolstoy and his family leave for Odessa, from there he goes to Paris.
1918 – 1923 – emigration. Alexei Tolstoy first lives in Paris, and in 1921 he moves to Berlin. Here he enters creative group“On the Eve”, consisting of representatives of the Russian emigrant intelligentsia. Becoming a member of “Nakanune” automatically meant giving up the fight against Soviet power, and therefore accepting it. Because of this, many friends turn away from Tolstoy, he is expelled from the Union of Russian Writers in Paris. It is possible to maintain relations only with M. Gorky. Later, in his memoirs, the writer will call emigration the most difficult period in his life.
1920 - the story “Nikita’s Childhood” was written.
1921 - 1923 - the novel “Aelita”, the stories “Black Friday”, “The Manuscript Found Under the Bed” were written.
1923 – return to the USSR.
1925 – 1927 – work on the science fiction novel “Engineer Garin’s Hyperboloid”. During the same period, the story “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio” was written.
1927 - 1928 - Alexei Tolstoy writes the first two parts of the trilogy “Walking through Torment” (“Sisters”, “The Eighteenth Year”).
1928 - the Tolstoy family moves to Detskoye Selo near Leningrad.
1929 - work began on historical novel"Peter I". Tolstoy would write it for 16 years, until the end of his life, but the work would remain unfinished. The finished chapters of the novel are published by the New World magazine.
1931 - the novel “Black Gold” was written.
1932 – travel to Italy, meeting in Sorrento with M. Gorky.
1934 - Tolstoy takes an active part in the preparation and conduct of the First All-Union Congress Soviet writers.
1937 – the writer was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
1938 - Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy was awarded the Order of Lenin for the script for the film “Peter I”.
1939 - Tolstoy becomes an academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
1940 - 1941 - Alexei Tolstoy writes the third part of “Walking Through Torment” “Gloomy Morning”.
During the Great Patriotic War, Tolstoy wrote many articles, stories and essays. Creates the duology “Ivan the Terrible”.
January 10, 1943 - Alexei Tolstoy turns 60 years old. In connection with this event, by Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the writer was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
On March 19 of the same year, Tolstoy was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree (100 thousand rubles) for the novel “Walking Through Torment.” The prize was donated by the writer for the construction of the Grozny tank.
June 1944 - doctors discover a malignant tumor in the writer’s lung.
Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy an amazing and capable writer of rare talent, he created numerous novels, plays and stories, wrote scripts, fairy tales for children. Due to the fact that A.N. Tolstoy took the most effective and active part in the creation (at that time) Soviet literature for children, could not avoid close attention writer and works of Russian folklore, oral folk art, namely Russian folk tales, which on his behalf underwent some processing and retelling.
Alexey Nikolaevich sought to reveal to young readers, to show them the enormous ideological, moral and aesthetic wealth that permeates the works of Russian oral folk art. Carefully selecting and sifting the hosts folklore works, as a result, he included in his collection of Russian folk tales 50 fairy tales about animals and about seven children's fairy tales.
According to Alexei Tolstoy recycling folk tales was long and challenging task. If you believe his words, then from the numerous variations of Russian and folk tale he selected the most interesting tales, enriched with truly folk language expressions and amazing plot details, that could be useful for children and parents in mastering Russian folk culture, her stories.
To children's literature Tolstoy A.N. contributed his book, affectionately called “ Magpie Tales", which was prepared in 1910. Fairy tales from this book, thanks to diligence and perseverance Tolstoy, were often published in children's anti-corruption magazines of that time, such as “Galchonok”, “Tropinka” and many others. Works from his book are also widely used today.
Of course, it is necessary to note Tolstoy’s inexhaustible contribution to Russian children’s literature. It was Alexei Nikolaevich who translated, expanded and wrote the wonderful fairy tale in Russian “”. Subsequently, he used the text of this wonderful fairy tale to create a film script and a play of the same name for children. puppet theater. The history of this tale is very interesting, it began shortly before the return of A.N. Tolstoy from emigration, then the initial translation of the story by the Italian writer (C. Lorenzini) C. Collodi The Adventures of Pinocchio was published in a Berlin magazine, essentially this was the first adaptation of the well-known literary work. From this time began Tolstoy’s long, painstaking work, which lasted more than ten years, on a fairy tale for children, which later became known as The Golden Key, or The Adventures of Pinocchio. The long and thorny work on this wonderful children's work was finally completed only in 1936.
They did not shy away from the writer’s attention (as noted above) and Russians folk tales , Tolstoy made retellings and adaptations of the texts of the most memorable folklore works that he loved. Already from his first steps in domestic and world literature, Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy set himself a goal: to be a passionate adherent of his native folklore, Russian folklore, close to him from childhood. oral creativity; late period The writer’s creativity is marked by grandiose folkloristic ideas. Tolstoy’s interest in folklore was genuinely broad, but at that time, in literature and pedagogy in general, the following phenomenon was observed as “a fierce struggle with fairy tale“and this may probably be the reason for the forced emigration of A.N. Tolstoy abroad, and at the same time his original Russian patriotism. After all, in those days, fairy tales were categorically denied as a genre of children’s literature; fairy tales were persecuted and destroyed by, for example, the Kharkov pedagogical school, which even allowed itself to release and popularize in every possible way a collection of articles called “We are against the fairy tale.” Pedagogical and Rappian criticism not only of the Russian fairy tale, but also of folk tales in general, were very strong and fully supported by numerous corrupt officials, who pictured the future of literature as completely sterilized from fairy tales, cleansed of cultural heritage past and his historical roots. Even many decades later, we can observe this picture of adherents of this ideology who continue to persecute and desecrate fairy tales in our days. These individuals are easy to find and read their “works”, which are written (or retold) today, in our days, for example, on behalf of the journalist Panyushkin and some others.