L Tolstoy short biography for children. Brief biography of Leo Tolstoy: the most important events. Marriage, family and children

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a great Russian writer, by origin a count from a famous noble family. He was born on August 28, 1828 in the Yasnaya Polyana estate located in the Tula province, and died on October 7, 1910 at the Astapovo station.

The writer's childhood

Lev Nikolaevich was a representative of a large noble family, the fourth child in it. His mother, Princess Volkonskaya, died early. At this time, Tolstoy was not yet two years old, but he formed an idea of ​​​​his parent from the stories of various family members. In the novel "War and Peace" the image of the mother is represented by Princess Marya Nikolaevna Bolkonskaya.

The biography of Leo Tolstoy in his early years is marked by another death. Because of her, the boy became an orphan. Leo Tolstoy's father, a participant in the War of 1812, like his mother, died early. This happened in 1837. At that time the boy was only nine years old. Leo Tolstoy's brothers, he and his sister, were entrusted to the upbringing of T. A. Ergolskaya, a distant relative who had enormous influence on the future writer. Childhood memories have always been the happiest for Lev Nikolaevich: family legends and impressions of life in the estate became rich material for his works, reflected, in particular, in the autobiographical story “Childhood”.

Study at Kazan University

The biography of Leo Tolstoy in his youth was marked by such an important event as studying at the university. When the future writer turned thirteen years old, his family moved to Kazan, to the house of the children’s guardian, a relative of Lev Nikolaevich P.I. Yushkova. In 1844, the future writer was enrolled in the Faculty of Philosophy at Kazan University, after which he transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he studied for about two years: study did not arouse keen interest in the young man, so he devoted himself passionately to various social entertainments. Having submitted his resignation in the spring of 1847, due to poor health and “domestic circumstances,” Lev Nikolaevich left for Yasnaya Polyana with the intention of studying a full course of legal sciences and passing an external exam, as well as learning languages, “practical medicine,” history, and rural studies. economics, geographical statistics, study painting, music and write a dissertation.

Years of youth

In the fall of 1847, Tolstoy left for Moscow and then to St. Petersburg in order to pass candidate exams at the university. During this period, his lifestyle often changed: he either studied various subjects all day long, then devoted himself to music, but wanted to start a career as an official, or dreamed of joining a regiment as a cadet. Religious sentiments that reached the point of asceticism alternated with cards, carousing, and trips to the gypsies. The biography of Leo Tolstoy in his youth is colored by the struggle with himself and introspection, reflected in the diary that the writer kept throughout his life. During the same period, interest in literature arose, and the first artistic sketches appeared.

Participation in the war

In 1851, Nikolai, Lev Nikolayevich’s older brother, an officer, persuaded Tolstoy to go to the Caucasus with him. Lev Nikolaevich lived for almost three years on the banks of the Terek, in a Cossack village, traveling to Vladikavkaz, Tiflis, Kizlyar, participating in hostilities (as a volunteer, and then was recruited). The patriarchal simplicity of the life of the Cossacks and the Caucasian nature struck the writer with their contrast with the painful reflection of representatives of educated society and the life of the noble circle, and provided extensive material for the story “Cossacks,” written in the period from 1852 to 1863 on autobiographical material. The stories “Raid” (1853) and “Cutting Wood” (1855) also reflected his Caucasian impressions. They also left a mark in his story “Hadji Murat,” written between 1896 and 1904, published in 1912.

Returning to his homeland, Lev Nikolayevich wrote in his diary that he really fell in love with this wild land, in which “war and freedom,” things so opposite in their essence, are combined. Tolstoy began to create his story “Childhood” in the Caucasus and anonymously sent it to the magazine “Sovremennik”. This work appeared on its pages in 1852 under the initials L.N. and, along with the later “Adolescence” (1852-1854) and “Youth” (1855-1857), formed the famous autobiographical trilogy. His creative debut immediately brought real recognition to Tolstoy.

Crimean campaign

In 1854, the writer went to Bucharest, to the Danube Army, where the work and biography of Leo Tolstoy were further developed. However, soon a boring staff life forced him to transfer to besieged Sevastopol, to the Crimean Army, where he was a battery commander, showing courage (awarded with medals and the Order of St. Anne). During this period, Lev Nikolaevich was captured by new literary plans and impressions. He began writing "Sevastopol stories", which were a great success. Some ideas that arose even at that time allow one to discern in the artillery officer Tolstoy the preacher of later years: he dreamed of a new “religion of Christ,” purified of mystery and faith, a “practical religion.”

In St. Petersburg and abroad

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy arrived in St. Petersburg in November 1855 and immediately became a member of the Sovremennik circle (which included N. A. Nekrasov, A. N. Ostrovsky, I. S. Turgenev, I. A. Goncharov and others). He took part in the creation of the Literary Fund at that time, and at the same time became involved in conflicts and disputes among writers, but he felt like a stranger in this environment, which he conveyed in “Confession” (1879-1882). Having retired, in the fall of 1856 the writer left for Yasnaya Polyana, and then, at the beginning of the next year, 1857, he went abroad, visiting Italy, France, Switzerland (impressions from visiting this country are described in the story “Lucerne”), and also visited Germany. In the same year in the fall, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy returned first to Moscow and then to Yasnaya Polyana.

Opening of a public school

In 1859, Tolstoy opened a school for peasant children in the village, and also helped establish more than twenty similar educational institutions in the Krasnaya Polyana area. In order to get acquainted with the European experience in this area and apply it in practice, the writer Leo Tolstoy again went abroad, visited London (where he met with A.I. Herzen), Germany, Switzerland, France, and Belgium. However, European schools somewhat disappoint him, and he decides to create his own pedagogical system based on personal freedom, publishes textbooks and works on pedagogy, and applies them in practice.

"War and Peace"

Lev Nikolaevich in September 1862 married Sofya Andreevna Bers, the 18-year-old daughter of a doctor, and immediately after the wedding he left Moscow for Yasnaya Polyana, where he devoted himself entirely to household concerns and family life. However, already in 1863, he was again captured by a literary idea, this time creating a novel about the war, which was supposed to reflect Russian history. Leo Tolstoy was interested in the period of our country's struggle with Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century.

In 1865, the first part of the work “War and Peace” was published in the Russian Bulletin. The novel immediately evoked many responses. Subsequent parts provoked heated debate, in particular, the fatalistic philosophy of history developed by Tolstoy.

"Anna Karenina"

This work was created in the period from 1873 to 1877. Living in Yasnaya Polyana, continuing to teach peasant children and publish his pedagogical views, Lev Nikolaevich in the 70s worked on a work about the life of contemporary high society, building his novel on the contrast of two storylines: the family drama of Anna Karenina and the domestic idyll of Konstantin Levin , close both in psychological pattern, and in beliefs, and in the way of life of the writer himself.

Tolstoy strove for an externally non-judgmental tone of his work, thereby paving the way for a new style of the 80s, in particular, folk stories. The truth of peasant life and the meaning of existence of representatives of the “educated class” - these are the range of questions that interested the writer. “Family thought” (according to Tolstoy, the main one in the novel) is translated into a social channel in his work, and Levin’s self-exposures, numerous and merciless, his thoughts about suicide are an illustration of the author’s spiritual crisis experienced in the 1880s, which had matured even while working on this novel.

1880s

In the 1880s, Leo Tolstoy's work underwent a transformation. The revolution in the writer’s consciousness was reflected in his works, primarily in the experiences of the characters, in the spiritual insight that changes their lives. Such heroes occupy a central place in such works as “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (years of creation - 1884-1886), “The Kreutzer Sonata” (a story written in 1887-1889), “Father Sergius” (1890-1898), drama "The Living Corpse" (left unfinished, begun in 1900), as well as the story "After the Ball" (1903).

Tolstoy's journalism

Tolstoy’s journalism reflects his spiritual drama: depicting pictures of the idleness of the intelligentsia and social inequality, Lev Nikolayevich posed questions of faith and life to society and himself, criticized the institutions of the state, going so far as to deny art, science, marriage, court, and the achievements of civilization.

The new worldview is presented in “Confession” (1884), in the articles “So what should we do?”, “On hunger”, “What is art?”, “I cannot remain silent” and others. The ethical ideas of Christianity are understood in these works as the foundation of the brotherhood of man.

As part of a new worldview and a humanistic understanding of the teachings of Christ, Lev Nikolaevich spoke out, in particular, against the dogma of the church and criticized its rapprochement with the state, which led to him being officially excommunicated from the church in 1901. This caused a huge resonance.

Novel "Sunday"

Tolstoy wrote his last novel between 1889 and 1899. It embodies the entire range of problems that worried the writer during the years of his spiritual turning point. Dmitry Nekhlyudov, the main character, is a person internally close to Tolstoy, who goes through the path of moral purification in the work, ultimately leading him to comprehend the need for active good. The novel is built on a system of evaluative oppositions that reveal the unreasonable structure of society (the deceit of the social world and the beauty of nature, the falsehood of the educated population and the truth of the peasant world).

last years of life

The life of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy in recent years was not easy. The spiritual turning point turned into a break with one’s environment and family discord. The refusal to own private property, for example, caused discontent among the writer’s family members, especially his wife. The personal drama experienced by Lev Nikolaevich was reflected in his diary entries.

In the fall of 1910, at night, secretly from everyone, 82-year-old Leo Tolstoy, whose life dates were presented in this article, accompanied only by his attending physician D.P. Makovitsky, left the estate. The journey turned out to be too much for him: on the way, the writer fell ill and was forced to disembark at the Astapovo railway station. Lev Nikolaevich spent the last week of his life in a house that belonged to her boss. The whole country was following reports about his health at that time. Tolstoy was buried in Yasnaya Polyana; his death caused a huge public outcry.

Many contemporaries came to say goodbye to this great Russian writer.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a talented person whose works are read not only by adults, but also by schoolchildren. Who doesn’t know such works as, or Anna Karenina? It is probably difficult to find a person who is not familiar with the work of this writer. Let's get to know the writer Tolstoy better by briefly studying his biography.

Brief biography of Tolstoy: the most important things

L.N. Tolstoy is a philosopher, playwright, a most talented person who gave us his legacy. Studying his short biography for children in grades 5 and 4 will allow you to better understand the writer and study his life, from birth to his last days.

The childhood and youth of Leo Tolstoy

The biography of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy begins with his birth in the Tula province. This happened in 1828. He was the fourth child in a noble family. If we talk briefly about the writer’s childhood and his biography, then at the age of two he lost his father, and seven years later he lost his father and was raised by his aunt in Kazan. The first story of Leo Tolstoy’s famous trilogy “Childhood” tells us about the writer’s childhood years.

Leo Tolstoy received his primary education at home, after which he entered Kazan University at the Faculty of Philology. But the young man had no desire to study, and Tolstoy wrote a letter of resignation. On his parents' estate he tries his hand at farming, but the endeavor ends in failure. After which, on the advice of his brother, he goes to fight in the Caucasus, and later becomes a participant in the Crimean War.

Literary creativity and heritage

If we talk about Tolstoy’s work, his first work is the story Childhood, written in his cadet years. In 1852, the story was published in Sovremennik. Already at this time, Tolstoy was put on a par with such writers as Ostrovsky and.

While in the Caucasus, the writer will write Cossacks, and then begin writing, which will be a continuation of the first story. There will be other works for the young writer, because creative activity did not interfere with serving Tolstoy and went hand in hand with his participation in the Crimean War. Sevastopol stories appear from the writer's pen.

After the war he lives in St. Petersburg, in Paris. Upon returning to Russia, Tolstoy wrote the third story in 1857, which belongs to the autobiographical trilogy.

Having married Sophia Burns, Tolstoy stayed at his parents' estate, where he continued to create. His most popular work and his first major novel is War and Peace, which was written over a period of ten years. After him, he writes the no less famous work Anna Karenina.

The eighties were fruitful for the writer. He wrote comedies, novels, dramas, including After the Ball, Sunday and others. At that time, the writer’s worldview had already been formed. The essence of his worldview is clearly visible in his “Confession”, in the work “What is my faith?” Many of his admirers began to regard Tolstoy as a spiritual mentor.

In his work, the writer harshly posed questions of faith and the meaning of life, and criticized state institutions.

The authorities were very afraid of the writer’s pen, so they kept an eye on him, and also had a hand in ensuring that Tolstoy was excommunicated from the church. However, people continued to love and support the writer.

In the early nineties, Tolstoy began to get sick. In 1910, while he was on the road, he became ill. He stopped at Astapovo station, where he died 7 days later.

There are also interesting facts in Tolstoy’s biography. So the writer created not only works for adults, but also gave children such works as ABC and Reading Book.
The writer had thirteen children, although only ten of them survived.

War and Peace is a novel that was rewritten about eight times, and its individual episodes were rewritten even more. In addition, at first it was called 1805, later it was renamed two more times.

Tolstoy kept diaries where he described the situations that happened to him, made his notes, and shared his emotions. And since he had terrible handwriting, his wife copied the diaries.

Very short biography (in a nutshell)

Born on September 9, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province. Father - Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (1794-1837), military man, official. Mother - Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya (1790 - 1830). In 1844 he entered the Imperial Kazan University, which he left after 2 years. From 1851 he spent 2 years in the Caucasus. In 1854 he took part in the defense of Sevastopol. From 1857 to 1861 (with interruptions) he traveled around Europe. In 1862 he married Sophia Bers. They had 9 sons and 4 daughters. Also, he had an illegitimate son. In 1869, Tolstoy completed the book War and Peace. In 1901 he was excommunicated from the church. He died on November 20, 1910 at the age of 82. He was buried in Yasnaya Polyana. Main works: “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”, “Resurrection”, “Childhood”, “Kreutzer Sonata”, “After the Ball” and others.

Brief biography (details)

Leo Tolstoy is a great Russian writer and thinker, an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and an academician of fine literature. Tolstoy is revered and widely known throughout the world as the greatest educator, publicist and religious thinker. His ideas contributed to the emergence of a new religious movement called Tolstoyism. He is the author of such world classics as “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”, “Hadji Murat”. Some of his works have been repeatedly filmed both in Russia and abroad.

Lev Nikolaevich was born on September 9, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, into a wealthy noble family. He studied at Kazan University, which he later left. At the age of 23, he went to war in the Caucasus, where he began writing a trilogy: “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”. Then he participated in the Crimean War, after which he returned to St. Petersburg. Here he published his “Sevastopol Stories” in the Sovremennik magazine. In the period from 1853 to 1863, Tolstoy wrote the story “Cossacks,” but was forced to interrupt his work to return to Yasnaya Polyana and open a school there for rural children. He managed to create his own teaching methodology.

Tolstoy wrote his most significant work, War and Peace, from 1863 to 1869. The author wrote his next, no less brilliant work, Anna Karenina, from 1873 to 1877. At the same time, his philosophical views on life were being formed, which were later called “Tolstoyism.” The essence of these views is visible in the Confession, in the Kreutzer Sonata and some other works. Thanks to Tolstoy, Yasnaya Polyana became a kind of place of worship. People from all over Russia came to listen to him as a spiritual mentor. In 1901, the world famous writer was officially excommunicated from the church.

In October 1910, Tolstoy secretly left home and left by train. On the way, he fell sharply ill and was forced to get off at Astapovo, where he spent the last seven days of his life in the house of the station chief I. I. Ozolin. The great writer died on November 20 at the age of 82 and was buried in the forest in Yasnaya Polyana on the edge of a ravine, where he played with his brother as a child.

Brief biography video (for those who prefer to listen)

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 the Crimean War he 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 his literary activity and become a landowner, doing educational work in the village. For this purpose, he went to Yasnaya Polyana, where he opened a school for peasant children and created his own pedagogy system.

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 out 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 of 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, 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: the world famous writer was officially excommunicated from the church, which caused a huge 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 railway station of the Ryazan-Ural Railway. Here, in the station master's house, he spent the last seven days of his life.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is the author of works not only for adults, but also for children. Young readers like the stories, fables, and fairy tales of the famous prose writer. Tolstoy's works for children teach love, kindness, courage, justice, and resourcefulness.

Fairy tales for little ones

These works can be read to children by their parents. A 3-5 year old child will be interested in meeting the heroes of fairy tales. When kids learn to put letters together into words, they will be able to read and study Tolstoy’s works for children on their own.

The fairy tale “Three Bears” tells the story of a girl Masha who got lost in the forest. She came across a house and entered it. The table was set, there were 3 bowls of different sizes on it. Masha tasted the soup, first from two large ones, and then ate all the soup, which was poured into a small plate. Then she sat on the chair and slept on the bed, which, like the chair and the plate, belonged to Mishutka. When he returned home with his parent bears and saw all this, he wanted to catch the girl, but she jumped out the window and ran away.

Kids will also be interested in other works by Tolstoy for children, written in the form of fairy tales.

Stories-were

It is useful for older children to read Tolstoy's works for children, written in the format of short stories, for example, about a boy who really wanted to study, but his mother would not let him go.

The story "Philippok" begins with this. But the boy Philip once left for school without asking, when he was left at home alone with his grandmother. Entering the classroom, he was scared at first, but then pulled himself together and answered the teacher’s questions. The teacher promised the child that he would ask his mother to allow Filippka to go to school. This is how the boy wanted to learn. After all, learning something new is so interesting!

Tolstoy wrote about another small and good man. Works for children written by Lev Nikolaevich include the story “The Foundling.” From it we learn about the girl Masha, who discovered a baby on the threshold of her house. The girl was kind and gave the foundling milk to drink. Her mother wanted to give the baby to the boss, since their family was poor, but Masha said that the foundling did not eat much, and she herself would take care of him. The girl kept her word, she swaddled, fed, and put the baby to bed.

The next story, like the previous one, is based on real events. It's called "Cow". The work tells about the widow Marya, her six children and a cow.

Tolstoy, works for children created in an instructive form

After reading the story “The Stone,” you are once again convinced that you shouldn’t, that is, harbor a grudge against someone for a long time. After all, this is a destructive feeling.

In the story, one poor man literally carried a stone in his bosom. Once upon a time, a rich man, instead of helping, threw this cobblestone at the poor man. When the life of the rich man changed dramatically, he was taken to prison, the poor man wanted to throw a stone at him, which he had saved, but the anger had long passed and was replaced by pity.

You experience the same feeling when reading the story “Topol”. The narration is told in the first person. The author, together with his assistants, wanted to cut down young poplars. These were the shoots of an old tree. The man thought that this would make his life easier, but everything turned out differently. The poplar was drying up and therefore giving birth to new trees. The old tree died, and the workers destroyed the new shoots.

Fables

Not everyone knows that Leo Tolstoy’s works for children are not only fairy tales, short stories, but also fables that are written in prose.

For example, "The Ant and the Dove." After reading this fable, children will conclude that good deeds lead to good actions in return.

The ant fell into the water and began to drown, the dove threw him a twig there, along which the poor fellow was able to get out. Once a hunter set a net for a dove and was about to slam the trap, but then an ant came to the bird’s aid. He bit the hunter on the leg, he gasped. At this time, the dove got out of the net and flew away.

Other instructive fables that Leo Tolstoy came up with are also worthy of attention. Works for children written in this genre are:

• "Turtle and Eagle";
• "The head and tail of a snake";
• "The Lion and the Mouse";
• "Donkey and Horse";
• "Lion, Bear and Fox";
• "The Frog and the Lion";
• "The Ox and the Old Woman."

"Childhood"

Students of primary and secondary school age can be advised to read the first part of L.N. Tolstoy’s trilogy “Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth”. It will be useful for them to know how their peers, children of wealthy parents, lived in the 19th century.

The story begins with meeting Nikolenka Artenyev, who is 10 years old. The boy was instilled with good manners from childhood. And now, having woken up, he washed, got dressed, and teacher Karl Ivanovich took him and his younger brother to say hello to his mother. She poured tea in the living room, then the family had breakfast.

This is how Leo Tolstoy described the morning scene. Works for children teach young readers kindness and love, just like this story. The author describes what feelings Nikolenka felt for his parents - pure and sincere love. This story will be useful for young readers. In high school they will study the continuation of the book - "Boyhood" and "Youth".

Tolstoy's works: list

Short stories are read very quickly. Here are the titles of some of them that Lev Nikolaevich wrote for children:

• "Eskimos";
• "Two Comrades";
• "Bulka and the Wolf";
• "How Trees Walk";
• "Girls are smarter than old men";
• "Apple trees";
• "Magnet";
• "Lozina";
• "Two merchants";
• "Bone."

• "Candle";
• "Bad Air";
• "Harmful air";
• "Hares";
• "Deer".

Stories about animals

Tolstoy has very touching stories. We learn about the brave boy from the following story, called “Kitten.” In one family there lived a cat. She suddenly disappeared for some time. When the children - brother and sister - found her, they saw that the cat had given birth to kittens. The guys took one for themselves and began to care for the little creature - feeding and watering it.

One day they went for a walk and took their pet with them. But soon the children forgot about him. They remembered only when the baby was in danger - hunting dogs rushed at him barking. The girl got scared and ran away, and the boy rushed to protect the kitten. He covered him with his body and thus saved him from the dogs, which the hunter then called away.

In the story "Elephant" we learn about a giant animal living in India. The owner treated him poorly - he barely fed him and forced him to work a lot. One day the animal could not stand such treatment and crushed the man by stepping on him with its foot. Instead of the previous one, the elephant chose a boy - his son - as its owner.

These are the instructive and interesting stories the classic wrote. These are the best works of Leo Tolstoy for children. They will help instill in children many useful and important qualities and teach them to better see and understand the world around them.