Tolstoy's biography briefly. Report: Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich. World recognition. Memory
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 - philosopher, playwright, most talented person, who gave us his heritage. 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 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 the Faculty of Philology at Kazan University. 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 work young writer, after all creative activity did not interfere with serving Tolstoy went hand in hand with his participation in Crimean War. From the writer's pen appear Sevastopol stories.
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 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, 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.
Be one of best writers world history is an honorable right, and Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy deserved it, leaving behind a huge creative legacy. The stories, tales, novels, which are presented in a whole series of volumes, were appreciated not only by the writer’s contemporaries, but also by his descendants. What is the secret of this brilliant author, who was able to fit “” into his life?
The writer's childhood
Where was the future fiction writer born? Master of the pen was born in 1828 September 9 on his mother's estate Yasnaya Polyana, located in Tula province. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy's family was large. Father had count's title , and the mother was born Princess Volkonskaya. When he was two years old, his mother died, and 7 years later, his father died.
Lev was the fourth child in a noble family, so he was not deprived of the attention of his relatives. Literary genius I never thought about my losses with heartache. On the contrary, only warm memories of his childhood were preserved, because his mother and father were very affectionate with him. IN work of the same name the author idealizes his childhood years and writes that it was the most wonderful time of his life.
The little count received his education at home, where he was invited French and German teachers. After leaving school, Lev was fluent in three languages and also had extensive knowledge of different areas. In addition, the young man was fond of musical creativity, could play works by his favorite composers for a long time: Schumann, Bach, Chopin and Mozart.
Early years
In 1843, the young man became student at the Imperial Kazan University, chooses the Faculty of Oriental Languages, however, later changes his specialty due to low academic performance and begins to study law. Unable to complete the course. The young count returns to his estate in order to become a real farmer.
But here, too, failure awaits him: frequent travel completely distracts the owner from the important affairs of the estate. Keeping your diary- the only activity that was done with amazing scrupulousness: a habit that lasted a lifetime and became the foundation of most future works.
Important! The unfortunate student did not remain inactive for long. Having allowed himself to be persuaded by his brother, he went to serve as a cadet in the south, after which, after spending some time in the Caucasus mountains, he received a transfer to Sevastopol. There, from November 1854 to August 1855, the young count participated in.
Early creativity
The rich experience gained on the battlefields, as well as in the era of the Junkers, pushed the future writer to create the first literary works
. Even during his years of service as a cadet, having a lot of free time, the count begins to work on his first autobiographical story "Childhood".
Natural observation and a special flair were clearly reflected in the style: the author wrote about what was close and understandable not only to him. Life and creativity merge into one.
In the story “Childhood” every boy or young man would recognize himself. The story was originally a short story and was published in a magazine "Contemporary" in 1852. It is noteworthy that already the first story was excellently received by critics, and the young writer was compared to Turgenev, Ostrovsky and Goncharov, which was already a real recognition. All these masters of words were already quite famous and loved by the people.
What works did Leo Tolstoy write at that time?
The young count, feeling that he has finally found his calling, continues his work. From his pen one after another comes brilliant stories, novels that instantly become popular thanks to their originality and stunning realistic approach to reality: “Cossacks” (1852), “Adolescence” (1854), “Sevastopol Stories” (1854 - 1855), "Youth" (1857).
IN literary world rushes in quickly new writer Leo Tolstoy, which amazes the reader with detailed details, does not hide the truth and uses a new writing technique: the second collection "Sevastopol Stories" written from the point of view of the soldiers to bring the narrative even closer to the reader. The young author is not afraid to write openly and frankly about the horrors and contradictions of war. The characters are not heroes from paintings and paintings by artists, but ordinary people who are capable of performing real feats to save the lives of others.
Belong to anything literary movement or to be a supporter of a specific philosophical school, Lev Nikolaevich refused, declaring himself anarchist. Later, the master of words, in the course of a religious search, would take the right path, but for now the whole world lay before the young, successful genius, and he did not want to be one of many.
Marital status
Tolstoy returns to Russia, where he lived and was born, after a riotous trip to Paris without a single penny in his pocket. took place here marriage to Sofya Andreevna Bers, daughter of a doctor. This woman was main companion in life Tolstoy, became his support until the very end.
Sophia expressed her readiness to be a secretary, wife, mother of his children, girlfriend and even a cleaner, although the estate for which the servants were business as usual, was always kept in exemplary order.
The title of count constantly obliged household members to maintain a certain status. Over time, the husband and wife diverged in religious views: Sophia did not understand and did not accept the attempts of her loved one to create her own philosophical creed and follow it.
Attention! Only eldest daughter writer Alexandra supported her father’s endeavors: in 1910 they made a pilgrimage trip together. The other children adored Dad as a great storyteller, albeit a rather strict parent.
According to the recollections of descendants, the father could scold the little dirty trickster, but after a moment he would sit him on his lap and feel sorry for him, making up an amusing story as he went. In the literary arsenal of the famous realist there are many children's works recommended for study in preschool and junior school age- This “Book to read” and “ABC”. The first work contains stories by L.N. Tolstoy for the 4th grade of the school, which was organized on the Yasnaya Polyana estate.
How many children did Lev and Sophia have? A total of 13 children were born, three of whom died in infancy.
Maturity and creative flowering of a writer
From the age of thirty-two, Tolstoy began work on his main work - the epic novel. The first part was published in 1865 in the magazine "Russian Messenger", and in 1869 the final edition of the epic was published. Most of the 1860s were devoted to this monumental work, which the count repeatedly rewrote, corrected, supplemented, and at the end of his life he was so tired of it that he called it “War and Peace” - “ verbose rubbish" The novel was written in Yasnaya Polyana.
The work, four volumes long, turned out to be truly unique. What advantages does it have? This is first of all:
- historical veracity;
- the action in the novel is both realistic and fictional characters, the number of which exceeded a thousand according to philologists;
- interspersing into the outline of the plot three historical essays on the laws of history; accuracy in describing life and everyday life.
This is the basis of the novel - a person’s path, his position and the meaning of life are formed precisely from these everyday actions.
After the success of the military-historical epic, the author begins to work on a novel "Anna Karenina", taking much from his autobiography as a basis. In particular, the relationship between Kitty and Levina- these are partial memories of the life of the author himself with his wife Sophia, a kind of short biography of the writer, as well as a reflection of the outline of real events Russian-Turkish war.
The novel was published in 1875 - 1877, and almost immediately became the most discussed literary event of that time. Anna's story, written with amazing warmth and attention to female psychology, created a sensation. Before him, only Ostrovsky in his poems addressed female soul And revealed the rich inner world the beautiful half of humanity. Naturally, high fees for the work were not long in coming, because everyone educated person I read Tolstoy's Karenina. After the release this is enough secular novel, the author was not happy at all, but was in constant mental torment.
Change of worldview and later literary successes
Many years of life were devoted searching for the meaning of life, which led the writer to Orthodox faith, however, this step only confuses the graph. Lev Nikolaevich sees corruption in the church diaspora, complete subordination to personal convictions, which does not correspond to the doctrine that his soul longed for.
Attention! Leo Tolstoy becomes an apostate and even publishes an accusatory magazine “Mediator” (1883), because of which he is excommunicated from the church and accused of “heresy.”
However, Leo does not stop there and tries to follow the path of purification, taking quite bold steps. For example, gives away all his property to the poor, which Sofya Andreevna categorically opposed. The husband reluctantly transferred all the property to her and gave away the copyrights to the works, but still did not give up the search for his destiny.
This period of creativity is characterized huge religious upsurge- treatises are created and moral stories. What works with religious overtones did the author write? Among the most successful work between 1880 and 1990 there were:
- the story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (1886), which describes a man near death who is trying to understand and comprehend his “empty” life;
- the story “Father Sergius” (1898), aimed at criticizing his own religious quests;
- the novel “Resurrection”, which tells about the moral pain of Katyusha Maslova and the ways of her moral purification.
Completion of life's journey
Having written many works during his life, the count appeared to his contemporaries and descendants as a strong religious leader and spiritual mentor, such as Mahatma Gandhi, with whom he corresponded. The writer’s life and work are permeated by the idea of what is necessary resist evil every hour with all the strength of your soul, while demonstrating humility and saving thousands of lives. The master of words became a real teacher among lost souls. Entire pilgrimage trips were organized to the Yasnaya Polyana estate; students of the great Tolstoy came to “get to know themselves,” spending hours on end listening to their ideological guru, whom the writer became in his declining years.
The author-mentor accepted everyone who came with problems, questions and aspirations of the soul, and was ready to give away his savings and shelter wanderers for any period of time. Unfortunately, this increased the degree of tension in relations with his wife Sophia and, in the end, resulted in the great realist's reluctance to live in his own house. Together with his daughter, Lev Nikolaevich went on a pilgrimage around Russia, wanting to travel incognito, but often this was to no avail - they were recognized everywhere.
Where did Lev Nikolaevich die? November 1910 was fatal for the writer: already sick, he stayed in the house of the head of the railway station, where he died on November 20. Lev Nikolaevich was a real idol. During the funeral of this, truly, people's writer, according to the recollections of contemporaries, people cried bitterly and followed the coffin in a crowd of thousands. There were so many people as if they were burying a king.
Brief biography of L. N. Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy. Brief biography.
Conclusion
The story about the life and work of Leo Tolstoy can be continued endlessly; many monographs have been written about this. The writer's novels still remain the standard literary art, and the military epic “War and Peace” was included in the gold collection greatest works peace. Lev Nikolaevich became the first writer who drew attention to the depths of the human subconscious, unconscious and subtle motives of character, as well as the great role of everyday life, which determines the entire essence of the individual.
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Russian writer, philosopher, thinker, was born in the Tula province, on the family estate “Yasnaya Polyana” in 1828. As a child, he lost his parents and was raised by his distant relative T. A. Ergolskaya. At the age of 16, he entered Kazan University at the Faculty of Philosophy, but the studies turned out to be boring for him, and after 3 years he dropped out. At the age of 23, he went to fight in the Caucasus, about which he subsequently wrote a lot, reflecting this experience in his works “Cossacks”, “Raid”, “Cutting Wood”, “Hadji Murat”.
Continuing to fight, after the Crimean War Tolstoy went to St. Petersburg, where he became a member of the Sovremennik literary circle, along with the famous writers Nekrasov, Turgenev and others. Already having a certain fame as a writer, many greeted his entry into the circle with enthusiasm; Nekrasov called him “the great hope of Russian literature.” There he published his “Sevastopol Stories,” written under the influence of the experience of the Crimean War, after which he went on a trip to European countries, soon, however, becoming disillusioned with them.
At the end of 1856, Tolstoy resigned and, returning to his native Yasnaya Polyana, became a landowner. Having moved away from literary activities, Tolstoy took up educational activities. He opened a school that practiced the pedagogy system he had developed. For these purposes, he went to Europe in 1860 to study foreign experience.
In the fall of 1862, Tolstoy married a young girl from Moscow, S. A. Bers, leaving with her for Yasnaya Polyana, choosing quiet life family man. But a year later it suddenly dawned on him new idea, as a result of whose incarnation came into being famous work"War and Peace". His no less famous novel “Anna Karenina” was completed already in 1877. Speaking about this period of the writer’s life, we can say that his worldview at that time was already fully formed and became known as “Tolstoyism”. His novel “Sunday” was published in 1899, but Lev Nikolaevich’s last works were “Father Sergius”, “The Living Corpse”, “After the Ball”.
Having world fame, Tolstoy was popular with many people around the world. Being practically a spiritual mentor and authority for them, he often received guests at his estate.
In accordance with his worldview, at the end of 1910, Tolstoy secretly leaves his house at night, accompanied by his personal doctor. Intending to travel to Bulgaria or the Caucasus, they had to long journey, but due to a serious illness, Tolstoy was forced to stop at the small Astapovo railway station (now named after him), where he died of a serious illness at the age of 82.
Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich (1828 - 1910) is one of the most famous Russian writers and thinkers, one of the greatest writers in the world, educator, publicist and religious thinker.
Brief biography of Tolstoy
Write short biography of Tolstoy quite difficult, since he lived a long and very varied life.
In principle, everything can be called “short” only conditionally. Nevertheless, we will try to convey in a concise form the main points of the biography of Leo Tolstoy.
Childhood and youth
Was born future writer in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, in 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. From his biography it clearly follows that this trip disappointed the thinker.
From 1853 to 1863 wrote the story “Cossacks”, after which he decided to interrupt 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.
Tolstoy's creativity
In 1863-1869 he wrote the fundamental work “War and Peace”. It was this work that brought him worldwide fame. In 1873-1877 the novel “Anna Karenina” was published.
Portrait of Leo Tolstoy
During these same years, the writer’s worldview was fully formed, which later resulted in the religious movement “Tolstoyism.” Its essence is indicated in the works: “Confession”, “What is my faith?” and "Kreutzer Sonata".
From Tolstoy’s biography it is clearly clear that the doctrine of “Tolstoyism” is set forth in the philosophical and religious works “Research dogmatic theology", "Connection and Translation of the Four Gospels". The main emphasis in these works is on the moral improvement of man, the exposure 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 and the church
Tolstoy's confessional journalism gives a detailed idea of his emotional drama: painting pictures social inequality and the 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 a short biography of Tolstoy, there is no point in mentioning the writer’s numerous harsh statements about the church, but they can be easily found in various sources.
In 1901, a resolution of the Holy Governing Synod was issued, which officially announced that Count Leo Tolstoy was no longer a member Orthodox Church, since his (publicly expressed) beliefs are incompatible with such membership.
This caused an enormous public outcry, since Tolstoy’s popular authority was extremely great, although everyone was well aware of the writer’s critical mood in relation to the Christian church.
Last days and death
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, seven days later, in the house of the station master, he died at the age of 82.
We hope that a short biography of Tolstoy will interest you for further study of his creative heritage. And the last thing: you may not know this, but in mathematics there is, the author of which is himself great writer. We highly recommend checking it out.
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Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy- outstanding Russian prose writer, playwright and public figure. Born on August 28 (September 9), 1828 in the Yasnaya Polyana estate Tula region. On his mother’s side, the writer belonged to the eminent family of Princes Volkonsky, and on his father’s side, to the ancient family of Count Tolstoy. Leo Tolstoy's great-great-grandfather, grandfather and father were military men. Representatives of the ancient Tolstoy family served as governors in many cities of Rus' even under Ivan the Terrible.
The writer’s maternal grandfather, “descendant of Rurik,” Prince Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky, was enlisted in military service at the age of seven. He was a participant in the Russian-Turkish war and retired with the rank of general-in-chief. The writer's paternal grandfather, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, served in the navy and then in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. The writer's father, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, voluntarily entered military service at the age of seventeen. He participated in Patriotic War 1812, was captured by the French and was liberated by Russian troops who entered Paris after the defeat of Napoleon's army. On his mother's side, Tolstoy was related to the Pushkins. Their common ancestor was boyar I.M. Golovin, an associate of Peter I, who studied shipbuilding with him. One of his daughters is the poet's great-grandmother, the other is the great-grandmother of Tolstoy's mother. Thus, Pushkin was Tolstoy’s fourth cousin.
The writer's childhood took place in Yasnaya Polyana - an ancient family estate. Tolstoy’s interest in history and literature arose in his childhood: while living in the village, he saw how the life of the working people proceeded, from him he heard a lot folk tales, epics, songs, legends. The life of the people, their work, interests and views, oral creativity- everything living and wise - Yasnaya Polyana revealed to Tolstoy.
Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya, the writer’s mother, was kind and sympathetic person, an intelligent and educated woman: she knew French, German, English and Italian languages, played the piano, was engaged in painting. Tolstoy was not even two years old when his mother died. The writer did not remember her, but he heard so much about her from those around him that he clearly and vividly imagined her appearance and character.
Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, their father, was loved and appreciated by children for his humane attitude towards serfs. In addition to taking care of the house and children, he read a lot. During his life, Nikolai Ilyich collected a rich library, consisting of rare books of French classics, historical and natural history works at that time. It was he who first noticed his inclination youngest son to a living perception of the artistic word.
When Tolstoy was nine years old, his father took him to Moscow for the first time. The first impressions of Lev Nikolaevich’s Moscow life served as the basis for many paintings, scenes and episodes of the hero’s life in Moscow Tolstoy's trilogy "Childhood", "Adolescence" and "Youth". Young Tolstoy saw not only open side life big city, but also some hidden, shadow sides. With his first stay in Moscow, the writer connected the end of the earliest period of his life, childhood, and the transition to adolescence. The first period of Tolstoy's Moscow life did not last long. In the summer of 1837, while traveling to Tula on business, his father died suddenly. Soon after the death of his father, Tolstoy and his sister and brothers had to endure a new misfortune: their grandmother, whom everyone close to them considered the head of the family, died. Sudden death her son was a terrible blow for her and less than a year later carried her to the grave. A few years later, the first guardian of the orphaned Tolstoy children, their father’s sister, Alexandra Ilyinichna Osten-Saken, died. Ten-year-old Lev, his three brothers and sister were taken to Kazan, where their new guardian, Aunt Pelageya Ilyinichna Yushkova, lived.
Tolstoy wrote about his second guardian as a “kind and very pious” woman, but at the same time very “frivolous and vain.” According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Pelageya Ilyinichna did not enjoy authority with Tolstoy and his brothers, so the move to Kazan is considered to be a new stage in the writer’s life: his upbringing ended, a period of independent life began.
Tolstoy lived in Kazan for more than six years. It was the time of formation of his character and choice life path. Living with his brothers and sister with Pelageya Ilyinichna, young Tolstoy spent two years preparing to enter Kazan University. Having decided to enter the eastern department of the university, he paid special attention to preparing for exams in foreign languages. In exams in mathematics and Russian literature, Tolstoy received fours, and in foreign languages - fives. Lev Nikolayevich failed in the exams in history and geography - he received unsatisfactory grades.
Failure in the entrance exams served as a serious lesson for Tolstoy. He devoted the entire summer to a thorough study of history and geography, passed additional exams on them, and in September 1844 he was enrolled in the first year of the eastern department of the Faculty of Philosophy of Kazan University in the category of Arabic-Turkish literature. However, the study of languages did not captivate Tolstoy, and after summer holidays in Yasnaya Polyana he transferred from the Faculty of Oriental Studies to the Faculty of Law.
But in the future, university studies did not awaken Lev Nikolaevich’s interest in the sciences he was studying. Most of At that time, he independently studied philosophy, compiled “Rules of Life” and carefully wrote entries in his diary. By the end of the third year training sessions Tolstoy was finally convinced that the then university order only interfered with independent creative work, and he decided to leave the university. However, he needed a university diploma to obtain the license to enter the service. And in order to receive a diploma, Tolstoy passed university exams as an external student, spending two years of living in the village preparing for them. Having received university documents from the chancellery at the end of April 1847, former student Tolstoy left Kazan.
After leaving the university, Tolstoy again went to Yasnaya Polyana, and then to Moscow. Here at the end of 1850 he began literary creativity. At this time, he decided to write two stories, but did not finish either of them. In the spring of 1851, Lev Nikolaevich, together with his older brother, Nikolai Nikolaevich, who served in the army as an artillery officer, arrived in the Caucasus. Here Tolstoy lived for almost three years, being mainly in the village of Starogladkovskaya, located on the left bank of the Terek. From here he traveled to Kizlyar, Tiflis, Vladikavkaz, and visited many villages and villages.
It began in the Caucasus military service Tolstoy. He took part in military operations of Russian troops. Tolstoy's impressions and observations are reflected in his stories “The Raid”, “Cutting Wood”, “Demoted”, and in the story “Cossacks”. Later, turning to the memories of this period of his life, Tolstoy created the story “Hadji Murat”. In March 1854, Tolstoy arrived in Bucharest, where the office of the chief of artillery troops was located. From here, as a staff officer, he traveled throughout Moldavia, Wallachia and Bessarabia.
In the spring and summer of 1854, the writer took part in the siege of the Turkish fortress of Silistria. However, the main place of hostilities at this time was Crimean peninsula. Here Russian troops under the leadership of V.A. Kornilov and P.S. Nakhimov heroically defended Sevastopol for eleven months, besieged by Turkish and Anglo-French troops. Participation in the Crimean War is an important stage in Tolstoy’s life. Here he got to know ordinary Russian soldiers, sailors, and residents of Sevastopol closely, and sought to understand the source of the heroism of the city’s defenders, to understand the special character traits inherent in the defender of the Fatherland. Tolstoy himself showed bravery and courage in the defense of Sevastopol.
In November 1855, Tolstoy left Sevastopol for St. Petersburg. By this time he had already earned recognition in advanced literary circles. During this period, attention public life Russia was centered around the issue of serfdom. Tolstoy's stories of this time ("Morning of the Landowner", "Polikushka", etc.) are also devoted to this problem.
In 1857 the writer committed foreign travel. He visited France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. Traveling around different cities, the writer became acquainted with great interest in the culture and social system of Western European countries. Much of what he saw was subsequently reflected in his work. In 1860, Tolstoy made another trip abroad. A year earlier, in Yasnaya Polyana, he opened a school for children. Traveling through the cities of Germany, France, Switzerland, England and Belgium, the writer visited schools and studied the features of public education. In most of the schools that Tolstoy visited, caning discipline was in effect and corporal punishment was used. Returning to Russia and visiting a number of schools, Tolstoy discovered that many teaching methods that were in effect in Western European countries, particularly Germany, had penetrated into Russian schools. At this time, Lev Nikolaevich wrote a number of articles in which he criticized the public education system both in Russia and in Western European countries.
Arriving home after a trip abroad, Tolstoy devoted himself to working at school and publishing the pedagogical magazine Yasnaya Polyana. The school founded by the writer was located not far from his home - in an outbuilding that has survived to this day. In the early 70s, Tolstoy compiled and published a number of textbooks for primary school: “ABC”, “Arithmetic”, four “Books to read”. More than one generation of children learned from these books. The stories from them are read with enthusiasm by children even today.
In 1862, when Tolstoy was away, landowners arrived in Yasnaya Polyana and searched the writer’s house. In 1861, the Tsar's manifesto announced the abolition of serfdom. During the implementation of the reform, disputes broke out between landowners and peasants, the settlement of which was entrusted to the so-called peace mediators. Tolstoy was appointed as a peace mediator in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province. When examining controversial cases between nobles and peasants, the writer most often took a position in favor of the peasantry, which caused discontent among the nobles. This was the reason for the search. Because of this, Tolstoy had to stop working as a peace mediator, close the school in Yasnaya Polyana and refuse to publish a pedagogical magazine.
In 1862 Tolstoy married Sofya Andreevna Bers, daughter of a Moscow doctor. Arriving with her husband in Yasnaya Polyana, Sofya Andreevna tried with all her might to create an environment on the estate in which nothing would distract the writer from his hard work. In the 60s, Tolstoy led a solitary life, completely devoting himself to work on War and Peace.
At the end of the epic War and Peace, Tolstoy decided to write a new work - a novel about the era of Peter I. However, social events in Russia caused by the abolition of serfdom so captured the writer that he left work on historical novel and began to create a new work, which reflected post-reform life Russia. This is how the novel Anna Karenina appeared, to which Tolstoy devoted four years to work.
In the early 80s, Tolstoy moved with his family to Moscow to educate his growing children. Here the writer, well acquainted with rural poverty, witnessed urban poverty. In the early 90s of the 19th century, almost half of the central provinces of the country were gripped by famine, and Tolstoy joined the fight against the national disaster. Thanks to his appeal, the collection of donations, purchase and delivery of food to the villages was launched. At this time, under the leadership of Tolstoy, about two hundred free canteens were opened in the villages of the Tula and Ryazan provinces for the starving population. A number of articles written by Tolstoy about the famine date back to the same period, in which the writer truthfully depicted the plight of the people and condemned the policies of the ruling classes.
In the mid-80s Tolstoy wrote drama "The Power of Darkness", which depicts the death of the old foundations of patriarchal-peasant Russia, and the story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” dedicated to the fate of a man who only before his death realized the emptiness and meaninglessness of his life. In 1890, Tolstoy wrote the comedy “The Fruits of Enlightenment,” which shows the true situation of the peasantry after the abolition of serfdom. In the early 90s it was created novel "Sunday", on which the writer worked intermittently for ten years. In all his works relating to this period of creativity, Tolstoy openly shows whom he sympathizes with and whom he condemns; depicts the hypocrisy and insignificance of the “masters of life.”
The novel “Sunday” was subject to censorship more than other works of Tolstoy. Most of the novel's chapters were released or abridged. The ruling circles have turned active policy against the writer. Fearing popular outrage, the authorities did not dare to use open repression. With the consent of the tsar and at the insistence of the chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Pobedonostsev, the synod adopted a resolution to excommunicate Tolstoy from the church. The writer was under police surveillance. The world community was outraged by the persecution of Lev Nikolaevich. The peasantry, advanced intelligentsia and ordinary people were on the side of the writer and sought to express their respect and support to him. The love and sympathy of the people served as reliable support for the writer in the years when the reaction sought to silence him.
However, despite all the efforts of reactionary circles, every year Tolstoy denounced the noble-bourgeois society more sharply and boldly and openly opposed the autocracy. Works of this period ( “After the Ball”, “For What?”, “Hadji Murat”, “Living Corpse”) are imbued with deep hatred of the royal power, the limited and ambitious ruler. In journalistic articles dating back to this time, the writer sharply condemned the instigators of wars and called for a peaceful resolution of all disputes and conflicts.
In 1901-1902, Tolstoy suffered serious illness. At the insistence of doctors, the writer had to go to Crimea, where he spent more than six months.
In Crimea, he met with writers, artists, artists: Chekhov, Korolenko, Gorky, Chaliapin, etc. When Tolstoy returned home, hundreds warmly greeted him at the stations ordinary people. In the fall of 1909, the writer last time made a trip to Moscow.
Tolstoy's diaries and letters of the last decades of his life reflected difficult experiences that were caused by the writer's discord with his family. Tolstoy wanted to transfer the land that belonged to him to the peasants and wanted his works to be published freely and free of charge by anyone who wanted. The writer’s family opposed this, not wanting to give up either the rights to the land or the rights to the works. The old landowner way of life, preserved in Yasnaya Polyana, weighed heavily on Tolstoy.
In the summer of 1881, Tolstoy made his first attempt to leave Yasnaya Polyana, but a feeling of pity for his wife and children forced him to return. Several more attempts by the writer to leave his native estate ended with the same result. On October 28, 1910, secretly from his family, he left Yasnaya Polyana forever, deciding to go south and spend the rest of his life in peasant hut, among the ordinary Russian people. However, on the way, Tolstoy became seriously ill and was forced to get off the train at the small Astapovo station. The great writer spent the last seven days of his life in the house of the station master. The news of the death of one of the outstanding thinkers, a wonderful writer, a great humanist deeply struck the hearts of all progressive people of this time. Creative heritage Tolstoy is of great importance for world literature. Over the years, interest in the writer’s work does not wane, but, on the contrary, grows. As A. France rightly noted: “With his life he proclaims sincerity, directness, purposefulness, firmness, calm and constant heroism, he teaches that one must be truthful and one must be strong... Precisely because he was full of strength, he always was truthful!”
