What years did Tolstoy live? Biography of Leo Tolstoy briefly the most important and creativity

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828. The family of the writer belonged to the nobility. After his mother died, Lev and his sisters and brothers were brought up cousin father. Their father died 7 years later. For this reason, the children were given to be raised by an aunt. But soon the aunt died, and the children went to Kazan, to the second aunt. Tolstoy's childhood was difficult, but, however, in his works he romanticized this period of his life.

Lev Nikolaevich received his basic education at home. Soon he entered the Imperial Kazan University at the Faculty of Philology. But in his studies, he was not successful.

While Tolstoy served in the army, he would have quite a lot of free time. Even then, he began to write an autobiographical story "Childhood". This story contains good memories from the publicist's childhood.

Lev Nikolayevich also participated in the Crimean War, and during this period he created a number of works: “Boyhood”, “ Sevastopol stories" and so on.

Anna Karenina is Tolstoy's most famous work.

Leo Tolstoy fell asleep eternal sleep in 1910, November 20. He was interred in Yasnaya Polyana, the place where he grew up.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy - famous writer, who created, in addition to recognized serious books, works useful for children. These were, first of all, "ABC" and "Book for reading".

He was born in 1828 in the Tula province in the Yasnaya Polyana estate, where his house-museum is still located. Lyova became the fourth child in this noble family. His mother (nee princess) soon died, and seven years later his father. These terrible events led to the fact that the children had to move to their aunt in Kazan. Later, Lev Nikolayevich will collect memories of these and other years in the story "Childhood", which will be the first to be published in the Sovremennik magazine.

At first, Lev studied at home with German and French teachers, he was also fond of music. He grew up and entered the Imperial University. Tolstoy's older brother convinced him to serve in the army. The lion even took part in real battles. They are described by him in "Sevastopol stories", in the stories "Adolescence" and "Youth".

Tired of the wars, he declared himself an anarchist and went to Paris, where he lost all the money. Having changed his mind, Lev Nikolaevich returned to Russia, married Sophia Burns. Since then, he began to live in his native estate and engage in literary work.

His first major work was the novel War and Peace. The writer wrote it for about ten years. The novel was well received by both readers and critics. Further, Tolstoy created the novel "Anna Karenina", which received more greater success public.

Tolstoy wanted to understand life. Desperate to find an answer in his work, he went to church, but was disappointed there too. Then he renounced the church, began to think about his philosophical theory- "non-resistance to evil." He wanted to give all his property to the poor… The secret police even began to follow him!

Going on a pilgrimage, Tolstoy fell ill and died - in 1910.

Biography of Leo Tolstoy

In different sources, the date of birth of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy is indicated in different ways. The most common versions are August 28, 1829 and September 09, 1828. Born as the fourth child in a noble family, Russia, Tula province, Yasnaya Polyana. There were 5 children in the Tolstoy family.

His family tree originates from the Ruriks, his mother belonged to the Volkonsky family, and his father was a count. At the age of 9, Leo and his father went to Moscow for the first time. The young writer was so impressed that this trip gave rise to such works as Childhood'', Boyhood'', Youth''.

In 1830, Leo's mother died. The upbringing of children, after the death of the mother, was taken over by their uncle - the cousin of the father, after whose death, the aunt became the guardian. When the guardian aunt died, the second aunt from Kazan began to take care of the children. In 1873 my father died.

Tolstoy received his first education at home, with teachers. In Kazan, the writer lived for about 6 years, spent 2 years preparing to enter the Imperial Kazan University and he was enrolled in the Faculty of Oriental Languages. In 1844 he became a university student.

Learning languages ​​for Leo Tolstoy was not interesting, after that he tried to link his fate with jurisprudence, but even here the training did not work out, so in 1847 he dropped out of school, received documents from an educational institution. After unsuccessful attempts to study, he decided to develop farming. As a result, he returned to parental home in Yasnaya Polyana.

I did not find myself in agriculture, but it was not bad to keep a personal diary. Having finished working in the field of farming, he went to Moscow to focus on creativity, but all his plans have not yet been implemented.

Very young, he managed to visit the war, along with his brother Nikolai. The course of military events influenced his work, this is noticeable in some works, for example, in the stories, Cossacks '', Hadji - Murat '', in the stories, Degraded '', Woodcutting '', Raid ''.

From 1855, Lev Nikolaevich became a more skillful writer. At that time, the right of serfs was relevant, about which Leo Tolstoy wrote in his stories: “Polikushka”, “Morning of the landowner” and others.

1857-1860 fell on travel. Under their impression, he prepared school textbooks and began to pay attention to the publication of a pedagogical journal. In 1862, Leo Tolstoy married the young Sophia Bers, the daughter of a doctor. Family life, at first, benefited him, then the most famous works were written, War and Peace '', Anna Karenina ''.

The mid-80s were fruitful, dramas, comedies, and novels were written. The writer was worried about the topic of the bourgeoisie, he was on the side of the common people, in order to express his thoughts on this matter, Leo Tolstoy created many works: “After the Ball”, “For what”, “The Power of Darkness”, “Sunday”, etc.

Roman, Sunday”, deserves special attention. To write it, Lev Nikolayevich had to work hard for 10 years. As a result, the work was criticized. Local authorities, they were so afraid of his pen that they installed surveillance on him, they were able to remove him from the church, but despite this, ordinary people supported Leo as best they could.

In the early 90s, Leo began to get sick. In the autumn of 1910, at the age of 82, the writer's heart stopped. It happened on the road: Leo Tolstoy was on a train, he became ill, he had to stop at the Astapovo railway station. Sheltered the patient, at home, the head of the station. After 7 days of visiting, the writer died.

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Count, the great Russian writer.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born on August 28 (September 9), 1828 in the estate of the Krapivensky district of the Tula province (now in) in the family of a retired staff captain Count N. I. Tolstoy (1794-1837), a participant Patriotic War 1812.

LN Tolstoy was educated at home. In 1844-1847 he studied at Kazan University, but did not complete the course. In 1851 he went to the Caucasus to the village - to the place of military service of his elder brother N. N. Tolstoy.

Two years of life in the Caucasus turned out to be unusually significant for spiritual development writer. The story "Childhood" written by him here - the first printed work of L. N. Tolstoy (published under the initials L. N. in the journal "Sovremennik" in 1852) - together with the stories "Boyhood" (1852-1854) and "Youth "(1855-1857) was part of the extensive plan of the autobiographical novel "Four Epochs of Development", the last part which - "Youth" - was never written.

In 1851-1853 L. N. Tolstoy took part in military operations in the Caucasus (first as a volunteer, then as an artillery officer), in 1854 he was welded into the Danube army. Shortly after the start of the Crimean War, at his personal request, he was transferred to Sevastopol, during the siege of which he participated in the defense of the 4th bastion. Army life and episodes of the war gave L. N. Tolstoy material for the stories "The Raid" (1853), "Cutting the Forest" (1853-1855), as well as for the artistic essays "Sevastopol in the month of December", "Sevastopol in May", " Sevastopol in August 1855" (all published in Sovremennik in 1855-1856). These essays, traditionally called Sevastopol Tales, made a huge impression on Russian society.

In 1855, L. N. Tolstoy arrived in, where he became close to the employees of Sovremennik, met I. A. Goncharov, and others. The years 1856-1859 were marked by the writer’s attempts to find himself in literary environment, to get used to the circle of professionals, to approve your creative position. The most striking work of this time is the story "Cossacks" (1853-1863), in which the author's attraction to folk themes was manifested.

Dissatisfied with his work, disappointed in secular and literary circles, L. N. Tolstoy at the turn of the 1860s decided to leave literature and settle in the countryside. In 1859-1862, he devoted a lot of energy to the school he founded for peasant children, studied the organization of pedagogical work in and abroad, published the pedagogical journal Yasnaya Polyana (1862), preaching a free system of education and upbringing.

In 1862, L. N. Tolstoy married S. A. Bers (1844-1919) and began to live patriarchally and secludedly in his estate as the head of a large and ever-increasing family. During the years of the peasant reform, he acted as a conciliator in the Krapivensky district, resolving disputes between landlords and their former serfs.

The 1860s were the heyday of the artistic genius of Leo Tolstoy. Living a sedentary, measured life, he found himself in an intense, concentrated spiritual creativity. The original ways mastered by the writer led to a new rise in national culture.

The novel by L. N. Tolstoy "War and Peace" (1863-1869, the beginning of publication - 1865) became a unique phenomenon in Russian and world literature. The author managed to successfully combine depth and intimateness. psychological novel with the scope and multifigures of an epic fresco. With his novel, L. N. Tolstoy tried to answer the desire of literature of the 1860s to understand the course historical process, to determine the role of the people in the decisive era of national life.

In the early 1870s, Leo Tolstoy again focused on pedagogical interests. He wrote "ABC" (1871-1872), later - "New ABC" (1874-1875), for which the writer composed original stories and transcriptions of fairy tales and fables, which made up four "Russian Books for Reading". For a while, Leo Tolstoy returned to teaching at the Yasnaya Polyana school. However, symptoms of a crisis in the moral and philosophical outlook of the writer soon began to appear, aggravated by the historical stop of the social turning point of the 1870s.

The central work of L. N. Tolstoy of the 1870s is the novel "Anna Karenina" (1873-1877, published in 1876-1877). Like novels and written at the same time, Anna Karenina is an acutely problematic work, full of signs of the time. The novel was the result of the writer's thoughts on fate modern society and filled with pessimism.

By the beginning of the 1880s, L. N. Tolstoy formed the basic principles of his new worldview, which later became known as Tolstoyism. They found their fullest expression in his works "Confession" (1879-1880, published in 1884) and "What is my faith?" (1882-1884). In them, L. N. Tolstoy concluded that the foundations for the existence of the upper strata of society, with which he was connected by origin, upbringing and life experience. To the writer's characteristic criticism of the materialistic and positivist theories of progress, to the apology of naive consciousness, a sharp protest against the state and the official church, against the privileges and way of life of one's class is now added. L. N. Tolstoy connected his new social views with moral and religious philosophy. The works "Study of dogmatic theology" (1879-1880) and "Combination and translation of the four gospels" (1880-1881) laid the foundation for the religious side of Tolstoy's teachings. Purified from distortions and church rituals, the Christian doctrine in its renewed form, according to the writer, was supposed to unite people with the ideas of love and forgiveness. L. N. Tolstoy preached non-resistance to evil by violence, considering the only reasonable means of combating evil to be its public denunciation and passive disobedience to the authorities. He saw the path to the coming renewal of man and mankind in individual spiritual work, the moral improvement of the individual, and rejected the significance of political struggle and revolutionary explosions.

In the 1880s, L. N. Tolstoy noticeably lost interest in artistic work and even condemned his old novels and story. He fell in love with the simple physical labor, plowed, sewed boots for himself, switched to vegetarian food. At the same time, the writer's dissatisfaction with the usual way of life of loved ones grew. His publicistic works "So what should we do?" (1882-1886) and Slavery of Our Time (1899-1900) sharply criticized the vices of modern civilization, but the author saw a way out of its contradictions mainly in utopian calls for moral and religious self-education. Actually artistic creativity the writer of these years is saturated with journalism, direct denunciations of wrongful judgment and modern marriage, land ownership and the church, passionate appeals to the conscience, reason and dignity of people (the stories "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" (1884-1886); "Kreutzer Sonata" (1887-1889, published in 1891); The Devil (1889-1890, published 1911).

In the same period, L. N. Tolstoy began to show a serious interest in dramatic genres. In the drama "The Power of Darkness" (1886) and the comedy "The Fruits of Enlightenment" (1886-1890, published in 1891), he considered the problem of the pernicious influence of urban civilization on a conservative rural society. the so-called “folk stories” of the 1880s (“How do people live”, “Candle”, “Two old men”, “How much land does a person need”, etc.), written in the parable genre, come to life.

L. N. Tolstoy actively supported the Posrednik publishing house that arose in 1884, led by his followers and friends V. G. Chertkov and I. I. Gorbunov-Posadov, and whose goal was to distribute among the people books that serve the cause of education and are close to Tolstoy’s teachings . Many of the writer's works were published under censorship conditions, first in Geneva, then in London, where, on the initiative of V. G. Chertkov, the Free Word publishing house was founded. In 1891, 1893 and 1898, L. N. Tolstoy led a broad public movement to help the peasants of the starving provinces, spoke with appeals and articles on measures to combat hunger. In the second half of the 1890s, the writer devoted much of his energy to protecting religious sectarians - the Molokans and Doukhobors, and helped the Doukhobors move to Canada. (especially in the 1890s) became a place of pilgrimage for people from the farthest corners of Russia and from other countries, one of the largest centers of attraction for the living forces of world culture.

The main artistic work of Leo Tolstoy in the 1890s was the novel Resurrection (1889-1899), the plot of which arose on the basis of a genuine court case. In an amazing combination of circumstances (a young aristocrat who was once guilty of seducing a peasant girl brought up in a manor house, now, as a juror, must decide her fate in court), the alogism of a life built on social injustice was expressed for the writer. The caricature of the ministers of the church and its rites in the Resurrection became one of the reasons for the decision of the Holy Synod to excommunicate Leo Tolstoy from Orthodox Church (1901).

During this period, the alienation observed by the writer in contemporary society makes the problem of personal identity extremely important for him. moral responsibility with the inevitable pangs of conscience, enlightenment, moral upheaval and subsequent break with their environment. The plot of “leaving”, a sharp and radical change in life, an appeal to a new faith in life becomes typical (“Father Sergius”, 1890-1898, published in 1912; “The Living Corpse”, 1900, published in 1911; “After the Ball” , 1903, published 1911; " Posthumous notes Elder Fyodor Kuzmich...”, 1905, published in 1912).

In the last decade of his life, Leo Tolstoy became the recognized head of Russian literature. He maintains personal relationships with young contemporary writers V. G. Korolenko, A. M. Gorky. His social and journalistic activities continued: his appeals and articles were published, and work was underway on the book "Circle of Reading". Tolstoyism became widely known as an ideological doctrine, but the writer himself at that time experienced hesitations and doubts about the correctness of his teaching. During the years of the Russian revolution of 1905-1907, his protests against the death penalty became famous (the article "I can not be silent", 1908).

Leo Tolstoy spent the last years of his life in an atmosphere of intrigue and strife between the Tolstoyans and members of his family. Trying to bring his lifestyle into line with his beliefs, on October 28 (November 10), 1910, the writer secretly left. On the way, he caught a cold and died on November 7 (20), 1910 at the Astapovo station of the Ryazan-Uralskaya railway(now a village in). The death of Leo Tolstoy caused a colossal public outcry in and abroad.

The work of L. N. Tolstoy marked new stage in the development of realism in Russian and world literature, became a kind of bridge between the traditions of the classical novel of the 19th century and the literature of the 20th century. The philosophical views of the writer had a huge impact on the evolution of European humanism.

Relevant to localities:

Born in Yasnaya Polyana, Krapivensky district, Tula province, on August 28 (September 9), 1828. He lived in the estate in 1828-1837. From 1849 he returned to the estate periodically, from 1862 he lived permanently. Buried at Yasnaya Polyana.

He first visited Moscow in January 1837. He lived in the city until 1841, subsequently visited repeatedly and lived for a long time. In 1882 he bought a house in Dolgokhamovnichesky Lane, where since then his family usually spent the winter. Last time came to Moscow in September 1909.

In February-May 1849 he visited St. Petersburg for the first time. He lived in the city in the winter of 1855-1856, visited annually in 1857-1861, and also in 1878. The last time he came to St. Petersburg was in 1897.

Repeatedly visited Tula in 1840-1900. In 1849-1852 he was in the service of the office of the noble assembly. In September 1858 he took part in the congress of the provincial nobility. In February 1868 he was elected a juror in the Krapivensky district, attended the meetings of the Tula District Court.

The owner of the Nikolskoye-Vyazemskoye estate in the Chernsky district of the Tula province since 1860 (previously belonged to his brother N.N. Tolstoy). In the 1860s and 1870s, he conducted experiments in the estate to improve the economy. The last time he visited the estate was on June 28 (July 11), 1910.

In 1854, the wooden manor house in which Leo Tolstoy was born was sold and transported from the village of Dolgoe, Krapivensky district, Tula province, which belonged to the landowner P. M. Gorokhov. In 1897, the writer visited the village in order to buy a house, but due to its dilapidated state, it was recognized as non-transportable.

In the 1860s, he organized a school in the village of Kolpna, Krapivensky district, Tula province (now within the city of Shchekino). July 21 (August 2), 1894 visited the mine joint-stock company"Partnership R. Gill" at the Yasenki station. On October 28 (November 10), 1910, on the day he left, he boarded a train at the Yasenki station (now in Shchekino).

He lived in the village of Starogladovskaya in the Kizlyar district of the Terek region, the location of the 20th artillery brigade, from May 1851 to January 1854. In January 1852, he was enlisted as a 4th class fireworker in Battery No. 4 of the 20th Artillery Brigade. On February 1 (February 13), 1852, in the village of Starogladovskaya, with the help of his friends S. Miserbiev and B. Isaev, he recorded the words of two Chechen folk songs with translation. Leo Tolstoy's notes are recognized as "the first written monument of the Chechen language" and "the first experience of recording Chechen folklore in the local language."

For the first time he visited the Grozny fortress on July 5 (17), 1851. He visited the commander of the left flank of the Caucasian line, Prince A. I. Baryatinsky, to obtain permission to participate in hostilities. Subsequently, he visited Groznaya in September 1851 and in February 1853.

For the first time he visited Pyatigorsk on May 16 (28), 1852. Lived in the Kabardian settlement. On July 4 (16), 1852, he sent the manuscript of the novel Childhood from Pyatigorsk to the editor of the Sovremennik magazine. On August 5 (17), 1852, he set off from Pyatigorsk to the village. He visited Pyatigorsk again in August - October 1853.

Orel visited three times. On January 9-10 (21-22), 1856, he visited his brother D. N. Tolstoy, who was dying of consumption. On March 7 (19), 1885, he was in the city on his way to the Maltsevs' estate. On September 25-27 (October 7-9), 1898, he visited the Oryol provincial prison while working on the novel Resurrection.

In the period from October 1891 to July 1893, he came several times to the village of Begichevka, Dankovsky district, Ryazan province (now Begichevo in), the estate of I. I. Raevsky. In the village, he organized a center to help the starving peasants of Dankovsky and Epifansky counties. The last time Leo Tolstoy left Begichevka was on July 18 (30), 1893.

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.

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 ​​\u200b\u200bhis 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.

Leo Tolstoy's biography early years marked by another death. Because of her, the boy was left an orphan. The father of Leo Tolstoy, 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. The brothers of Leo Tolstoy, he and his sister were transferred to the upbringing of T. A. Ergolskaya, a distant relative who had a huge influence on the future writer. Childhood memories have always been the happiest for Lev Nikolayevich: family lore and impressions from life in the estate became rich material for his works, reflected, in particular, in the autobiographical story "Childhood".

Studying at Kazan University

Leo Tolstoy's biography early years marked as such important event like studying at a university. When the future writer was 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 of Kazan University, after which he transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he studied for about two years: the young man did not arouse keen interest in studying, so he indulged in various secular entertainments with passion. Having filed a letter of resignation in the spring of 1847, due to poor health and "domestic circumstances", Lev Nikolayevich left for Yasnaya Polyana with the intention of studying full course jurisprudence and pass an external exam, as well as learn languages, "practical medicine", history, Agriculture, geographical statistics, painting, music and writing a dissertation.

Youth years

In the autumn of 1847, Tolstoy left for Moscow, and then for St. Petersburg in order to pass the candidate's exams at the university. During this period, his lifestyle often changed: he studied various subjects all day long, then he devoted himself to music, but wanted to start a career as an official, then he dreamed of becoming a cadet in a regiment. Religious moods that reached asceticism alternated with cards, carousing, 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. In the same period, interest in literature arose, the first artistic sketches appeared.

Participation in the war

In 1851, Nikolai, the elder brother of Lev Nikolaevich, 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, leaving for Vladikavkaz, Tiflis, Kizlyar, participating in hostilities (as a volunteer, and then was hired). The patriarchal simplicity of the life of the Cossacks and the Caucasian nature struck the writer with their contrast with the painful reflection of the representatives of an educated society and the life of the noble circle, gave extensive material for the story "Cossacks", written in the period from 1852 to 1863 on autobiographical material. The stories "Raid" (1853) and "Cutting down the forest" (1855) also reflected his Caucasian impressions. They left a mark in his story "Hadji Murad", written in the period from 1896 to 1904, published in 1912.

Returning to his homeland, Lev Nikolaevich wrote in his diary that he fell in love with this wild land, in which "war and freedom" are combined, things that are so opposite in their essence. Tolstoy in the Caucasus began to create his story "Childhood" and anonymously sent it to the journal "Contemporary". This work appeared on its pages in 1852 under the initials L. N. and, along with the later "Boyhood" (1852-1854) and "Youth" (1855-1857), made up the famous autobiographical trilogy. The 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 received further development. However, soon the boring staff life forced him to transfer to the besieged Sevastopol, to the Crimean army, where he was a battery commander, showing courage ( awarded with medals and the Order of St. Anna). Lev Nikolaevich during this period was captured by new literary plans and impressions. He began to write "Sevastopol stories", which had big success. Some ideas that arose even at that time make it possible to guess in the artillery officer Tolstoy the Preacher late years: he dreamed of a new "religion of Christ", cleansed of mystery and faith, a "practical religion".

Petersburg and abroad

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich 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 the conflicts and disputes of writers, but he felt like a stranger in this environment, which he conveyed in "Confession" (1879-1882). Having retired, in the autumn of 1856 the writer left for Yasnaya Polyana, and then, at the beginning of the next, in 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 autumn, Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich returned first to Moscow, and then to Yasnaya Polyana.

Opening of a public school

Tolstoy in 1859 opened a school for the children of peasants in the village, and also helped arrange more than twenty such educational institutions near Krasnaya Polyana. 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, Belgium. However, European schools somewhat disappoint him, and he decides to create his own pedagogical system based on the freedom of the individual, publishes teaching aids and works on pedagogy, and puts them into practice.

"War and Peace"

In September 1862, Lev Nikolaevich married Sofya Andreevna Bers, the 18-year-old daughter of a doctor, and immediately after the wedding he went from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana, where he devoted himself entirely to household chores and family life. However, already in 1863, he was again captured by a literary plan, 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 in the early 19th century.

In 1865, the first part of the work "War and Peace" was published in the Russian Messenger. The novel immediately drew a lot of responses. The subsequent parts provoked heated debates, 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, in the 70s Lev Nikolayevich worked on a work about the life of contemporary high society, building his novel on the contrast of two storylines: Anna Karenina's family drama and Konstantin Levin's home idyll , close and psychological drawing, and by convictions, and by the way of life to the writer himself.

Tolstoy strove for the outward non-judgmental tone of his work, thereby paving the way for the new style of the 80s, in particular, folk tales. The truth of peasant life and the meaning of the existence of representatives of the "educated class" - this is the circle 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 creation, 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 matured while working on it. novel.

1880s

In the 1880s, the work of Leo Tolstoy underwent a transformation. The upheaval in the mind of the writer was also reflected in his works, primarily in the experiences of the characters, in that 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), "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).

Publicism of Tolstoy

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, reaching the denial of art, science, marriage, court, achievements of civilization.

The new worldview is presented in "Confession" (1884), in the articles "So what shall we do?", "On the famine", "What is art?", "I can't be silent" and others. The ethical ideas of Christianity are understood in these works as the foundation of the brotherhood of man.

Within the framework of the new worldview and humanistic idea of ​​the teachings of Christ, Lev Nikolayevich spoke out, in particular, against the dogma of the church and criticized its rapprochement with the state, which led to the fact that he was officially excommunicated from the church in 1901. This caused a huge uproar.

Novel "Sunday"

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

last years of life

The life of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy last years was difficult. The spiritual break turned into a break with his environment and family discord. The refusal to own private property, for example, caused dissatisfaction among the writer's family members, especially his wife. The personal drama experienced by Lev Nikolayevich was reflected in his diary entries.

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

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

Count Leo Tolstoy, a classic of Russian and world literature, is called a master of psychologism, the creator of the epic novel genre, an original thinker and teacher of life. Artworks brilliant writer- the greatest asset of Russia.

In August 1828, a classic was born on the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Tula province. Russian literature. The future author of "War and Peace" became the fourth child in a family of eminent nobles. On the paternal side, he belonged to the ancient family of Counts Tolstoy, who served and. On the maternal side, Lev Nikolaevich is a descendant of Ruriks. It is noteworthy that Leo Tolstoy also has a common ancestor - Admiral Ivan Mikhailovich Golovin.

Lev Nikolayevich's mother, nee Princess Volkonskaya, died of childbed fever after the birth of her daughter. At that time, Leo was not even two years old. Seven years later, the head of the family, Count Nikolai Tolstoy, died.

Childcare fell on the shoulders of the writer's aunt, T. A. Ergolskaya. Later, the second aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Saken, became the guardian of the orphaned children. After her death in 1840, the children moved to Kazan, to a new guardian - the father's sister P. I. Yushkova. The aunt influenced his nephew, and the writer called his childhood in her house, which was considered the most cheerful and hospitable in the city, happy. Later, Leo Tolstoy described his impressions of life in the Yushkov estate in the story "Childhood".

Elementary education the classic received houses from German and French teachers. In 1843, Leo Tolstoy entered Kazan University, choosing the faculty of Oriental languages. Soon, due to low academic performance, he moved to another faculty - law. But even here he did not succeed: two years later he left the university without receiving a degree.

Lev Nikolaevich returned to Yasnaya Polyana, wanting to establish relations with the peasants in a new way. The idea failed, but the young man regularly kept a diary, loved secular entertainment and became interested in music. Tolstoy listened for hours, and.

Disillusioned with the life of the landowner after spending the summer in the countryside, 20-year-old Leo Tolstoy left the estate and moved to Moscow, and from there to St. Petersburg. The young man rushed between preparing for the candidate's exams at the university, music lessons, carousing with cards and gypsies, and dreams of becoming either an official or a cadet of a horse guard regiment. Relatives called Leo "the most trifling fellow", and it took years to distribute the debts he had incurred.

Literature

In 1851, the writer's brother, officer Nikolai Tolstoy, persuaded Leo to go to the Caucasus. For three years Lev Nikolaevich lived in a village on the banks of the Terek. The nature of the Caucasus and the patriarchal life of the Cossack village were later reflected in the stories "Cossacks" and "Hadji Murad", the stories "Raid" and "Cutting the Forest".

In the Caucasus, Leo Tolstoy composed the story "Childhood", which he published in the journal "Sovremennik" under the initials L. N. Soon he wrote the sequels "Adolescence" and "Youth", combining the stories into a trilogy. The literary debut turned out to be brilliant and brought Lev Nikolayevich his first recognition.

The creative biography of Leo Tolstoy is developing rapidly: the appointment to Bucharest, the transfer to the besieged Sevastopol, the command of the battery enriched the writer with impressions. From the pen of Lev Nikolaevich came out a cycle of "Sevastopol stories". The writings of the young writer struck critics with a bold psychological analysis. Nikolai Chernyshevsky found in them "the dialectic of the soul", and the emperor read the essay "Sevastopol in the month of December" and expressed admiration for Tolstoy's talent.

In the winter of 1855, 28-year-old Leo Tolstoy arrived in St. Petersburg and entered the Sovremennik circle, where he was warmly welcomed, calling him "the great hope of Russian literature." But in a year, the writer's environment with its disputes and conflicts, readings and literary dinners got tired. Later, in Confession, Tolstoy confessed:

“These people disgusted me, and I disgusted myself.”

In the autumn of 1856, the young writer went to the Yasnaya Polyana estate, and in January 1857 he went abroad. For six months, Leo Tolstoy traveled around Europe. Traveled to Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland. He returned to Moscow, and from there to Yasnaya Polyana. In the family estate, he took up the arrangement of schools for peasant children. In the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana, twenty educational institutions appeared with his participation. In 1860, the writer traveled a lot: in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, he studied the pedagogical systems of European countries in order to apply what he saw in Russia.

A special niche in the work of Leo Tolstoy is occupied by fairy tales and compositions for children and adolescents. The writer created hundreds of works for young readers, including good and instructive tales"Kitten", "Two Brothers", "Hedgehog and Hare", "Lion and Dog".

Leo Tolstoy wrote the ABC school manual to teach children to write, read and do arithmetic. Literary and pedagogical work consists of four books. The writer included cautionary tales, epics, fables, as well as methodological advice to teachers. The third book included the story " Prisoner of the Caucasus».

In 1870, Leo Tolstoy, continuing to teach peasant children, wrote the novel Anna Karenina, in which he contrasted two storylines: the family drama of the Karenins and the homely idyll of the young landowner Levin, with whom he identified himself. The novel only at first glance seemed to be a love story: the classic raised the problem of the meaning of the existence of the “educated class”, opposing it with the truth of the peasant life. "Anna Karenina" highly appreciated.

The turning point in the mind of the writer was reflected in the works written in the 1880s. Life-changing spiritual insight is central to stories and novels. “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, “Kreutzer Sonata”, “Father Sergius” and the story “After the Ball” appear. The classic of Russian literature paints pictures of social inequality, castigates the idleness of the nobles.

In search of an answer to the question about the meaning of life, Leo Tolstoy turned to the Russian Orthodox Church, but he did not find satisfaction there either. The writer came to the conclusion that the Christian church is corrupt, and under the guise of religion, the priests are promoting a false doctrine. In 1883, Lev Nikolaevich founded the publication Posrednik, where he set out his spiritual convictions with criticism of the Russian Orthodox Church. For this, Tolstoy was excommunicated from the church, the secret police watched the writer.

In 1898, Leo Tolstoy wrote the novel Resurrection, which received critical acclaim. But the success of the work was inferior to "Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace".

For the last 30 years of his life, Leo Tolstoy, with his doctrine of non-violent resistance to evil, has been recognized as the spiritual and religious leader of Russia.

"War and Peace"

Leo Tolstoy did not like his novel "War and Peace", calling the epic " verbose rubbish". The classic wrote the work in the 1860s, while living with his family in Yasnaya Polyana. The first two chapters, called "1805", were published by "Russian Messenger" in 1865. Three years later, Leo Tolstoy wrote three more chapters and completed the novel, which caused heated debate among critics.

The features of the heroes of the work, written in the years of family happiness and spiritual uplift, the novelist took from life. In Princess Marya Bolkonskaya, the features of Lev Nikolayevich's mother, her penchant for reflection, are recognizable. brilliant education and love for art. The traits of his father - mockery, love of reading and hunting - the writer awarded Nikolai Rostov.

When writing the novel, Leo Tolstoy worked in the archives, studied the correspondence of Tolstoy and Volkonsky, Masonic manuscripts, and visited the Borodino field. The young wife helped him, copying the drafts cleanly.

The novel was read avidly, striking readers with the breadth of the epic canvas and subtle psychological analysis. Leo Tolstoy characterized the work as an attempt to "write the history of the people".

According to the estimates of the literary critic Lev Anninsky, by the end of the 1970s, only works abroad Russian classic filmed 40 times. Until 1980, the epic War and Peace was filmed four times. Directors from Europe, America and Russia made 16 films based on the novel "Anna Karenina", "Resurrection" was filmed 22 times.

For the first time, "War and Peace" was filmed by director Pyotr Chardynin in 1913. The most famous film was made by a Soviet director in 1965.

Personal life

Leo Tolstoy married 18-year-old Leo Tolstoy in 1862, when he was 34 years old. The count lived with his wife for 48 years, but the life of the couple can hardly be called cloudless.

Sofya Bers is the second of three daughters of Andrey Bers, a doctor at the Moscow Palace Office. The family lived in the capital, but in the summer they rested in the Tula estate near Yasnaya Polyana. For the first time Leo Tolstoy saw future wife child. Sophia was educated at home, read a lot, understood art and graduated from Moscow University. The diary kept by Bers-Tolstaya is recognized as a model of the memoir genre.

At the beginning of his married life, Leo Tolstoy, wishing that there were no secrets between him and his wife, gave Sophia a diary to read. The shocked wife found out about her husband's turbulent youth, passion gambling, wild life and the peasant girl Aksinya, who was expecting a child from Lev Nikolaevich.

The first-born Sergey was born in 1863. In the early 1860s, Tolstoy took up writing the novel War and Peace. Sofya Andreevna helped her husband, despite the pregnancy. The woman taught and raised all the children at home. Five out of 13 children died in infancy or early childhood. childhood.

Problems in the family began after the completion of Leo Tolstoy's work on Anna Karenina. The writer plunged into depression, expressed dissatisfaction with the life that Sofya Andreevna so diligently arranged in the family nest. The moral throwing of the count led to the fact that Lev Nikolayevich demanded that his relatives give up meat, alcohol and smoking. Tolstoy forced his wife and children to dress in peasant clothes, which he himself made, and wished to give the acquired property to the peasants.

Sofya Andreevna made considerable efforts to dissuade her husband from the idea of ​​distributing good. But the resulting quarrel split the family: Leo Tolstoy left home. Returning, the writer assigned the duty of rewriting drafts to his daughters.

Death last child- seven-year-old Vanya - briefly brought the spouses together. But soon mutual insults and misunderstanding alienated them completely. Sofya Andreevna found solace in music. In Moscow, a woman took lessons from a teacher, to whom romantic feelings arose. Their relationship remained friendly, but the count did not forgive his wife for "half-treason".

The fatal quarrel of the spouses happened at the end of October 1910. Leo Tolstoy left home, leaving Sophia Farewell letter. He wrote that he loved her, but he could not do otherwise.

Death

82-year-old Leo Tolstoy, accompanied by his personal doctor D.P. Makovitsky, left Yasnaya Polyana. On the way, the writer fell ill and got off the train at the Astapovo railway station. Lev Nikolaevich spent the last 7 days of his life in a house stationmaster. The whole country followed the news about Tolstoy's state of health.

The children and wife arrived at the Astapovo station, but Leo Tolstoy did not want to see anyone. The classic died on November 7, 1910: he died of pneumonia. His wife survived him by 9 years. Tolstoy was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.

Quotes by Leo Tolstoy

• Everyone wants to change humanity, but no one thinks about how to change themselves.
• Everything comes to those who know how to wait.
• All happy families similar to each other, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
• Let everyone sweep in front of his door. If everyone does this, the whole street will be clean.
• Life is easier without love. But without it there is no point.
• I don't have everything I love. But I love everything I have.
• The world moves forward thanks to those who suffer.
• The greatest truths are the simplest.
• Everyone is making plans, and no one knows if he will live until the evening.

Bibliography

• 1869 - "War and Peace"
• 1877 - "Anna Karenina"
• 1899 - "Resurrection"
• 1852-1857 - "Childhood". "Adolescence". "Youth"
• 1856 - "Two Hussars"
• 1856 - "Morning of the landowner"
• 1863 - "Cossacks"
• 1886 - "Death of Ivan Ilyich"
• 1903 - Notes of a Madman
• 1889 - "Kreutzer Sonata"
• 1898 - "Father Sergius"
• 1904 - "Hadji Murad"

The great Russian writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is known for the authorship of many works, namely: War and Peace, Anna Karenina and others. The study of his biography and work continues to this day.

The philosopher and writer Leo Tolstoy was born into a noble family. As a legacy from his father, he inherited the title of count. His life began in a large family estate in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, which left a significant imprint on his future fate.

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Life of Leo Tolstoy

He was born on September 9, 1828. As a child, Leo experienced many difficult moments in his life. After his parents died, he and his sisters were raised by an aunt. After her death, when he was 13 years old, he had to move to Kazan to a distant relative under guardianship. Primary education Lev took place at home. At the age of 16 he entered the Faculty of Philology of Kazan University. However, it was impossible to say that he was successful in his studies. This forced Tolstoy to move to a lighter, law faculty. 2 years later, returned to Yasnaya Polyana, never having mastered the granite of science to the end.

Due to the changeable nature of Tolstoy, he tried himself in different industries interests and priorities changed frequently. The work was interspersed with protracted sprees and revels. During this period, they made a lot of debts, which they had to pay off for a long time. The only predilection of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, stably preserved for the rest of his life, is personal diary. From there he then drew the most interesting ideas for their works.

Tolstoy was not indifferent to music. His favorite composers are Bach, Schumann, Chopin and Mozart. At a time when Tolstoy had not yet formed main position regarding his future, he succumbed to his brother's persuasion. At his instigation, he went to serve in the army as a cadet. During the service he was forced to participate in the 1855 year.

Early work of L. N. Tolstoy

Being a junker, he had enough free time to start his creative activity. During this period, Lev began to deal with an autobiographical history called Childhood. For the most part, it recounted the facts that happened to him when he was still a child. The story was sent for consideration to Sovremennik magazine. It was approved and put into circulation in 1852.

After the first publication, Tolstoy was noticed and began to be equated with significant personalities of that time, namely: I. Turgenev, I. Goncharov, A. Ostrovsky and others.

In the same army years, he began work on the story of the Cossacks, which he completed in 1862. The second work after Childhood was Adolescence, then - Sevastopol stories. He was engaged in them while participating in the Crimean battles.

Euro-trip

In 1856 L. N. Tolstoy left military service in the rank of lieutenant. Decided to travel for a while. First he went to Petersburg, where he was given a warm welcome. There, he established friendly contacts with popular writers of that period: N. A. Nekrasov, I. S. Goncharov, I. I. Panaev and others. They showed genuine interest in him and took part in his fate. At this time, Blizzard and Two Hussars were painted.

Having lived a cheerful and carefree life for 1 year, spoiling relations with many members of the literary circle, Tolstoy decides to leave this city. In 1857 he began his journey through Europe.

Leo did not like Paris at all and left a heavy mark on his soul. From there he went to Lake Geneva. Having visited many countries, he returned to Russia with a load of negative emotions. Who and what surprised him so much? Most likely - this is too sharp a polarity between wealth and poverty, which was covered with feigned splendor European culture. And it showed up everywhere.

L.N. Tolstoy writes the story Albert, continues to work on the Cossacks, wrote the story Three Deaths and Family Happiness. In 1859 he stopped working with Sovremennik. At the same time, Tolstoy made changes in his personal life, when he planned to marry a peasant woman Aksinya Bazykina.

After the death of his older brother, Tolstoy went on a trip to the south of France.

Homecoming

From 1853 to 1863 his literary activity paused due to repatriation. There he decided to take up farming. At the same time, Leo himself carried out active educational activities among the village population. He created a school for peasant children and began to teach according to his own methodology.

In 1862, he himself created a pedagogical journal called Yasnaya Polyana. Under his leadership, 12 publications were published, which were not appreciated at their true worth at that time. Their nature was as follows - he alternated theoretical articles with fables and stories for children at the primary level of education.

Six years of his life from 1863 to 1869, went to write the main masterpiece - War and Peace. Next on the list was Anna Karenina. It took another 4 years. During this period, his worldview was fully formed and resulted in a direction called Tolstoyism. The foundations of this religious and philosophical trend are set forth in following works Tolstoy:

• Confession.
• Kreutzer Sonata.
• Study of dogmatic theology.
• About life.
• Christian teaching and others.

Main focus they are based on the moral dogmas of human nature and their improvement. He called to forgive those who bring us evil, and to renounce violence in achieving their goal.

The flow of admirers of Leo Tolstoy's work to Yasnaya Polyana did not stop, looking for support and a mentor in him. In 1899, the novel Resurrection was published.

Social activity

Returning from Europe, he received an invitation to become a superintendent of the Krapivinsky district of the Tula province. He actively joined the active process of protecting the rights of the peasantry, often going against the royal decrees. This work broadened Leo's horizons. Closer facing peasant life, he began to understand all the subtleties better. The information received later helped him in literary work.

The heyday of creativity

Before starting to write the novel War and Peace, Tolstoy took up another novel - the Decembrists. Tolstoy returned to it several times, but was never able to complete it. In 1865, a small excerpt from War and Peace appeared in the Russian Messenger. After 3 years, three more parts came out, and then all the rest. This created a real sensation in Russian and foreign literature. In the novel the most in detail describe different segments of the population.

The writer's latest works include:

• stories Father Sergius;
• After the ball.
• Posthumous notes of the elder Fyodor Kuzmich.
• Drama Living Corpse.

In the nature of his last journalism, one can trace conservative. He harshly condemns the idle life higher strata who do not think about the meaning of life. L. N. Tolstoy severely criticized state dogmas, sweeping aside everything: science, art, court, and so on. The Synod itself reacted to such an attack and in 1901 Tolstoy was excommunicated from the church.

In 1910, Lev Nikolayevich left his family and fell ill on the way. He had to get off the train at the Astapovo station of the Ural Railway. He spent the last week of his life at the home of the local stationmaster, where he died.