Biography of a thick work. Brief biography of Leo Tolstoy. Later years of creativity

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Leo Tolstoy: a short biography

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich is a famous writer and philosopher. His views and beliefs became the basis of a new religious and moral teaching, which would later be called Tolstoyism.

His legacy is ninety volumes of works, notes from a personal diary and letters. Tolstoy was repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Childhood and youth

Levushka, as the boy was affectionately called, was born on September 9, 1828 in the noble estate of his mother in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province. Nowadays, the museum-estate annually attracts thousands of tourists and admirers of Tolstoy's work.

Family estate of Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana

In the family, Levushka was the fourth boy, and the next year the long-awaited daughter Masha appeared. But soon the children were orphaned. Mother Maria Nikolaevna (Volkonskaya) died in the summer of 1830. After 7 years, Nikolai Ilyich also passed away.

The children were taken under guardianship by their aunt, Alexandra Osten-Saken. She took two with her to Moscow, and the rest lived in the estate. Memories of this time always disturbed the soul, but they were also infinitely dear to Lev Nikolaevich.

In 1841, Osten-Saken died and the children were transferred to another aunt, Pelageya Yushkova. In 1843, Leo entered the university to study. He was indifferent to studies, and considered teachers incompetent, preferring a variety of entertainment.

In the spring of 1847, without finishing his studies and having received part of the inheritance, including Yasnaya Polyana, the 19-year-old young man went home. Here he immediately sketched out an extensive plan for his education. But I soon realized that making plans is easy, but it’s impossible to force yourself to do it.

Fascinated by asceticism, a young man sometimes changes this lifestyle for revelry and gambling card games. Then the stage of discontent began and he again wrote the daily routine in order to change his life.

Creativity of Leo Tolstoy

In the spring of 1851, his brother Nikolai, who served in the Caucasus, visited the estate. Lev Nikolaevich, having heard a lot of heroic stories about the war, decided to go with him.

Tolstoy served in the Caucasus for about two and a half years. He hunted, played cards and sometimes took part in raids. He liked this pastime. Here he wrote "Childhood" using his memoirs.

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy in his youth

In the summer of 1852, the writer sends the manuscript to the railway station. "Sovremennik" to the editor with a note that further engagement in literary activity depends on his review. The answer came positive and Tolstoy in 1854 published the story, "Boyhood".

In December 1854, Tolstoy arrived in Sevastopol, about which he would write a detailed story. He describes the battle scenes. The style of the work is patriotic, glorifying the courage and courage of Russian soldiers.

Then he proceeds to the story "Sevastopol in May". But pride in the Russian troops turned into horror and shock from senselessness and inhumanity.

In 1855 Tolstoy left for Petersburg. Here he completes the trilogy about Sevastopol and writes a report on leaving military service in the fall.

Lev Nikolaevich devotes himself entirely to literature. He writes the story "Snowstorm", the story "Two Hussars", finishes the trilogy about childhood. And in January 1857 he went on a voyage to European countries. He visited France, Italy, Germany: got acquainted with the masterpieces of art. But in general, the trip disappointed him.

Six months later, the writer returned to his estate. There he worked on the story "Cossacks" and the novel "Family Happiness".

In 1859, Lev Nikolayevich set up several schools in the province for the children of peasants at his own expense. At this time, he became interested in education in European countries. A year later, he goes to Europe. Abroad, he spent 9 months and again experienced disappointment.

He decided to create his own education system, canceling all programs. In 1862, the writer publishes a journal on pedagogy, in the supplement of a book for reading. He writes "ABC" with his stories for children, makes transcriptions of folk tales and songs.

Leo Tolstoy's wife

A crisis gradually sets in in the writer's work. In his diary, he often expresses dissatisfaction with his life. He is tormented by thoughts of death.

But he finds the meaning of life in the love of his wife. At 34, Lev Nikolaevich marries 18-year-old Sofya Bers. This happy union lasted 48 years. Sophia gave birth to her husband thirteen children. It was the best period of Tolstoy's life, which he finally found.

Lev Nikolaevich and Sofia Andreevna

Sofya Andreevna was his secretary and even his editor. She lived 75 years, outliving her husband by 10 years.

"War and Peace"

Soon the writer begins work on the novel War and Peace. "Large-scale epic" - this is what critics will later call this work. Peaceful everyday scenes were taken from life, battle and civil episodes from the history of the Russian Empire.

The main idea of ​​the novel is pacifism: a protest against any war. The work was completed in 1869 and had a deafening resonance in society.

War and Peace will be followed by the no less serious and dramatic work Anna Karenina (1873-1876).

L. N. Tolstoy became a recognized writer, his works were a great success, he gained worldwide fame. But that didn't interest him much. He increasingly thought about social inequality in society and the miserable existence of the common people.

The great Tolstoy passed away at the age of 82 on November 20, 1910 and was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.

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To be one of the best writers in world history is an honorable right, and Leo Tolstoy deserved it, leaving behind a huge creative legacy. Stories, novellas, 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 in his life and ""?

In contact with

Writer's childhood

Where was the future novelist born? Pen Master came into being in September 9, 1828 in the estate of his mother Yasnaya Polyana, located in Tula province. The family of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was large. father had county title and mother was born Princess Volkonskaya. When he was two years old, his mother died, and after another 7 years, his father.

Leo was the fourth child in a noble family, so he was not deprived of the attention of relatives. The literary genius never thought of his 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 the work of the same name, the author idealizes his childhood and writes that it was the most wonderful time of his life.

The little count received education at home, where he was invited French and German teachers. After leaving school, Leo was fluent in three languages, and also had extensive knowledge in various fields. In addition, the young man was fond of musical creativity, he could play the works of his favorite composers for a long time: Schumann, Bach, Chopin and Mozart.

Young years

In 1843 a young man becomes student of the Imperial Kazan University, chooses the Faculty of Oriental Languages, however, later changes his specialty due to poor academic performance and begins to practice law. Unable to complete the course. The young count returns to his estate in order to become real farmer.

But here, too, failure awaits him: frequent trips completely distract the owner from the important affairs of the estate. Keeping your diary- the only occupation 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 become inactive for a long time. Having allowed himself to be persuaded by his brother, he went to serve as a cadet to the south, after which, after spending some time in the Caucasian mountains, he received a transfer to Sevastopol. There, from November 1854 to August 1855, the young count participated in.

Early work

The rich experience gained on the battlefields, as well as in the era of the Junkers, prompted the future writer to create the first literary works. Even in the 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, a special flair were clearly reflected in the style: the author wrote about what was close, understandable not only to him alone. Life and creativity merge together.

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 even the first story was splendidly received by critics, and the young novelist was compared with Turgenev, Ostrovsky and Goncharov, which was already a real recognition. All these masters of the word 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 to work. Brilliant stories come out of the pen one after another, stories that instantly become popular due to their originality and amazing realistic approach to reality: "Cossacks" (1852), "Boyhood" (1854), "Sevastopol Tales" (1854 - 1855), "Youth" (1857).

V literary world a new writer is rushing in Lev Tolstoy, which strikes the reader's imagination with detailed details, does not hide the truth and applies a new writing technique: the second collection "Sevastopol stories" written from the point of view of the soldiers, to bring the story even closer to the reader. The young author is not afraid to openly, frankly write about the horrors and contradictions of war. The characters are not heroes from paintings and canvases of artists, but ordinary people who are able to perform real feats in order to save the lives of others.

Belong to something literary movement or to be a supporter of a particular philosophical school, Lev Nikolaevich refused, declaring himself anarchist. Later, the master of the word in the course of a religious search will 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.

Family status

In Russia, where he lived and was born, Tolstoy returns after a wild trip to Paris without a penny in his pocket. Here took place marriage to Sofya Andreevna Bers, daughter of a doctor. This woman was main companion in life Tolstoy, became his support to the very end.

Sophia expressed her readiness to be a secretary, wife, mother of his children, girlfriend and even a cleaning lady, although the estate, for which servants were a common thing, was always kept in exemplary order.

The count's title constantly obliged households to observe a certain status. Over time, the husband and wife diverged in religious views: Sophia did not understand and did not accept the attempts of a loved one to create their own philosophical dogma and follow it.

Attention! Only the eldest daughter of the writer Alexandra supported her father's undertakings: in 1910 they made a pilgrimage trip together. Other children adored dad as a great storyteller, although a rather strict parent.

According to the recollections of descendants, the father could scold the little dirty trick, but after a moment he would put him on his knees, regret, writing an amusing story on the go. In the literary arsenal of the famous realist there are many children's works recommended for study at preschool and primary school age - these are "Book for reading" and "ABC". The first work contains stories by L.N. Tolstoy for the 4th grade of the school, which was organized in the Yasnaya Polyana estate.

How many children did Leo and Sophia have? A total of 13 children were born, three of whom died in infancy.

Maturity and creative flourishing of the writer

From the age of thirty-two, Tolstoy began work on his main work - an epic novel. The first part was published in 1865 in the Russky Vestnik magazine, and in 1869 the final edition of the epic saw the light of day. Most of the 1860s were devoted to this monumental work, which the count repeatedly rewrote, corrected, supplemented, and at the end of his life got so tired of it that he called War and Peace "verbose rubbish." The novel was written in Yasnaya Polyana.

The work, which is four volumes long, turned out to be truly unique. What are its advantages? This is first of all:

• historical truth;
• the action in the novel of both realistic and fictional characters, the number of which exceeded a thousand according to philologists;
• interspersing the plot of three historical essays on the laws of history into the outline; accuracy in the description of life and everyday life.

This is the basis of the novel - the path of a person, his position and the meaning of life is made up of these ordinary actions.

After the success of the military-historical epic, the author begins to work on the novel "Anna Karenina" based on much of his autobiography. In particular, the relationship between Kitty and Levina are partial memories of the life of the author himself with his wife Sophia, a kind of brief biography of the writer, as well as a reflection of the canvas of real events of the Russian-Turkish war.

The novel was published in 1875 - 1877, and almost immediately became the most discussed literary event of that time. The story of Anna, written with amazing warmth, attention to female psychology, made a splash. Before him, only Ostrovsky in his poems addressed the female soul and revealed the rich inner world of the beautiful half of humanity. Naturally, high fees for the work were not long in coming, because every educated person read Tolstoy's Karenina. After the release of this rather secular novel, the author was not at all happy, but was in constant mental torment.

Change of outlook and later literary successes

Many years of life were devoted search for the meaning of life, which led the writer to the Orthodox faith, however, this step only confuses the count. Lev Nikolaevich sees corruption in the church diaspora, complete subordination to personal convictions, which does not correspond to the dogma that his soul longed for.

Attention! Leo Tolstoy becomes an apostate and even publishes the incriminating magazine Posrednik (1883), because of which he is excommunicated and accused of "heresy".

However, Leo does not stop there and tries to follow the path of purification, taking rather bold steps. For instance, gives all his possessions to the poor, which Sofya Andreevna categorically opposed. The husband reluctantly transferred all the property to her and gave the copyright to the works, but still did not give up the search for his destiny.

This period of creativity is characterized great religious enthusiasm Treatises and moral stories are being created. What works with religious overtones did the author write? Among the most successful works between 1880 and 1990 were:

• the story "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" (1886), describing 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 quest;
• the novel "Resurrection", which tells about the moral pain of Katyusha Maslova and the ways of her moral purification.

Completion of life

Having written many works in his life, the count appeared before his contemporaries and descendants as a strong religious leader and spiritual mentor, such as Mahatma Gandhi, with whom he corresponded. The life and work of the writer is permeated by the idea that it is necessary hourly resist evil with all the strength of your soul while demonstrating humility and saving thousands of lives. The master of the word has become a real teacher among the lost souls. Entire pilgrimage trips were organized to the Yasnaya Polyana estate, the students of the great Tolstoy came to “know themselves”, listening to their ideological guru for hours on end, which the writer became in his declining years.

The author-mentor accepted everyone who came with problems, questions and aspirations of the soul, he was ready to distribute his savings and shelter wanderers for any period. Unfortunately, this increased the degree of tension in relations with his wife Sophia and, in the end, resulted in the unwillingness of the great realist to live in his house. Together with his daughter, Lev Nikolaevich went on a pilgrimage to 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 being ill, 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 national writer, according to the memoirs 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.

Society to the depths of the human subconscious, unconscious and refined motives of character, as well as to the great role of everyday life, which determines the whole essence of the individual.

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich (1828 - 1910) - one of the most famous Russian writers and thinkers, one of the greatest writers in the world, educator, publicist and religious thinker.

Short biography of Tolstoy

Write short biography of Tolstoy difficult enough, as he lived a long and very diverse 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

The future writer was born in Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, in a wealthy aristocratic family. 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", "Boyhood", "Youth".

In the Caucasus, he participated 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 left for 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 his literary activity and become a landowner, doing educational work in the village. To this end, he left for Yasnaya Polyana, where he opened a school for peasant children and created his own system of pedagogy.

Creativity Tolstoy

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

In the 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 the Kreutzer Sonata.

From Tolstoy's biography it is clearly seen that the teaching of "Tolstoyism" is set forth in the philosophical and religious works "Study of Dogmatic Theology", "Combination 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 by violence.

Later, a dilogy was published: the drama "The Power of Darkness" and the comedy "The Fruits of Enlightenment", then a series of stories-parables about the laws of being.

From all over Russia and the world, admirers of the writer's work came to Yasnaya Polyana, whom they treated as a spiritual mentor. In 1899, the novel Resurrection was published.

The last works of the writer are the stories "Father Sergius", "After the Ball", "The Posthumous Notes of the Elder Fyodor Kuzmich" and the drama "The Living Corpse".

Tolstoy and the Church

Tolstoy's confessional journalism gives a detailed idea of ​​his spiritual drama: drawing pictures of social inequality and the idleness of the educated strata, Tolstoy in a harsh form posed questions of the meaning of life and faith to society, criticized all state institutions, reaching the denial of science, art, court, marriage, achievements of civilization.

Tolstoy's social declaration is based on the idea of ​​Christianity as a moral doctrine, and the ethical ideas of Christianity are comprehended by him in a humanistic key, as the basis of the universal brotherhood of people.

In a brief biography of Tolstoy, it makes no sense to mention the numerous harsh statements of the writer about the church, but they can be easily found in various sources.

In 1901, a resolution of the Most Holy Governing Synod was issued, which officially announced that Count Leo Tolstoy was no longer a member of the Orthodox Church, since his (publicly expressed) convictions were incompatible with such membership.

This caused a huge public outcry, since Tolstoy's popular authority was extremely great, although everyone knew perfectly well 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 leave the train at the small Astapovo railway station of the Ryazan-Ural Railway.

Here, seven days later, in the house of the head of the station, he died at the age of 82.

We hope that a brief biography of Tolstoy will interest you for further study of his creative heritage. And the last thing: you may not have known this, but in mathematics there is, the author of which is the great writer himself. We highly recommend checking it out.

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The classic of Russian literature, Leo Tolstoy, was born on September 9, 1828, into the noble family of Nikolai Tolstoy and his wife Maria Nikolaevna. The father and mother of the future writer were nobles and belonged to revered families, so the family lived comfortably in their own estate, Yasnaya Polyana, located in the Tula region.

Leo Tolstoy spent his childhood in the family estate. In these places, for the first time, he saw the course of life of the working people, heard the abundance of old legends, parables, fairy tales, and here his first attraction to literature arose. Yasnaya Polyana is a place to which the writer returned at all stages of his life, drawing wisdom, beauty, and inspiration.

Despite his noble origin, Tolstoy had to learn the bitterness of orphanhood since childhood, because the mother of the future writer died when the boy was only two years old. The father passed away not much later, when Leo was seven years old. First, the grandmother took custody of the children, and after her death - aunt Palageya Yushkova, who took the four children of the Tolstoy family with her to Kazan.

growing up

Six years of living in Kazan became the informal years of the writer's growing up, because at this time his character and worldview are formed. In 1844, Leo Tolstoy entered Kazan University, first at the eastern department, then, not finding himself in the study of Arabic and Turkish, at the Faculty of Law.

The writer did not show significant interest in studying law, but he understood the need for a diploma. After passing the exams externally, in 1847 Lev Nikolayevich received the long-awaited document and returned to Yasnaya Polyana, and then to Moscow, where he began to engage in literary work.

Military service

Not having time to finish the two conceived stories, in the spring of 1851 Tolstoy went to the Caucasus with his brother Nikolai and began military service. The young writer takes part in the military operations of the Russian army, acts among the defenders of the Crimean peninsula, liberates his native land from Turkish and Anglo-French troops. Years of service gave Leo Tolstoy invaluable experience, knowledge of the life of ordinary soldiers and citizens, their characters, heroism, aspirations.

The years of service are vividly reflected in Tolstoy's stories "The Cossacks", "Hadji Murad", as well as in the stories "Degraded", "Cutting the Forest", "Raid".

Literary and social activities

Returning to St. Petersburg in 1855, Leo Tolstoy was already well-known in literary circles. Remembering the respectful attitude towards serfs in his father's house, the writer strongly supports the abolition of serfdom, clarifying this issue in the stories "Polikushka", "Morning of the landowner", etc.

In an effort to see the world, in 1857 Lev Nikolayevich went on a trip abroad, visiting the countries of Western Europe. Getting acquainted with the cultural traditions of the peoples, the master of the word fixes the information in his memory in order to display the most important moments in his work later.

Actively engaged in social activities, Tolstoy opens a school in Yasnaya Polyana. The writer strongly criticizes corporal punishment, which was widely practiced at that time in educational institutions in Europe and Russia. In order to improve the educational system, Lev Nikolaevich publishes a pedagogical magazine called Yasnaya Polyana, and in the early 70s he compiled several textbooks for younger students, including Arithmetic, ABC, Books for Reading. These developments were effectively used in the education of several more generations of children.

Personal life and creativity

In 1862, the writer connected his fate with the daughter of the doctor Andrei Bers, Sophia. The young family settled in Yasnaya Polyana, where Sofya Andreevna diligently tried to provide an atmosphere for her husband's literary work. At this time, Leo Tolstoy is actively working on the creation of the epic "War and Peace", and also, reflecting life in Russia after the reform, writes the novel "Anna Karenina".

In the 1980s, Tolstoy moved with his family to Moscow, seeking to educate his growing children. Observing the hungry life of ordinary people, Lev Nikolayevich contributes to the opening of about 200 free tables for those in need. Also at this time, the writer publishes a number of topical articles about the famine, vividly condemning the policies of the rulers.

The period of literature of the 80-90s includes: the story "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", the drama "The Power of Darkness", the comedy "The Fruits of Enlightenment", the novel "Sunday". For a bright attitude against religion and autocracy, Leo Tolstoy is excommunicated from the church.

last years of life

In 1901-1902 the writer was seriously ill. For the purpose of a speedy recovery, the doctor strongly recommends a trip to the Crimea, where Leo Tolstoy spends six months. The prose writer's last trip to Moscow took place in 1909.

Beginning in 1881, the writer seeks to leave Yasnaya Polyana and retire, but remains, not wanting to hurt his wife and children. On October 28, 1910, Leo Tolstoy still decides to take a conscious step and live the rest of the years in a simple hut, refusing all honors.

An unexpected illness on the road becomes an obstacle to the writer's plans and he spends his last seven days of his life in the house of the head of the station. The day of death of an outstanding literary and public figure was November 20, 1910.

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy- an outstanding Russian prose writer, playwright and public figure. Born on August 28 (September 9), 1828 in the estate of Yasnaya Polyana, Tula region. On the maternal side, the writer belonged to the eminent family of the Volkonsky princes, and on the paternal side, to the ancient family of the Counts Tolstoy. Great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father of Leo Tolstoy were military men. Even under Ivan the Terrible, representatives of the ancient Tolstoy family served as governors in many cities of Russia.

The writer's grandfather on his mother's side, "a descendant of Rurik", Prince Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky, was enrolled in military service from the age of seven. He was a participant in the Russian-Turkish war and retired with the rank of General-Anshef. The writer's paternal grandfather - Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy - served in the Navy, and then in the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The writer's father, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, voluntarily entered military service at the age of seventeen. He participated in the Patriotic War of 1812, was captured by the French and was released by the Russian troops who entered Paris after the defeat of Napoleon's army. On the maternal side, Tolstoy was related to the Pushkins. Their common ancestor was the boyar I.M. Golovin, an associate of Peter I, who studied shipbuilding with him. One of his daughters is the great-grandmother of the poet, the other is the great-grandmother of Tolstoy's mother. Thus, Pushkin was Tolstoy's fourth cousin.

Writer's childhood took place in Yasnaya Polyana - an old family estate. Tolstoy's interest in history and literature arose in his childhood: living in the countryside, he saw how the life of the working people proceeded, from him he heard many folk tales, epics, songs, legends. The life of the people, their work, interests and views, oral creativity - everything alive and wise - was revealed to Tolstoy by Yasnaya Polyana.

Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya, the writer's mother, was a kind and sympathetic person, an intelligent and educated woman: she knew French, German, English and Italian, played the piano, and 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, his father, was loved and appreciated by the children for his humane attitude towards serfs. In addition to doing housework and children, he read a lot. During his life, Nikolai Ilyich collected a rich library, consisting of books of French classics, rare for those times, historical and natural history works. It was he who first noticed the propensity of his youngest son to a vivid perception of the artistic word.

When Tolstoy was in his ninth year, his father took him to Moscow for the first time. The first impressions of the Moscow life of Lev Nikolaevich 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 the open side of big city life, but also some hidden, shady 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 life in Moscow did not last long. In the summer of 1837, having gone on business to Tula, his father died suddenly. Soon after the death of his father, Tolstoy, his sister and brothers had to endure a new misfortune: the grandmother died, whom all relatives considered the head of the family. The sudden death of her son was a terrible blow for her and in less than a year took her to the grave. A few years later, the first guardian of the orphaned Tolstoy children, the father's sister, Alexandra Ilyinichna Osten-Saken, died. Ten-year-old Leo, 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 woman "kind and very pious", but at the same time very "frivolous and vain". According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Pelageya Ilyinichna did not enjoy authority among Tolstoy and his brothers, therefore moving to Kazan is considered to be a new stage in the life of the writer: education 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 of life path. Living with his brothers and sister at Pelageya Ilyinichna, young Tolstoy spent two years preparing to enter Kazan University. Deciding to enter the eastern department of the university, he paid special attention to preparing for exams in foreign languages. At the exams in mathematics and Russian literature, Tolstoy received fours, and in foreign languages ​​- fives. At the exams in history and geography, Lev Nikolaevich failed - he received unsatisfactory marks.

Failure in the entrance exams served as a serious lesson for Tolstoy. He devoted the whole 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 philosophical faculty of Kazan University in the category of Arabic-Turkish literature. However, the study of languages ​​did not captivate Tolstoy, and after a summer vacation in Yasnaya Polyana, he transferred from the Oriental Faculty to the Faculty of Law.

But even in the future, university studies did not arouse Lev Nikolayevich's interest in the sciences being studied. Most of the time he studied philosophy on his own, compiled the "Rules of Life" and carefully made entries in his diary. By the end of the third year of studies, 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 degree to qualify for employment. And in order to get a diploma, Tolstoy passed the university exams as an external student, having spent two years of his life in the countryside preparing for them. Having received university documents at the end of April 1847, the 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 took up literary work. At this time, he decided to write two stories, but he 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, visited many villages and villages.

started in the Caucasus Tolstoy's military service. He took part in the combat operations of the Russian troops. Tolstoy's impressions and observations are reflected in his stories "Raid", "Cutting the Forest", "Degraded", in the story "Cossacks". Later, turning to the memories of this period of life, Tolstoy created the story "Hadji Murad". 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 made trips to 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 that time was the Crimean peninsula. Here, Russian troops led by 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 closely recognized ordinary Russian soldiers, sailors, residents of Sevastopol, sought to understand the source of the heroism of the defenders of the city, 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, the attention of public life in Russia was focused around the issue of serfdom. Tolstoy's stories of this time ("The Morning of the Landowner", "Polikushka", etc.) are also devoted to this problem.

In 1857 the writer made overseas travel. He traveled to France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. Traveling to different cities, the writer got acquainted with the culture and social system of Western European countries with great interest. Much of what he saw later reflected in his work. In 1860 Tolstoy made another trip abroad. The year before, he opened a school for children in Yasnaya Polyana. 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 force in Western European countries, in particular in Germany, also penetrated into Russian schools. At this time, Lev Nikolaevich wrote a number of articles in which he criticized the system of public education both in Russia and in Western European countries.

Arriving at home after a trip abroad, Tolstoy devoted himself to work at school and the publication of the pedagogical journal Yasnaya Polyana. The school, founded by the writer, was located not far from his house - in an outbuilding that has survived to our time. In the early 70s, Tolstoy compiled and published a number of textbooks for elementary school: "ABC", "Arithmetic", four "Books for reading". More than one generation of children have learned from these books. Stories from them are read with enthusiasm by children in our time.

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 reform, disputes broke out between the landowners and peasants, the settlement of which was entrusted to the so-called peace mediators. Tolstoy was appointed mediator in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province. Dealing with 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 the activities of the mediator, close the school in Yasnaya Polyana and refuse to publish a pedagogical journal.

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 such an environment on the estate in which nothing would distract the writer from hard work. In the 60s, Tolstoy led a solitary life, devoting himself entirely 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, captured the writer so much that he left work on a historical novel and began to create a new work, in which reflected the post-reform life of Russia. This is how the novel "Anna Karenina" appeared, which Tolstoy devoted four years to work on.

In the early 1980s, Tolstoy moved with his family to Moscow to educate his growing children. Here the writer, well acquainted with rural poverty, became a witness to urban poverty. In the early 90s of the XIX century, almost half of the central provinces of the country were gripped by famine, and Tolstoy joined the fight against the people's disaster. Thanks to his call, the collection of donations, the purchase and delivery of food to the villages was launched. At this time, under the leadership of Tolstoy, about two hundred free canteens for the starving population were opened in the villages of the Tula and Ryazan provinces. A number of articles written by Tolstoy on the famine belong to the same period, in which the writer truthfully portrayed the plight of the people and condemned the policy of the ruling classes.

In the mid-1980s Tolstoy wrote Drama "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 state of the peasantry after the abolition of serfdom. Created in the early 1990s novel "Sunday", on which the writer worked intermittently for ten years. In all the 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" more than other works of Tolstoy was subjected to censorship. Most of the novel's chapters have been released or cut. The ruling circles launched an active policy against the writer. Fearing popular indignation, the authorities did not dare to use open repressions against Tolstoy. With the consent of the tsar and at the insistence of the chief procurator of the Holy Synod, Pobedonostsev, the synod adopted a resolution on excommunication of Tolstoy from the church. The writer was put under police surveillance. The world community was outraged by the persecution of Lev Nikolaevich. The peasantry, the progressive intelligentsia and the common people were on the side of the writer, they sought to express their respect and support to him. The love and sympathy of the people served as a 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 more and more sharply and boldly denounced the noble-bourgeois society, openly opposed the autocracy. Works from this period "After the Ball", "For what?", "Hadji Murad", "The Living Corpse") are imbued with a deep hatred for royal power, a limited and ambitious ruler. In publicistic articles relating to this time, the writer sharply condemned the instigators of wars, called for a peaceful resolution of all disputes and conflicts.

In 1901-1902 Tolstoy suffered a serious illness. At the insistence of doctors, the writer had to go to the Crimea, where he spent more than six months.

In the Crimea, he met with writers, artists, artists: Chekhov, Korolenko, Gorky, Chaliapin, and others. When Tolstoy returned home, hundreds of ordinary people warmly greeted him at the stations. In the autumn of 1909, the writer made his last trip to Moscow.

In the diaries and letters of Tolstoy in the last decades of his life, the difficult experiences that were caused by the discord between the writer and his family were reflected. Tolstoy wanted to transfer the land that belonged to him to the peasants and wanted his works to be freely and free of charge published by anyone who wanted to. The writer's family opposed this, not wanting to give up either the rights to the land or the rights to works. The old landlord 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 a peasant's hut, among the simple Russian people. However, on the way, Tolstoy fell seriously ill and was forced to leave the train at the small Astapovo station. The great writer spent the last seven days of his life in the house of the head of the station. The news of the death of one of the outstanding thinkers, a remarkable writer, a great humanist deeply struck the hearts of all the progressive people of that time. Tolstoy's creative heritage is of great importance for world literature. Over the years, interest in the writer's work does not weaken, but, on the contrary, grows. As A. Frans rightly noted: “With his life he proclaims sincerity, directness, determination, 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 true!