When was Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy born? A brief biography of the fat lion Nikolaevich - childhood and youth, the search for his place in life. Screen adaptations of works, theatrical performances

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 ""?

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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 already 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).

IN 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 example, 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 Nikolayevich 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.

Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in the Tula province (Russia) into a family belonging to the noble class. In the 1860s, he wrote his first major novel, War and Peace. In 1873 Tolstoy began work on the second of his most famous books, Anna Karenina.

He continued to write fiction throughout the 1880s and 1890s. One of his most successful later works is The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Tolstoy died on November 20, 1910 in Astapovo, Russia.

First years of life

September 9, 1828, in Yasnaya Polyana (Tula province, Russia), the future writer Leo Tolstoy was born. He was the fourth child in a large noble family. In 1830, when Tolstoy's mother, nee Princess Volkonskaya, died, the father's cousin took over the care of the children. Their father, Count Nikolai Tolstoy, died seven years later, and their aunt was appointed guardian. After the death of his aunt, Leo Tolstoy, his brothers and sisters moved to the second aunt in Kazan. Although Tolstoy experienced many losses at an early age, he later idealized his childhood memories in his work.

It is important to note that the primary education in Tolstoy's biography was received at home, lessons were given to him by French and German teachers. In 1843 he entered the Faculty of Oriental Languages at the Imperial Kazan University. Tolstoy failed to excel in his studies - low grades forced him to move to an easier law faculty. Further academic difficulties led Tolstoy to eventually leave the Imperial Kazan University in 1847 without a degree. He returned to his parents' estate, where he planned to take up farming. However, this undertaking of his ended in failure - he was absent too often, leaving for Tula and Moscow. What he really excelled at was keeping his own diary - it was this lifelong habit that inspired Leo Tolstoy for most of his writings.

Tolstoy was fond of music, his favorite composers were Schumann, Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Mendelssohn. Lev Nikolaevich could play their works for several hours a day.

One day, Tolstoy's older brother, Nikolai, came to visit Leo during his army leave, and convinced his brother to join the army as a cadet in the south, in the Caucasus mountains, where he served. After serving as a cadet, Leo Tolstoy was transferred to Sevastopol in November 1854, where he fought in the Crimean War until August 1855.

Early publications

During his Junker years in the army, Tolstoy had a lot of free time. During quiet periods, he worked on an autobiographical story called The Childhood. In it, he wrote about his favorite childhood memories. In 1852 Tolstoy submitted the story to Sovremennik, the most popular magazine of the day. The story was gladly received, and it became Tolstoy's first publication. Since that time, critics have placed him on a par with already well-known writers, among whom were Ivan Turgenev (with whom Tolstoy became friends), Ivan Goncharov, Alexander Ostrovsky and others.

After completing the story "Childhood", Tolstoy began to write about his daily life in an army outpost in the Caucasus. The work "Cossacks" begun in the army years, he finished only in 1862, after he had already left the army.

Surprisingly, Tolstoy managed to continue writing during active battles in the Crimean War. During this time he wrote Boyhood (1854), the sequel to Childhood, the second book in Tolstoy's autobiographical trilogy. At the height of the Crimean War, Tolstoy expressed his opinion about the striking contradictions of the war through the trilogy of works "Sevastopol Tales". In the second book of the Sevastopol Tales, Tolstoy experimented with a relatively new technique: part of the story is presented as a narration from the point of view of a soldier.

After the end of the Crimean War, Tolstoy left the army and returned to Russia. Arriving home, the author enjoyed great popularity on the literary scene of St. Petersburg.

Stubborn and arrogant, Tolstoy refused to belong to any particular philosophical school. Declaring himself an anarchist, he left for Paris in 1857. Once there, he lost all his money and was forced to return home to Russia. He also succeeded in publishing Youth, the third part of an autobiographical trilogy, in 1857.

Returning to Russia in 1862, Tolstoy published the first of 12 issues of the thematic magazine Yasnaya Polyana. In the same year, he married the daughter of a doctor named Sofya Andreevna Bers.

Major novels

Living in Yasnaya Polyana with his wife and children, Tolstoy spent much of the 1860s writing his first known novel, War and Peace. Part of the novel was first published in Russkiy Vestnik in 1865 under the title "1805". By 1868 he had produced three more chapters. A year later, the novel was completely finished. Both critics and the public have debated the historical validity of the novel's Napoleonic Wars, coupled with the development of the stories of its thoughtful and realistic yet fictional characters. The novel is also unique in that it includes three long satirical essays on the laws of history. Among the ideas that Tolstoy also tries to convey in this novel is the conviction that the position of a person in society and the meaning of human life are mainly derivatives of his daily activities.

After the success of War and Peace in 1873, Tolstoy began work on the second of his most famous books, Anna Karenina. It was partly based on real events during the war between Russia and Turkey. Like War and Peace, this book describes some biographical events in the life of Tolstoy himself, this is especially evident in the romantic relationship between the characters of Kitty and Levin, which is said to be reminiscent of Tolstoy's courtship of his own wife.

The opening lines of Anna Karenina are among the most famous: "All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Anna Karenina was published in installments from 1873 to 1877, and was highly acclaimed by the public. The fees received for the novel rapidly enriched the writer.

Conversion

Despite the success of Anna Karenina, after the completion of the novel, Tolstoy experienced a spiritual crisis and was depressed. The next stage of the biography of Leo Tolstoy is characterized by a search for the meaning of life. The writer first turned to the Russian Orthodox Church, but did not find answers to his questions there. He concluded that the Christian churches were corrupt and, instead of an organized religion, promoted their own beliefs. He decided to express these convictions by founding a new publication in 1883 called The Mediator.
As a result, for his non-standard and contradictory spiritual beliefs, Tolstoy was excommunicated from the Russian Orthodox Church. He was even watched by the secret police. When Tolstoy, driven by his new conviction, wanted to give away all his money and give up everything superfluous, his wife was categorically against it. Not wanting to escalate the situation, Tolstoy reluctantly agreed to a compromise: he transferred to his wife the copyright and, apparently, all deductions for his work until 1881.

Late fiction

In addition to his religious treatises, Tolstoy continued to write fiction throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Among the genres of his later work were moral stories and realistic fiction. One of the most successful of his later works was the story The Death of Ivan Ilyich, written in 1886. The protagonist struggles to fight the death hanging over him. In short, Ivan Ilyich is horrified at the realization that he wasted his life on trifles, but the realization of this comes to him too late.

In 1898 Tolstoy wrote Father Sergius, a work of fiction in which he criticizes the beliefs he developed after his spiritual transformation. The following year, he wrote his third voluminous novel, Resurrection. The work received good reviews, but this success is unlikely to match the level of recognition of his previous novels. Tolstoy's other late works are essays on art, a satirical play called The Living Corpse, written in 1890, and a story called Hadji Murad (1904), which was discovered and published after his death. In 1903, Tolstoy wrote a short story "After the Ball", which was first published after his death, in 1911.

Old age

During his later years, Tolstoy reaped the benefits of international recognition. However, he still struggled to reconcile his spiritual beliefs with the tensions he created in his family life. His wife not only disagreed with his teachings, she did not approve of his students, who regularly visited Tolstoy in the family estate. In an effort to avoid the growing discontent of his wife, in October 1910 Tolstoy and his youngest daughter Alexandra went on a pilgrimage. Alexandra was a doctor for her elderly father during the trip. Trying not to flaunt their private lives, they traveled incognito, hoping to evade unnecessary inquiries, but this was sometimes to no avail.

Death and legacy

Unfortunately, the pilgrimage proved too burdensome for the aging writer. In November 1910, the head of the small Astapovo railway station opened the doors of his house for Tolstoy so that the ailing writer could rest. Shortly thereafter, on November 20, 1910, Tolstoy died. He was buried in the family estate, Yasnaya Polyana, where Tolstoy lost so many people close to him.

To this day, Tolstoy's novels are considered among the finest achievements of literary art. War and Peace is often cited as the greatest novel ever written. In the modern scientific community, Tolstoy is widely recognized as having a gift for describing the unconscious motives of character, the refinement of which he advocated by emphasizing the role of everyday actions in determining the character and goals of people.

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Born into a noble family of Maria Nikolaevna, nee Princess Volkonskaya, and Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy in the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province as the fourth child. The happy marriage of his parents became the prototype of the characters in the novel "War and Peace" - Princess Marya and Nikolai Rostov. Parents died early. Tatyana Alexandrovna Yergolskaya, a distant relative, was engaged in the upbringing of the future writer, education - tutors: the German Reselman and the Frenchman Saint-Thomas, who became the heroes of the writer's stories and novels. At the age of 13, the future writer and his family moved to the hospitable house of his father's sister P.I. Yushkova in Kazan.

In 1844, Leo Tolstoy entered the Imperial Kazan University in the Department of Oriental Literature of the Faculty of Philosophy. After the first year, he did not pass the transitional exam and transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he studied for two years, plunging into secular entertainment. Leo Tolstoy, naturally shy and ugly, gained a reputation in secular society as "thinking" about the happiness of death, eternity, love, although he himself wanted to shine. And in 1847 he left the university and went to Yasnaya Polyana with the intention of doing science and "achieving the highest degree of perfection in music and painting."

In 1849, the first school for peasant children was opened on his estate, where Foka Demidovich, his serf, a former musician, taught. Yermil Bazykin, who studied there, said: “There were about 20 of us boys, the teacher was Foka Demidovich, a courtyard man. Under father L.N. Tolstoy, he acted as a musician. The old man was good. He taught us the alphabet, counting, sacred history. Lev Nikolaevich also came to us, also worked with us, showed us his diploma. I went every other day, every other day, or even every day. He always ordered the teacher not to offend us ... ".

In 1851, under the influence of his older brother Nikolai, Lev left for the Caucasus, having already begun to write Childhood, and in the fall he became a cadet in the 4th battery of the 20th artillery brigade stationed in the Cossack village of Starogladovskaya on the Terek River. There he completed the first part of Childhood and sent it to the Sovremennik magazine to its editor N.A. Nekrasov. On September 18, 1852, the manuscript was printed with great success.

Leo Tolstoy served three years in the Caucasus and, having the right to the most honorable St. George Cross for bravery, "conceded" to his fellow soldier, as giving a lifelong pension. At the beginning of the Crimean War of 1853-1856. transferred to the Danube army, participated in the battles of Oltenitsa, the siege of Silistria, the defense of Sevastopol. The then written story "Sevastopol in December 1854" was read by Emperor Alexander II, who ordered to take care of a talented officer.

In November 1856, the already recognized and well-known writer leaves military service and leaves to travel around Europe.

In 1862, Leo Tolstoy married seventeen-year-old Sofya Andreevna Bers. In their marriage, 13 children were born, five died in early childhood, the novels War and Peace (1863-1869) and Anna Karenina (1873-1877) were written, recognized as great works.

In the 1880s Leo Tolstoy survived a powerful crisis, which led to the denial of official state power and its institutions, the realization of the inevitability of death, faith in God and the creation of his own doctrine - Tolstoyism. He lost interest in the usual aristocratic life, he began to have thoughts of suicide and the need to live right, be a vegetarian, engage in education and physical labor - he plowed, sewed boots, taught children at school. In 1891, he publicly renounced the copyright to his literary works written after 1880.

During 1889-1899. Leo Tolstoy wrote the novel "Resurrection", whose plot is based on a real court case, and scathing articles about the system of government - on this basis, the Holy Synod excommunicated Count Leo Tolstoy from the Orthodox Church and anathematized in 1901.

On October 28 (November 10), 1910, Leo Tolstoy secretly left Yasnaya Polyana, setting off on a journey without a specific plan for the sake of his moral and religious ideas of recent years, accompanied by doctor D.P. Makovitsky. On the way he caught a cold, fell ill with lobar pneumonia and was forced to get off the train at the Astapovo station (now Lev Tolstoy station in the Lipetsk region). Leo Tolstoy died on November 7 (20), 1910 in the house of the head of the station I.I. Ozolin and was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is one of the five most widely read writers. His work made Russian literature recognizable abroad. Even if you have not read these works, you probably know Natasha Rostova, Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky at least from films or jokes. The biography of Lev Nikolaevich can be of interest to every person, because the personal life of a famous person is always of interest, parallels are drawn with his creative activity. Let's try to trace the life of Leo Tolstoy.

The future classic came from a noble family known since the 14th century. Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy, the writer's ancestor on his father's side, earned the favor of Peter I by investigating the case of his son, who was suspected of treason. Then Pert Andreevich headed the Secret Chancellery, his career went uphill. Nikolai Ilyich, the father of the classic, received a good education. However, it was combined with unshakable principles that did not allow him to advance at court.

The condition of the father of the future classic was upset because of the debts of his parent, and he married the middle-aged but wealthy Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya. Despite the initial calculation, they were happy in marriage and had five children.

Childhood

Lev Nikolayevich was born fourth (there was also the younger Maria and the elders Nikolai, Sergey and Dmitry), but he received little attention after birth: his mother died two years after the birth of the writer; the father briefly moved with the children to Moscow, but soon also died. The impressions from the trip were so strong that the young Leva created the first composition "Kremlin".

Several guardians brought up children at once: first, T.A. Ergolskaya and A. M. Osten-Saken. A. M. Osten-Saken died in 1840, and the children went to Kazan to P. I. Yushkova.

adolescence

Yushkova's house was secular and cheerful: receptions, evenings, outward brilliance, high society - all this was very important for the family. Tolstoy himself strove to shine in society, to be "comme il faut", but shyness did not allow him to turn around. Real entertainment to Lev Nikolaevich was replaced by reflection and introspection.

The future classic studied at home: first under the guidance of the German tutor Saint-Thomas, and then with the French Reselman. Following the example of the brothers, Lev decides to enter the Imperial Kazan University, where Kovalevsky and Lobachevsky worked. In 1844, Tolstoy began to study at the Oriental Faculty (the admission committee was amazed by the knowledge of the "Turkish-Tatar language"), and later transferred to the Faculty of Law.

Youth

The young man was in conflict with the home history teacher, so the grades in the subject were unsatisfactory, at the university it was necessary to take the course again. In order to avoid repeating what he had gone through, Lev switched to law school, but did not finish, left the university and went to Yasnaya Polyana, his parents' estate. Here he is trying to manage the economy using new technologies, he tried, but unsuccessfully. In 1849 the writer went to Moscow.

During this period, the diary begins, the entries will continue until the death of the writer. They are the most important document in the diaries of Lev Nikolayevich and describes the events of his life, and is engaged in introspection, and argues. Also here were described the goals and rules that he tried to follow.

History of success

The creative world of Leo Tolstoy took shape as early as adolescence, in his emerging need for constant psychoanalysis. Systemically, this quality manifested itself in diary entries. It was as a result of constant introspection that Tolstoy's famous "dialectics of the soul" appeared.

First works

Children's work was written in Moscow, and real works were also written there. Tolstoy creates stories about gypsies, about his daily routine (unfinished manuscripts have been lost). In the early 50s, the story "Childhood" was also created.

Leo Tolstoy - a participant in the Caucasian and Crimean wars. Military service gave the writer many new plots and emotions, described in the stories "Raid", "Cutting the Forest", "Degraded", in the story "Cossacks". Here is completed and "Childhood", which brought fame. Impressions from the battle for Sevastopol helped to write the cycle "Sevastopol stories". But in 1856, Lev Nikolaevich parted ways with the service forever. The personal history of Leo Tolstoy taught him a lot: having seen enough bloodshed in the war, he realized the importance of peace and real values - family, marriage, his people. It was these thoughts that he later put into his works.

Confession

The story "Childhood" was created in the winter of 1850-51, and published a year later. This work and its sequels "Boyhood" (1854), "Youth" (1857) and "Youth" (was never written) were supposed to make up the novel "Four Epochs of Development" about the spiritual development of man.

The trilogies tell about the life of Nikolenka Irteniev. He has parents, an older brother Volodya and a sister Lyubochka, he is happy in his home world, but suddenly his father announces his decision to move to Moscow, Nikolenka and Volodya go with him. Just as suddenly, their mother dies. A severe blow of fate ends childhood. In adolescence, the hero is in conflict with others and with himself, trying to comprehend himself in this world. Nikolenka's grandmother dies, he not only mourns for her, but also notes with bitterness that some care only about her inheritance. In the same period, the hero begins to prepare for the university and meets Dmitry Nekhlyudov. Having entered the university, he feels like an adult and rushes into the maelstrom of secular pleasures. This pastime does not leave time for study, the hero fails the exams. This event led him to think about the incorrectness of the chosen path, leading to self-improvement.

Personal life

It is always difficult for the families of writers: a creative person may be impossible in everyday life, and even he is always not up to earthly things, he is embraced by new ideas. But how did the family of Leo Tolstoy live?

Wife

Sofya Andreevna Bers was born in the family of a doctor, she was smart, educated, simple. The writer met his future wife when he was 34 and she was 18. A clear, bright and pure girl attracted the experienced Lev Nikolaevich, who had already seen a lot and was ashamed of his past.

After the wedding, the Tolstoys began to live in Yasnaya Polyana, where Sofya Andreevna took care of the household, children and helped her husband in all matters: she copied manuscripts, published works, was a secretary and translator. After the opening of the hospital in Yasnaya Polyana, she also helped there, examining the sick. Tolstoy's family rested on her worries, because it was she who conducted all the economic activities.

During a spiritual crisis, Tolstoy came up with a special charter of life and decided to renounce property, depriving children of their fortune. Sofya Andreevna opposed this, family life cracked. Nevertheless, Lev Nikolaevich's wife is the only one, and she made a great contribution to his work. He treated her ambivalently: on the one hand, he respected and idolized, on the other, he reproached her for the fact that she was engaged in material matters more than spiritual ones. This conflict was continued in his prose. For example, in the novel "War and Peace" the name of the negative hero, evil, indifferent and obsessed with hoarding, is Berg, which is very consonant with his wife's maiden name.

Children

Leo Tolstoy had 13 children, 9 boys and 4 girls, but five of them died in childhood. The image of the great father lived in his children, all of them were associated with his work.

Sergei was engaged in the work of his father (founded a museum, commented on works), and also became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Tatyana was a follower of her father's teachings and also became a writer. Ilya led a hectic life: he dropped out of school, did not find a suitable job, and after the revolution he emigrated to the United States, where he lectured on the worldview of Lev Nikolayevich. Lev, too, at first followed the ideas of Tolstoyism, but later became a monarchist, so he also emigrated and was engaged in creativity. Maria shared the ideas of her father, refused the world and was engaged in educational work. Andrei highly valued his noble origin, participated in the Russo-Japanese War, then took his wife away from the boss, and soon died suddenly. Mikhail was musical, but became a military man and wrote memoirs about life in Yasnaya Polyana. Alexandra helped her father in all matters, then she became the keeper of his museum, but due to emigration, her achievements in Soviet times were forgotten.

Creative crisis

In the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s, Tolstoy experienced a painful spiritual crisis. For several years, the writer was accompanied by panic attacks, thoughts of suicide, fear of death. Lev Nikolaevich could not find an answer to the questions of life that tormented him anywhere, and he created his own philosophical doctrine.

Change of outlook

The way of victory over the crisis was unusual: Leo Tolstoy created his own moral teaching. His thoughts were set forth by him in books and articles: "Confession", "So what should we do", "What is art", "I can not be silent."

The writer's teaching was anti-Orthodox in nature, since Orthodoxy, according to Lev Nikolaevich, perverted the essence of the commandments, his dogmas are not permissible, from the point of view of morality, and are imposed by centuries-old traditions, forcibly instilled in the Russian people. Tolstoyism resonated with the common people and the intelligentsia, and pilgrims from different classes began to come to Yasnaya Polyana for advice. The church reacted sharply to the spread of Tolstoyism: in 1901 the writer was excommunicated from it.

Tolstoyanism

Morality, morality and philosophy are combined in the teachings of Tolstoy. God is the best in man, his moral center. That is why it is impossible to follow dogmas and justify any violence (which the Church did, according to the author of the doctrine). The brotherhood of all people and the victory over world evil are the ultimate goals of mankind, which can be achieved through the self-improvement of each of us.

Lev Nikolaevich took a different look not only at his personal life, but also at his work. Only the common people are close to the truth, and art should only separate good and evil. And this role is played by one folk art. This leads Tolstoy to abandon past works and simplify new works to the maximum, adding edification to them (Kholstomer, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Master and Worker, Resurrection).

Death

Since the beginning of the 80s, family relations have been aggravated: the writer wants to give up copyright on his books, his property and distribute everything to the poor. The wife sharply opposed, promising to accuse her husband of being crazy. Tolstoy realized that the problem could not be solved peacefully, so he came up with the idea of leaving his home, going abroad and becoming a peasant.

Accompanied by Dr. D.P. Makovitsky, the writer left the estate (later his daughter Alexandra also joined). However, the plans of the writer were not destined to come true. Tolstoy had a fever, he stopped at the head of the Astapovo station. After ten days of illness, the writer died.

creative heritage

Researchers distinguish three periods in the work of Leo Tolstoy:

Creativity of the 50s ("young Tolstoy")- during this period, the style of the writer, his famous "dialectics of the soul" develops, he accumulates impressions, military service also helps in this.
Creativity of the 60s-70s (classical period)- it was at this time that the most famous works of the writer were written.
1880-1910 (Tolstoyan period)- bear the imprint of a spiritual upheaval: renunciation of past creativity, new spiritual beginnings and problems. The style is simplified, as are the plots of the works.

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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. The works of the brilliant writer are the greatest asset of Russia.

In August 1828, a classic of Russian literature was born in the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Tula province. 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".

Silhouette and portrait of Leo Tolstoy's parents

The classic received his primary education at home 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 kind 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 instructive stories, epics, fables, as well as methodological advice to teachers. The third book included the story "Prisoner of the Caucasus".

Leo Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina"

In the 1870s, Leo Tolstoy, continuing to teach peasant children, wrote the novel Anna Karenina, in which he contrasted two storylines: the Karenins' family drama and the domestic 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 "wordy 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.

Leo Tolstoy writes "War and Peace"

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, brilliant education and love for art are recognizable. 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, the works of the Russian classic were filmed 40 times abroad alone. 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 his future wife as a 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 learned about her husband's turbulent youth, gambling, wild life and the peasant girl Aksinya, who was expecting a child from Lev Nikolayevich.

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 of the 13 children died in infancy or early 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.

The death of the last child, seven-year-old Vanya, briefly brought the couple closer. 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 a 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 the stationmaster's house. 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 are alike; 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"