Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy: a brief biography and creativity. Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy biography briefly the most important for children

1.2 Childhood

Born on August 28, 1828 in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province, in the hereditary estate of his mother - Yasnaya Polyana. Was the 4th child; his three older brothers: Nikolai (1823-1860), Sergei (1826-1904) and Dmitry (1827-1856). In 1830 sister Maria (1830-1912) was born. His mother died when he was not yet 2 years old.

A distant relative, T. A. Ergolskaya, took up the upbringing of orphaned children. In 1837, the family moved to Moscow, settling on Plyushchikha, because the eldest son had to prepare to enter the university, but soon his father died suddenly, leaving his affairs (including some litigation related to the family's property) in an unfinished state, and the three younger children again settled in Yasnaya Polyana under the supervision of Yergolskaya and her paternal aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Saken, who was appointed guardian of the children. Here Lev Nikolaevich remained until 1840, when Countess Osten-Saken died and the children moved to Kazan, to a new guardian, the father's sister P. I. Yushkova.

The Yushkovs' house was one of the most cheerful in Kazan; all members of the family highly valued external brilliance. “My good aunt,” says Tolstoy, “the purest being, always said that she would not want anything for me more than that I have a relationship with a married woman” (“Confession”).

He wanted to shine in society, but his natural shyness prevented him. The most diverse, as Tolstoy himself defines them, "thinking" about the main questions of our existence - happiness, death, God, love, eternity - painfully tormented him in that era of life. What he told in Boyhood and Youth about the aspirations of Irteniev and Nekhlyudov for self-improvement was taken by Tolstoy from the history of his own ascetic attempts of that time. All this led to the fact that Tolstoy developed "a habit of constant moral analysis", as it seemed to him, "destroying the freshness of feeling and clarity of mind" ("Youth").

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Brief biography of Leo Tolstoy. Born in 1828 into an aristocratic family. Father, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy - a retired lieutenant colonel of the Pavlograd Hussars, a participant in World War II. Mother - Princess Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya.

The parents of the future writer died early, his mother - when he was 2 years old, his father - at 9 years old. Orphaned five children were raised by guardian relatives.

In 1844-46. Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy tried to study at the university, but the study was given to him with great difficulty, and he left the educational institution. After that, the count lived for four years on his estate, trying to build relations with the peasants in a new way; contributed to the opening of new schools in the villages.

At the same time, he occasionally came to Moscow, where he indulged in gambling, which more than once undermined his financial situation. After another major loss, in 1851 he left for the army in the Caucasus, where his elder brother served at that time.

It was in the Caucasus that Lev Nikolayevich discovered in himself the need for creativity. He created the autobiographical story "Childhood" and sent the manuscript (signing simply: "LNT") to the court of Nikolai Nekrasov, a famous poet and publisher of the authoritative literary monthly "Sovremennik". He published the story, calling Tolstoy "a new and reliable talent" in Russian literature.

For five years Tolstoy has served as an artillery officer. First, he participates in the Chechen campaign, then in battles with the Turks on the Danube, then in the Crimea, where he heroically showed himself during the defense of Sevastopol, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Anna.

He devotes all his free time to creativity. Boyhood and Youth, the next parts of the autobiographical trilogy, were also published in Sovremennik and became very popular. Few writers have managed to explore the spiritual life of a person so subtly and at the same time convey all this in such a simple and easy style.

Bright and interesting scenes from the army and military life of Tolstoy are reflected in his Cossacks, Hadji Murad, Woodcutting, Raid, and especially in the magnificent Sevastopol Tales.

After his resignation, Tolstoy went on a long journey through Europe. Returning home, he devoted himself entirely to public education. He helped in the opening of 20 rural schools in the Tula province, at the school in Yasnaya Polyana he taught himself, compiled alphabets and educational books for children. In 1862, he married 18-year-old Sophia Bers, and in 1863 he returned to literary activity and began work on his greatest work, the epic novel War and Peace.

Tolstoy approached his work extremely responsibly, having studied thousands of sources about the Patriotic War of 1812: memoirs, letters from contemporaries and participants in the events. The first part was published in 1865, and the writer finished the novel only in 1869.

The novel struck and continues to amaze readers with a combination of an epic picture of historical events with the living destinies of people, deep penetration into emotional experiences and throwing people. The novel "Anna Karenina" (1873-77) became the second world-renowned work of the writer.

In the last decades of the XIX century. Tolstoy philosophized a lot on the topic of faith and the meaning of life. These searches were reflected in his religious treatises, in which he tried to understand the essence of Christianity and convey its principles in an understandable language.

Tolstoy put the moral purification and self-improvement of the individual at the forefront, as well as the principle of non-resistance to evil by violence. The writer criticized the official Orthodox Church for its dogmatism and close connection with the state, for which the Synod excommunicated him from the church.

But, despite this, until the end of his life, followers of his religious and moral teachings came to Tolstoy from all over the country. The writer did not stop his work to support rural schools.

In the last years of his life, Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy decided to give up all private property, which caused dissatisfaction with his wife and children. Offended by them, at the age of 82 he decided to leave home, boarded a train, but soon caught a bad cold and died. It happened in 1910.

Lev Nikolayevich went down in history not only as a brilliant world-famous writer, but also as a great teacher, theologian and preacher of Christianity.

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

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

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Life of Leo Tolstoy

He was born on September 9, 1828. As a child, Leo experienced many difficult moments in his life. After his parents died, he and his sisters were raised by an aunt. After her death, when he was 13 years old, he had to move to Kazan to a distant relative under guardianship. Primary education Lev took place at home. At the age of 16 he entered the Faculty of Philology of Kazan University. However, it was impossible to say that he was successful in his studies. This forced Tolstoy to move to a lighter, law faculty. After 2 years, he returned to Yasnaya Polyana, having not mastered the granite of science to the end.

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

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

Early work of L. N. Tolstoy

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

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

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

Euro-trip

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

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

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

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

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

Homecoming

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

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

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

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

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

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

Social activity

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

The heyday of creativity

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

The writer's latest works include:

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

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

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

Lev Tolstoy- the most famous Russian writer, famous throughout the world for his works.

short biography

Born in 1828 in the Tula province in a noble family. He spent his childhood in the Yasnaya Polyana estate, where he received his primary education at home. He had three brothers and a sister. His guardians raised him, so in early childhood, at the birth of his sister, his mother died, and later, in 1840, his father, because of which the whole family moved to relatives in Kazan. There he studied at Kazan University at two faculties, but decided to quit his studies and return to his native places.

Tolstoy spent two years in the army in the Caucasus. Bravely participated in several battles and was even awarded the Order for the defense of Sevastopol. He could have had a good military career, but he wrote several songs that made fun of the military command, as a result of which he had to leave the army.

At the end of the 50s, Lev Nikolaevich set off to travel around Europe and returned to Russia after the abolition of serfdom. Even during his travels, he was disappointed with the European way of life, as he saw a very large contrast between rich and poor. That is why, when he returned to Russia, he was glad that the peasants had now risen.

He married, 13 children were born in marriage, 5 of whom died in childhood. His wife, Sophia, helped her husband by rewriting all the creations of her husband in neat handwriting.

He opened several schools, in which he furnished everything according to his desire. He himself compiled the school curriculum - or rather, the lack of it. Discipline did not play a key role for him, he wanted the children themselves to be drawn to knowledge, so the main task of the teacher was to interest the students so that they wanted to learn.

He was excommunicated because Tolstoy put forward his theories about what the church should be like. Just a month before his death, he decided to secretly leave his native estate. As a result of the trip, he became very ill and died on November 7, 1910. The writer was buried in Yasnaya Polyana near the ravine, where he loved to play with his brothers as a child.

Literary contribution

Lev Nikolaevich began to write while still studying at the University - basically these were homework assignments comparing various literary works. It is believed that it was because of literature that he dropped out - he wanted to devote all his free time to reading.

In the army, he worked on his "Sevastopol stories", and also, as already mentioned, composed songs for his colleagues. Upon returning from the army, he took part in a literary circle in St. Petersburg, from where he went to Europe. He was well aware of the peculiarities of people and tried to reflect this in his works.

Tolstoy wrote many different works, but he gained worldwide fame thanks to two novels - "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina", in which he accurately reflected the life of people of those times.

The contribution of this great writer to world culture is enormous - it was thanks to him that many people learned about Russia. His works are published to this day, performances are staged and films are made on them.

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

Writer's childhood

Lev Nikolaevich was a representative of a large noble family, the fourth child in it. His mother, Princess Volkonskaya, died early. At this time, Tolstoy was not yet two years old, but he formed an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhis parent from the stories of various family members. In the novel "War and Peace" the image of the mother is represented by Princess Marya Nikolaevna Bolkonskaya.

Biography of Leo Tolstoy in the early years is marked by another death. Because of her, the boy was left an orphan. The father of Leo Tolstoy, a participant in the war of 1812, like his mother, died early. This happened in 1837. At that time the boy was only nine years old. The brothers of Leo Tolstoy, he and his sister were transferred to the upbringing of T. A. Ergolskaya, a distant relative who had a huge influence on the future writer. Childhood memories have always been the happiest for Lev Nikolayevich: family traditions and impressions from life in the estate became rich material for his works, reflected, in particular, in the autobiographical story "Childhood".

Studying at Kazan University

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

Youth years

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

Participation in the war

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

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

Crimean campaign

In 1854, the writer went to Bucharest, to the Danube army, where the work and biography of Leo Tolstoy were further developed. However, soon the boring staff life forced him to transfer to the besieged Sevastopol, to the Crimean army, where he was a battery commander, having shown courage (he was awarded medals and the Order of St. Anna). Lev Nikolaevich during this period was captured by new literary plans and impressions. He began to write "Sevastopol stories", which were a great success. Some ideas that arose even at that time make it possible to guess in the artillery officer Tolstoy the preacher of later years: he dreamed of a new "religion of Christ", cleansed of mystery and faith, a "practical religion".

Petersburg and abroad

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

Opening of a public school

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

"War and Peace"

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

In 1865, the first part of the work "War and Peace" was published in the Russian Messenger. The novel immediately drew a lot of responses. The subsequent parts provoked heated debates, in particular, the fatalistic philosophy of history developed by Tolstoy.

"Anna Karenina"

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

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

1880s

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

Publicism of Tolstoy

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

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

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

Novel "Sunday"

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

last years of life

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

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

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