Women in the life of Leo Tolstoy. Marriage to Sophia Bers

Lev Lvovich Tolstoy was born on May 20, 1869 in Yasnaya Polyana. He was the fourth child in the family. Lev Nikolaevich wrote about his three-year-old son Lev: “Pretty, dexterous, memorable, graceful...”.

Little Leva grew up in close communication with his older brothers and sister. The personality of his father had the greatest influence on him. From the book of memories:

“In early childhood, I adored my father, loved the smell of his beard, loved his hands and voice... As a child, he often carried me on his shoulders around the rooms of the house... often played with me... Only by the age of 17-18, just at that time the time when my father was going through his religious crisis, I began to treat him more consciously and looked in him for answers to the life that was unfolding before me...”

Lev Lvovich in his youth actually repeated his father’s youth. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy wrote in his diary:

“To live honestly, you need to rush, get confused, fight, make mistakes, start and quit and start again and quit again, and always struggle and lose, but calmness is spiritual meanness.”

And the son followed this principle. Without graduating from university, he began self-education. While living in Yasnaya Polyana, he became interested in farming and transforming the lives of serfs. Not satisfied with this work, he entered the active army. Having become a writer that the whole of Russia was talking about, he became interested in the problems of public education and opened his own school. Served as a mediator and juror in court. And all this can be considered Leo Tolstoy’s universities, the main subject of which was life. Lev Lvovich, like his father, was transferred from one faculty to another at the university and, without graduating, like his father, leaving the university, he tried to make a military career. Unlike his father, he served for only a short time, but managed to undermine his health. But the main thing was his literary activity, in which he wanted to surpass his father.

Friends of the family often visited the Tolstoys' house: the poet Fet, the Tula vice-governor Urusov, the writer Turgenev, the artists Kramskoy and Repin. Their conversations with Tolstoy influenced the formation of the personality of his children.

He wrote his first stories while still a student. In 1891, his stories “Montecristo” and “Love” were published in the magazines “Rodnik” and “Books of the Week” under the pseudonym Lvov L.

In the period from 1893 to 1896, after realizing the futility of many of his endeavors, Lev Lvovich fell into depression. He was treated by different doctors in Moscow and St. Petersburg. On the recommendation of doctors, Tolstoy in 1896 was sent for treatment to Finland, to the clinic of Dr. Westerlund, whose method contributed to his physical recovery. His spiritual rebirth occurred thanks to his marriage to the daughter of his doctor, Dora Fedorovna. The Tolstoys arrived in Yasnaya Polyana on September 1, 1896.

The family life of Lev and Dora Tolstoy in the first decade after their marriage proceeded quite well.

Dora had to get used to living conditions that were new to her in the Russian village, where everything was different. Dora wrote:

“Yesterday evening a large crowd of women from the village poured in. They danced, sang and loudly called Leva and me. Finally they gave me a colorfully dressed rooster and a scarf full of eggs. For this they were given 4 rubles (obviously the main purpose of their visit) and, finally, they were sent home. Everything was very solemn. But I was completely deaf from all this noise. What a living people they are, apparently, but, God forbid, how sloppy they are! I don’t want to talk about this house and the estate, about everything here, but, between us, it’s not very neat here, and the village is OH! OH! OH! Little unkempt houses with thatched roofs and little, little rooms filled with people and stuff.”

The young were given the Kuzminsky outbuilding, previously renovated by the young owner. Lev Lvovich threw himself headlong into arranging his family nest. He recalled this:

“That same winter, Dora’s dowry arrived from Sweden, and I sent about thirty peasant sleighs to the Shchekino station for it. When this entire long convoy was ascending to the Yasnaya Polyana estate along Prishpekt... Lev Nikolaevich himself, going out for his walk, accidentally met him and was shocked by his appearance. "What it is?" - he asked the men in surprise. “Dowry of the young Countess Dora Fedorovna. Le Leulich hired us.” The father looked at the mountains of things in horror, shook his head and silently moved on. In the evening, he bitterly and condemningly reproached me for bringing so many unnecessary things to Yasnaya. “Why all these things? More luxury next to poverty?

I explained that Dora needed them and that this was her dowry. Among all these things, he later especially hated the anti-macassars with which Dora covered the backs of the chairs to save them from fat nape. The poor anti-Makassars were for my father a symbol of the insane and harmful European culture.”

All these years, despite his painful condition, Lev Lvovich continued to search for himself in the literary field. He wrote stories, novellas, stories for children, published in various magazines. He enters Russian literary circles, meets writers and publishers of various magazines.

Count Tolstoy did not always like what came from his son’s pen. But soon Tolstoy and his son improved their relationship. Although Leo Tolstoy could not accept the luxury of the environment in which his son’s family lived, he tried to restrain himself. When Lev Lvovich returned to Yasnaya Polyana after a short absence in March 1900, Tolstoy wrote to his brother:

“Lyova arrived yesterday. He took his sick wife and children to his father-in-law in Sweden and came himself. He is a strict vegetarian, a hygienist, sleeps with the windows open in winter and is healthy. But the good thing, the main thing, is that he is very good-natured and gentle, and I feel good with him.”

And Tolstoy became more lenient towards his son’s works.

In Yasnaya Polyana, the Tolstoys lived inconsistently: they traveled to Moscow, Sweden, Italy, France, and St. Petersburg. In 1898, their first child was born, named Leo. The joy of communicating with the first-born was short-lived - in 1900 the child died...

The famous photograph "Three Lions". Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, his son Lev Lvovich and grandson Lev. Photo of 1898 from the archives of the Yasnaya Polyana Museum

Tolstoy wrote a lot, published, and his plays were staged in theaters. In 1904, he founded the “Good Deed” bookstore and warehouse and purchased a house in the center of St. Petersburg. Together with his family, he often traveled to Sweden, where his sons and daughters were born. Russia, no matter how hard Dora Feodorovna tried to understand and love her, remained a foreign land for her.

Fact

"Chopin's Prelude"

In 1898, Lev Lvovich wrote the story “Chopin’s Prelude,” the title of which is reminiscent of his father’s story “The Kreutzer Sonata.” Back in the early 90s, the young count tried to follow what his father called for in the story: live peacefully, don’t smoke, don’t drink wine, and respect female beauty. Almost 10 years later, his views changed and in “Chopin’s Prelude” he criticized his father’s views. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy wrote in his diary: “Leva started talking about his story. I told him in pain that what he did was just uncivilized (his favorite thing), not to mention stupid and incompetent.”

“My sculpture is moving. They praise me. If God gives me strength, I will leave more in sculpture than in literature.” On April 5, 1911, he wrote to Yasnaya Polyana from New York: “I donated a bronze bust of my father to the local museum. Received with gratitude. He sold his father's other head to a bronze shop, the best in America. Everyone sincerely loves and understands their father.”

During his visits to Yasnaya Polyana he made a bust of the cook Rumyantsev (pictured).

In 1909, the count's family life was under threat. In a Parisian art workshop, he fell in love with Giselle Bunod Varilla.

A double life began between family and new love. Dora was very worried. The relationship with Giselle lasted about a year... But soon life returned to normal.

Dora Feodorovna and Lev Lvovich Tolstoy in Egypt. Photo from 1904

After the death of his father, Lev Lvovich decided to end his life abroad and settle in St. Petersburg. But he did not receive satisfaction from a measured lifestyle. On January 17, 1912, he writes to his mother from St. Petersburg:

“...Our life goes on as usual. The children are learning, the Russian language is getting better for Petya and, to some extent, Nina. The older ones speak and study very well. They are highly praised at the Tenishev School. I'm still bad. Bad, God knows why. Everything seems to mean nothing but family. But one family is again not enough... Half a life...”

At this time, he found an outlet in his “empty and soulless” life in a card game. On one of his visits to Yasnaya Polyana in 1914, Sofya Andreevna wrote in her diary: “Dora says that Lyova lost about 50 thousand. Poor, pregnant, caring Dora!”

When the First World War began, Dora Feodorovna and her children left for Sweden, and Lev Lvovich, under the influence of patriotic feelings, remained in Russia. The departure of his wife greatly cooled Tolstoy’s feelings, but he continued to communicate with his family, traveled to Sweden, and met with his children. Dora Feodorovna still had hope for the possibility of saving her family and came to Russia. But her husband’s heart had already been occupied by another woman, the former governess of the children of his brother Mikhail Tolstoy, Madeleine. The connection with her was short-lived.

On September 22, 1918, Tolstoy received permission to enter Sweden for two days to see his children. On September 24, 1918, he left Petrograd, and with it Russia forever. After meeting with his family, Tolstoy moved to Germany. Here he had to earn his livelihood by literary work, and then by serving on the railway. At this time he was no longer alone. After divorcing Dora Feodorovna in 1916 and breaking off relations with Madeleine, he married Marianna Solskaya and had a son, Ivan, with her. But this marriage did not bring him joy either and already in 1923 it broke up.

Lev Lvovich wanted to reunite with his family, but Dora Feodorovna considered this impossible. She did not want to see him even when, after a car accident, she lay motionless until her death in 1933. Not only her ex-wife, but also her children did not want to meet him.

Of all his children, Lev Lvovich corresponded only with his second son Nikita. In 1936, Nikita Tolstoy and other children of Lev Lvovich insisted on their father’s arrival in Sweden. After some hesitation, he accepted their offer. By this time, Tolstoy already had five grandchildren: his son Peter - Leo and Peter and his daughter Nina had three sons: Christian, Wilhelm and Stefan.

Wedding of the daughter of Tatyana Tolstoy and German Paus. Lev Lvovich Tolstoy is second to the left of his daughter. Photo 1940

After 18 years of wandering, Lev Lvovich again found his large family. He continued to visit Paris and Rome, lived in expensive hotels, and played. The last years of his life he tried to continue to engage in literature, sculpture, and painting. In a letter to his son Nikita, he seemed to sum up his existence: “My life was unlucky or dissolute and bad.” In the winter of 1938, already sick and old, Lev Lvovich decided to finally settle in Sweden. He died in Helsingborg on October 18, 1945.

do you know that

Lev Lvovich Tolstoy had ten children.

From marriage to Dora Fedorovna Westerlund:

• Leo (1898-1900),
• Pavel (1900-1992), agronomist,
• Nikita (1902-1992), Doctor of Philology and Economics, taught at Uppsala University,
• Peter (1905-1970),
• Nina (1908—1987),
• Sophia (1908-2006), artist,
• Fedor (1912-1956),
• Tatiana (1914—2007), artist,
• Daria (1915-1970).

From marriage to Marianna Nikolaevna Solskaya:

• Ivan (1924-1945).

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich (1828 - 1910) - count, popular writer, who achieved incredible popularity in the history of world literature. Belongs to the richest and most famous family, which has occupied a prominent position since the time of Peter the Great. There are a lot of descendants of Leo Tolstoy. At the moment there are more than three hundred people.

short biography

This great man was born on September 9, 1828. His parents died early, so his relative T. A. Ergolskaya took care of him. At the age of 16, he was able to enter university in Kazan. But he soon became bored with the lectures. In addition, Young Leo Tolstoy did not have outstanding learning abilities, as a result of which he failed the exam. He wrote a letter of resignation and left this place.

His older brother Nikolai had a great influence on him, with whom Lev went to the Caucasus, where he fought with the mountaineers of Shamil. He decided to devote himself to a military career. In Tiflis he passed the exam and became a cadet in the 4th battery, stationed in the Cossack village on the Terek River.

When the Crimean War began, he went to Sevastopol, where he fought gloriously. For this, Lev Nikolaevich received the Order of St. Anne and two medals. At the same time, he wrote stories about Sevastopol. After the end of hostilities, he moved to St. Petersburg. There he immediately attracted the attention of famous people and entered their circle. His writing skills were highly valued.

In 1856, Tolstoy finally left military service.

Writer's marriage

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy began to like Sofya Andreevna Bers (1844-1919), who was the daughter of a doctor from Moscow. Sofya Andreevna was only 17 years old at that time. He married in 1862. Her chosen one was 18 years old. Immediately after his marriage, Lev Nikolaevich moved with his wife to Yasnaya Polyana. The writer devoted himself entirely to his family and thought that he had finally given up writing, but in 1863 he began to think about a new work. A few years later he finished work on the novel Anna Karenina. Without waiting much time, Tolstoy wrote several more works.

In 1910, the writer decided to move away from his family, anticipating his imminent death. He died seven days after leaving.

Everyone is familiar with the work of the greatest writer, but not everyone knows about his descendants. Did the children of Leo Tolstoy, like their father, connect their fate with literature? Perhaps they have found another calling for themselves?

If you examine Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, it will turn out to be large and rich in branches.

Home life

Over almost 50 years of marriage, Lev Nikolaevich and his wife gave birth to 13 children: four daughters and nine sons. Unfortunately, five of the babies died in infancy. The rest of Leo Tolstoy's children lived long lives. Their wonderful father believed that in life every person should have only the most necessary things. Therefore, he gave the poor a lot of household goods, including furniture, clothes, even a piano. This, of course, did not please his wife very much, which is why disagreements began in the friendly family. The children of Lev Nikolaevich were brought up in strictness and without any excesses that were due to them, according to the high family. They played with peasant children, ate and dressed without frills. The grown-up children of Lev Nikolaevich behaved differently. Some took everything they could from life. Others continued to lead an ascetic lifestyle, following their father's rules.

Sons of Leo Tolstoy

As mentioned above, the writer had 9 of them:

1. Sergei Lvovich (July 10, 1863 - December 23, 1947). First born. Musician and composer of Russia. He was smart, dexterous and sensitive to art. But he was also quite absent-minded. Sergei Lvovich himself wrote several musical works. He studied not only Russian folklore, but also the music of India. Initially, he studied at the physics and mathematics department of Moscow University, but music attracted him from an early age. He represented Russia in The Sufi Order in the UK. He also wrote a number of articles about the music that Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy loved during his lifetime, namely “Music in the life of L. N. Tolstoy”, “Musical works loved by L. N. Tolstoy”, “Leo Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky”.
2. Tolstoy Ilya Lvovich (05/22/1866 - 12/11/1933), was a writer, memoirist, journalist and teacher. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy found Ilya the most gifted in literature of all his children. Despite this, Ilya Tolstoy did not graduate from high school, but went to serve in the army. Studying was not as easy for him as for other children. He emigrated to America in 1016, where he made his living by lecturing. In this distant country he died.
3. Lev Lvovich (1869-1945). Author, writer, playwright, sculptor. His first published work was the children's story “Monte Cristo” in 1891 in the magazine “Rodnik”. Afterwards he began to publish in “Northern Bulletin”, “Bulletin of Europe”, “Novoe Vremya” and in other publications. A little later, the book publishing process began. He lived in France, then moved to his wife’s homeland in Switzerland. Contemporaries believed that he made a bad writer, painter and sculptor. Lev Lvovich was very jealous of his father's fame, for which he often spoke of his hatred of his parent.
4. Pyotr Lvovich (1872-1873).
5. Nikolai Lvovich (1874-1875).
6. Tolstoy Andrei Lvovich (1877-1916) Andrei Lvovich took part in the war between the Russians and the Japanese, and was wounded. Afterwards he was awarded the St. George Cross for his courage. In 1907, Andrei Lvovich got a job as a civil servant in the department of special assignments. He was very attached to his mother, who adored him. His father directed him on the path of helping the people, but he had different views. Andrei believed that he should take full advantage of the privileges of his pedigree. Most of all in his life he was attracted to women, wine and card games. He was officially married several times.
7. Tolstoy Alexey Lvovich (1881-1886).
8. Mikhail Lvovich (1879-1944) had talent in the musical field. From a very early age, he really liked music; he could skillfully play the balalaika, harmonica, and piano, wrote romances, and learned to play the violin. Contrary to the fact that he wanted to be a composer, Mikhail Lvovich followed in his parents’ footsteps and chose a career as a military man. He also emigrated, lived in France, then in Morocco, where he died.
9. Lvovich (1888-1895) the youngest son of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, the thirteenth child in the family. He had a very similar appearance to his father. Tolstoy himself pinned his hopes on this child, thinking that he would continue his work in the future. The boy was incredibly talented, warm-hearted and sensitive to the people around him, surprising everyone with his seriousness and kindness. But a misfortune happened - Ivan died of scarlet fever. Lev Nikolaevich loved him with all his heart. For him it was a great and difficult loss.

Of the writer’s nine sons, seven lived long lives and left behind a large offspring, which we will talk about below.

Daughters of Lev Nikolaevich

Fate gave the Tolstoy family only four girls. One of them (Varenka) died in infancy. Everyone's favorite Mashenka (Maria Lvovna) also died young and left no children behind. Let's talk about the writer's daughters in more detail:

1. Tatyana Lvovna (Sukhotina) Tolstaya. (04.10.1864 - 21.09.1950).

She was a writer and creator of memoirs. In 1899 she married Mikhail Sergeevich Sukhotinin. From 1917 to 1923 she managed the estate museum in Yasnaya Polyana. She was capable of many things, but writing was what she did best. She inherited this from her father.

2. Maria Lvovna (1871-1906). From her youth she helped her father keep track of correspondence, translated texts, and served as a secretary. She was a good person. But she couldn’t boast of good health. Maria constantly quarreled with her mother, but was unusually friendly with her father, completely shared his views, and led an ascetic lifestyle. She was smart. Despite her very poor health, she traveled unaccompanied even to distant provinces to heal the sick, and taught children in the school she opened. Maria married Prince Obolensky, but was unable to give birth to children. In 1906, she suddenly fell ill. Despite all the efforts of the doctors, Maria died. Her father and husband were by her side until the last moment of her life.

3. Varvara Lvovna (1875-1875).

4. Tolstaya Alexandra Lvovna (1884-1979). Creator of memoirs about her father. She was well trained at home. Her teachers were educators and adult sisters, who taught her more than her mother Sofya Andreevna. Just like her mother, her father paid little attention to her in her early childhood. After Tolstaya Alexandra Lvovna celebrated her 16th birthday, she became closer to her father. From that time on, she dedicated her life to Lev Nikolaevich. She did the work of a secretary, wrote down his diary under Lev Nikolaevich’s dictation, and learned shorthand and typewriting. They talked about her as a difficult child. She had to be worked on longer and more persistently than with her brothers and sisters. But she grew up smart and dexterous. As a teenager, she began to study her father's works; he gave her the copyright to his literature. She rejected the authorities who imposed their conservatism. As a result, she was imprisoned for 3 years. After 1929, she managed to open an educational institution and a hospital. In 1941, Tolstoy’s daughter moved to the United States, where she helped other emigrants settle. She lived for quite a long time - 95 years. She died in 1979.

As we see, not all of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy’s children were able to live long. But this was not uncommon for the time when children could die from a common cold. Many sons and daughters of the writer, who became adults, had their own children - the grandchildren of Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich.

Grandchildren and great-grandchildren

Leo Tolstoy had 31 grandchildren and several dozen great-grandchildren. Below in the article we will talk about them.

1. Sergei Sergeevich Tolstoy (08/24/1897, Great Britain - 09/18/1974, Moscow).

Teacher, English language specialist. Son of Sergei Lvovich Tolstoy. There are no children, although he was married three times. He is known for writing memoirs about his grandfather Lev Nikolaevich, although he was brought up in the family of another grandfather - K.A. Rachinsky.

2. Sukhotina Tatyana Mikhailovna (06.11.1905 - 12.08.1996) Daughter of Tolstoy Tatyana Lvovna.

• Albertini Luigi. Born 09.09.1931 in Rome. Photographer, farmer.
• Albertini Anna. Born 1934, died 1936.
• Albertini Martha. Born on May 11, 1937 in Rome.
• Albertini Christina. Born on May 11, 1937 in Rome.

3. Tolstaya Anna Ilyinichna (12/24/1888 - 04/03/1954). Daughter of Ilya Lvovich.

• Holmberg Sergey Nikolaevich. Born on November 7, 1909 in Kaluga, died on June 3, 1985.
• Kholmberg Vladimir Nikolaevich. Born on April 15, 1915 in Kaluga, died in 1932.

4. Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (12/12/1891 - 12/02/1893). Son of Ilya Lvovich. Have no children.

5. Mikhail Ilyich Tolstoy (10/10/1893 - 03/28/1919) Son of Ilya Lvovich. Have no children.

6. Tolstoy Andrei Ilyich (04/01/1895 - 04/03/1920). Son of Ilya Lvovich. Have no children. He was an officer when the imperialist war was going on.

7. Tolstoy Ilya Ilyich (12/16/1897 - 04/07/1970). Son of Ilya Lvovich. He was a candidate of pedagogical sciences and also an associate professor at the Moscow Institute. He was an expert in the field of Slavic lexicography. Creator of the Serbo-Croatian-Russian dictionary.

• Tolstoy Nikita Ilyich. Born (04/05/1923 - 06/27/1996).

8. Tolstoy Vladimir Ilyich (05/01/1899 - 11/24/1967). Son of Ilya Lvovich. Worked as an agronomist. He gave lectures about the writer Tolstoy, and actively took part in the creation of L.N. Tolstoy museums in Moscow and Yasnaya Polyana.

• Tolstoy Oleg Vladimirovich. Born 07/03/1927 in Tetovo, Yugoslavia, died 09/01/1992 in Moscow.
• Tolstoy Ilya Vladimirovich. Born on June 29, 1930 in Novy Bečej, Yugoslavia, died on May 16, 1997 in Moscow.

9. Tolstaya Vera Ilyinichna (06/19/1903 - 04/29/1999). Daughter of Ilya Tolstoy.

• Tolstoy Sergei Vladimirovich. Born 10/20/1922

10. Tolstoy Kirill Ilyich (01/18/1907 - 02/01/1915). Son of Ilya Lvovich.

Have no children.

11. Tolstoy Lev Lvovich (06/08/1898 - 12/24/1900). Son of Lev Lvovich.

12. Tolstoy Pavel Lvovich (08/02/1900 - 04/08/1992). Son of Lev Lvovich. An agronomist by profession. Lived in Sweden.

• Tolstaya Anna Pavlovna. Born 05/05/1937 Lives in Sweden.
• Tolstaya Ekaterina Pavlovna. Born 08/03/1940. Teacher by profession.
• Tolstoy Ivan (Yukhan) Pavlovich. Born January 25, 1945. Tax inspector by profession.
• Eberg Maria (May). Born 02/15/1932, illegitimate daughter.

13. Tolstoy Nikita Lvovich (08/04/1903 - 09/25/1992). Son of Lev Lvovich.

• Fat Maria (Marya). Born 05/08/1938. Psychiatrist by profession.
• Tolstoy Stefan (Stepan). Born November 18, 1940. Lawyer by profession.

14. Petr Lvovich. (09/08/1905 - 06/04/1970). Son of Lev Lvovich.

He was engaged in animal husbandry. He lived and died on his estate - Sofialund (Sweden).

• Tolstoy Lev. Born January 31, 1934. Lawyer by profession.
• Tolstoy Peter. Born on August 10, 1935. Agronomist by profession.
• Tolstoy Andrey. Born July 28, 1938. Agronomist by profession.
• Fat Elizabeth (Elisabeth). Born on October 28, 1941. Lives in Germany.

15. Tolstaya Nina Lvovna (06.11.1906 - 09.01.1987). Daughter of Lev Lvovich.

• Lundberg Christian. Born December 25, 1931. Jeweler by profession.
• Lundberg Wilhelm. Born 08/17/1933
• Lundberg Staffan. Born 02/19/1936
• Lundberg Stellan. Born 12/30/1939
• Lundberg Gerdt. Born June 20, 1948

16. Tolstaya Sofya Lvovna (09/18/1908 - 11/05/2006). Daughter of Lev Lvovich. Artist. Lived in Sweden.

• Seder Signe.
• Seder Anna Charlotte.

17. Tolstoy Fedor (Theodor) Lvovich (07/02/1912 - 10/25/1956). Son of Lev Lvovich.

• Tolstoy Mikhail. Born June 28, 1944
• Tolstoy Nikolai. Born 10/01/1946

18. Tolstaya Tatyana Lvovna (09/20/1914 - 01/29/2007). Daughter of Lev Lvovich. Artist.

• Paus Christopher. Born June 2, 1941. Agronomist by profession. Lives in Sweden.
• Paus Greger. Born 02/14/1943. Civil engineer by profession.
• Paus Tatyana. Born 12/16/1945
• Paus Peder. Born 02/09/1950

19. Tolstaya Daria Lvovna (02.11.1915 - 29.11.1970). Daughter of Lev Lvovich.

• Streiffert Eran. Born 12/01/1946
• Streiffert Helena. Born 01/18/1948
• Streiffert Suzanne. Born 04/15/1949
• Streiffert Dorothea. Born 12/14/1955

20. Fat Sofya Andreeva (04/12/1900 - 07/29/1957). Daughter of Andrei Lvovich Tolstoy. Have no children.

21. Tolstoy Ilya Andreevich (02/03/1903 - 10/28/1970). Son of Andrei Lvovich.

A geographer by profession, he created the world's first dolphinarium.

• Tolstoy Alexander Ilyich. (07/19/1921 - 04/12/1997). Geologist by profession.
• Fat Sofya Ilyinichna. (07/29/1922 - 04/18/1990)

22. Tolstaya Maria Andreevna (02/17/1908 - 05/03/1993). Daughter of Andrei Lvovich.

• Vaulina Tatyana Aleksandrovna. (09/26/1929 - 02/19/2003)

23. Tolstoy Ivan Mikhailovich (12/10/1901-03/26/1982). Son of Mikhail Lvovich. Church regent.

• Tolstoy Ilya Ivanovich. Born September 20, 1926

24. Tolstaya Tatyana Mikhailovna (02/22/1903 - 12/19/1990). Daughter of Mikhail Lvovich.

• Lvov Mikhail Alexandrovich. Born on December 21, 1923 in Paris.

25. Tolstaya Lyubov Mikhailovna. Born and died in September 1904. Daughter of Mikhail Lvovich.

26. Tolstoy Vladimir Mikhailovich (12/11/1905 - 02/06/1988). Son of Mikhail Lvovich. An architect by profession.

• Penkrat Tatyana Vladimirovna. Born 10/14/1942 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
• Tolstaya-Sarandinaki Maria Vladimirovna. Born on August 22, 1951 in the USA.

27. Tolstaya Alexandra Mikhailovna (12/11/1905 - 01/11/1986). Daughter of Mikhail Lvovich.

• Alekseeva-Stanislavskaya Olga Igorevna. Born on March 4, 1933 in Paris.

28. Tolstoy Pyotr Mikhailovich (10/15/1907 - 02/03/1994). Son of Mikhail Lvovich.

• Tolstoy Sergei Petrovich. Born 11/30/1956 in Nyack, New York, USA.

29. Tolstoy Mikhail Mikhailovich (09/02/1910 - 1915). Son of Mikhail Lvovich.

30. Tolstoy Sergei Mikhailovich (09/14/1911 - 01/12/1996). Son of Mikhail Lvovich. A doctor by profession. He was president of the Society of Friends of Leo Tolstoy in France.

• Tolstoy Alexander Sergeevich. Born May 19, 1938 in Paris
• Tolstoy Mikhail Sergeevich. (05/19/1938 - 01/01/2007)
• Tolstaya Maria Sergeevna. Born 08/08/1939
• Tolstoy Sergei Sergeevich. (01/29/1958 - 07/03/1979)
• Sergeevich. Born on January 29, 1959 in Paris. Photographer by profession.

31. Tolstaya Sofya Mikhailovna (01/26/1915 - 10/15/1975). Daughter of Mikhail Lvovich.

• Lopukhin Sergey Rafailovich. Born 01/03/1942 in Paris.
• Lopukhin Nikita Rafailovich. Born on May 13, 1944 in Paris.
• Lopukhin Andrey Rafailovich. Born 06/03/1947 in Lekunbery (France).

There is practically no information about many of the writer’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren. This is quite understandable, because they live on different continents and do not perform any great deeds that could glorify them.

Sofya Andreevna

Let's say a few words separately about Leo Tolstoy's granddaughter Sonyushka (as she was affectionately called). She was the full namesake of the writer’s wife and her grandmother, who doted on the girl and even became her godmother. When the girl was 4 years old, she and her mother moved to England. From that time on, she no longer met her grandparents, but often wrote them letters and sent them sweet postcards. Her mother was involved in her upbringing, since her father (Andrei Tolstoy) left the family. In 1908, the Family returned to Russia. Sonya's mother bought an apartment in Moscow, where the descendants of Leo Tolstoy still live.

Sophia grew up smart, received a good education, and knew several languages. She left her mark on history by becoming the wife and greatest love of Sergei Yesenin. He dedicated his immortal works to her. Sofya Andreevna wore a copper ring on her finger all her life, given to her by Yesenin. Now it is an exhibit in Yasnaya Polyana.

S. A. Tolstaya-Yesenina since 1928. She worked a lot in the museum of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. In 1941-1957 - was the director of the museum. She did a great job of restoring Yasnaya Polyana after the Nazi occupation.

Young descendants of the 2000s

Also in the family tree of Leo Tolstoy, young descendants were born in the early 2000s and are his great-great-great-great-grandchildren:

1. According to Ilya Lvovich Tolstoy.

Karkishko Nikolai Grigorievich. Born on June 10, 2004.

Lysyakov Oleg Ivanovich. Born on January 25, 2010.

2. Along the lines of Lev Lvovich Tolstoy.

Leo Lundberg. Born 12/31/2010

3. Along the lines of Mikhail Lvovich Tolstoy.

Mazhaev Dmitry Alekseevich. Born November 28, 2001.

Mazhaev Sergey Alekseevich. Born on May 21, 2007.

Diara Aminata. Born July 17, 2003, lives in France.

Leo Christopher Lvov. Born on September 28, 2010.

The fate of Tolstoy's descendants

As we see, most of Leo Tolstoy’s descendants inherited his longevity, but only a few followed his creative path. The fate of all of them scattered to different corners of our Earth.

Total number of descendants of the writer

Currently, there are more than 350 descendants of Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich. Once every two years they meet on the land of their glorious ancestor in Yasnaya Polyana. One cannot but rejoice that more than 100 years after the death of the writer, his descendants have a connection with each other. It is safe to say that the name of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy and his work do not leave his descendants indifferent. Who knows, perhaps one of them will surprise the world with their writing talent.

Unfortunately, 5 of the 13 children died early: Peter lived a little over a year, Nikolai - less than a year, Varvara - a few days, Alexey died at 4 years old, Ivan - at 6 years old.

Ivan, youngest son of Leo Tolstoy

The youngest, Ivan, was unusually similar to his father. It was said that his blue-gray eyes saw and understood more than he could express in words. Tolstoy believed that it was this son who would continue his work. However, fate decreed otherwise - the child died of scarlet fever.

Tolstoy with his wife and children. 1887

Sergey Lvovich

Tolstoy described his eldest son Sergei this way: “The eldest, blond, is not stupid. There is something weak and patient in the expression and very meek... Everyone says that he looks like my older brother. I'm afraid to believe. That would be too good. The brother’s main feature was not selfishness or self-sacrifice, but a strict middle ground... Seryozha is smart - a mathematical mind and a sensitivity to art, an excellent student, a dexterous jumper, gymnastics; but gauche (clumsy, French) and absent-minded.”

Sergei Lvovich was the only one of all the writer’s children who survived the October Revolution in his homeland. He was seriously involved in music, was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory and one of the founders of the Leo Tolstoy Museum in Moscow, and took part in commenting on his father’s Complete Works. Also known as the author of musical works: “Twenty-seven Scottish Songs”, “Belgian Songs”, “Hindu Songs and Dances”; wrote romances based on poems by Pushkin, Fet, Tyutchev. He died in 1947 at the age of 84.

Tatiana Lvovna

Tatyana, like her sisters Maria and Alexandra, was a follower of Tolstoy's teachings. From her mother, the writer's eldest daughter inherited practicality, the ability to do a variety of things, like her mother, she loved toilets, entertainment and was not without vanity. She inherited the ability to write from her father and became a writer.

In 1925, together with her daughter, Tatyana Lvovna went abroad, lived in Paris, where her guests were Bunin, Maurois, Chaliapin, Stravinsky, Alexandre Benois and many other representatives of culture and art. From Paris she moved to Italy, where she spent the rest of her life.

Ilya Lvovich

Characteristics of Leo Tolstoy: “Ilya, the third... Broad-boned, white, ruddy, shining. He studies poorly. Always thinking about what he is not told to think about. He invents games himself. He is neat, thrifty, and “what’s mine” is very important to him. Hot and violent (impulsive), now fight; but also gentle and very sensitive. Sensual - he loves to eat and lie quietly... Everything that is not permitted has a charm for him... Ilya will die if he does not have a strict and beloved leader.”

Ilya did not graduate from high school, he worked alternately as an official, then as a bank employee, then as an agent of the Russian social insurance company, then as an agent for the liquidation of private estates. During the First World War he worked for the Red Cross.

In 1916, Ilya Lvovich left for the USA, where until the end of his life he earned money by lecturing on Tolstoy’s work and worldview.

Lev Lvovich

Lev Lvovich was one of the most talented in the family. Tolstoy himself described his son as follows: “Handsome: dexterous, intelligent, graceful. Every dress fits as if it were made for it. Everything that others do, he does, and everything is very clever and good. I still don’t understand it well.”

In his youth, he was carried away by his father’s ideas, but over time he switched to anti-Tolstoy, patriotic and monarchist positions. In 1918, without waiting for arrest, he emigrated. He lived in France and Italy, and finally settled in Sweden in 1940. In exile he continued to engage in creativity. Lev Lvovich's works have been translated into French, German, Swedish, Hungarian and Italian.

Maria Lvovna

When she was two years old, Lev Nikolaevich described her as follows: “A weak, sickly child. Like milk, white body, curly white hairs; large, strange, blue eyes: strange in their deep, serious expression. Very smart and ugly. This will be one of the mysteries. He will suffer, he will search, he will find nothing; but will forever seek the most inaccessible.”

Sharing her father’s views, she refused to go out on social occasions; She devoted a lot of effort to educational work. Having passed away early, at the age of 35, Maria Lvovna was remembered by her contemporaries as “a good person who did not see happiness.”

Maria Lvovna was well-read, fluent in several foreign languages, and played music. When she received her teacher's diploma, she organized her own school, which served both peasant children and adults. Her obsession sometimes frightened her loved ones; the young, fragile woman traveled through remote settlements in any weather, independently driving a horse and overcoming snow drifts.

In November 1906, Maria Lvovna fell ill: her temperature suddenly rose sharply and pain appeared in her shoulder. Doctors diagnosed pneumonia. According to Sofia Andreevna, “no measures weakened the strength of the disease.” Throughout the week, while the woman was in a semi-conscious state, her parents and husband were nearby; Tolstoy held his daughter’s hand until the last minutes.

Andrey Lvovich

He loved his mother very much, she adored him and forgave her son everything. His father appreciated Andrei’s kindness, argued that this was “the most precious and important quality, which is more valuable than anything in the world,” and advised him to apply his ideas for the benefit of the people. However, Andrei Lvovich did not share his father’s views, believing that if he is a nobleman, he should enjoy all the privileges and advantages that his position gives him.

Tolstoy strongly disapproved of his son’s lifestyle, but said about him: “I don’t want to love him, but I love him because he is genuine and does not want to appear to others.” Andrei took part in the Russo-Japanese War with the rank of non-commissioned officer and mounted orderly. He was wounded in the war and received the St. George Cross for bravery. In 1907, he entered the service as an official of special assignments under the Tula governor Mikhail Viktorovich Artsimovich, who maintained excellent relations with Lev Nikolaevich. Andrei fell in love with his wife, and soon she went to Andrei, leaving the house, a desperate husband and six children.

In February 1916, in St. Petersburg, Andrei had a strange dream, which he told his brother. He saw himself dead in a dream, in a coffin that was being taken out of the house. He attended his own funeral. In the huge crowd following the coffin, he saw Minister Krivoshein, his chief at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in St. Petersburg, and his beloved gypsies, whose singing he loved very much.

A few days later he died from blood poisoning.

Mikhail Lvovich

Mikhail was musically gifted. From childhood, he loved music very much, masterfully learned to play the balalaika, harmonica, and piano, composed romances, and learned to play the violin. Despite his dream of becoming a composer, Mikhail followed in his father's footsteps and chose a military career.

During the First World War, he served in the 2nd Dagestan Regiment of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division. In 1914-1917 participated in battles on the Southwestern Front. He was nominated for the Order of St. Anne, 4th degree.

In 1920, he emigrated, eventually stopping in Morocco, where he died. It was in this country that Mikhail wrote his only literary work: a memoir describing how Tolstoy’s family lived in Yasnaya Polyana, this novel was called “Mitya Tiverin.” In the novel, he also recalled that family and country that could no longer be returned.

Alexandra Lvovna

She was a difficult child. The governesses and older sisters worked with her more than Sofya Andreevna and Lev Nikolaevich. However, at the age of 16, she became close to her father, and since then she devoted her whole life to him: she did secretarial work, mastered shorthand and typewriting. According to Tolstoy's will, Alexandra Lvovna received copyrights to her father's literary heritage.

After the October Revolution of 1917, Alexandra Tolstaya did not want to come to terms with the new government, which brutally persecuted dissidents. In 1920, the Cheka was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison. Thanks to the petition of the peasants of Yasnaya Polyana, she was released early in 1921, she returned to her native estate, and after the corresponding decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, she became the curator of the museum. She organized a cultural and educational center in Yasnaya Polyana, opened a school, a hospital, and a pharmacy.

In 1929, she left the Soviet Union, going to Japan, then to the USA, where she gave lectures about her father at many universities. In 1941, she accepted US citizenship and in subsequent years helped many Russian emigrants settle in the United States, where she herself died on September 26, 1979 at the age of 95.

In the Soviet Union, Alexandra Tolstoy was removed from all photographs and newsreels; her name was not mentioned in notes and memoirs, excursion stories and museum exhibitions.

In the history of Russian culture, there is hardly a woman who played a very noticeable role in it, but left behind such contradictory opinions as Sofia Tolstaya - the wife of Leo Tolstoy, the great writer, whose work became a kind of era in Russian literature. Let’s try to figure out how she lived her life and form our own unbiased opinion about her.

Family connections of Sofia Andreevna

The wife of the great Russian writer Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Sofya Andreevna, was the daughter of the actual state councilor Andrei Evstafievich Bers, who came from a German noble family who settled in Moscow, and Lyubov Alexandrovna Islavina, who came from a merchant family. Such a marriage was considered a clear misalliance (unequal) and could indicate either the ardent love of the groom or his financial difficulties.

Sofya Andreevna Bers was born on August 22, 1844 at a dacha near Moscow, which her parents rented every summer. Her family connections are very remarkable. It is known that on her father’s side she was the great-granddaughter of Pyotr Vasilyevich Zavadovsky, one of the countless favorites of Catherine II and who was Russia’s first minister of education. She was also distantly related to the classic of Russian literature Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, but this is a special story.

The fact is that her father served for some time as a house doctor for the writer’s mother, the rich Moscow lady Varvara Petrovna Turgeneva, and took such diligent care of her flesh that she found herself in an “interesting situation” and gave birth to a daughter from him, named after her mother , Varvara.

This girl became a family link between Sofia Andreevna (since they had a common father) and the writer I. S. Turgenev, since she was his half-sister. In addition, in a legal marriage, Andrei Evstafievich became the father of two more daughters and five sons. So Sophia Bers had plenty of brothers and sisters.

The early years of Sophia Bers

In accordance with the tradition accepted in noble families, the young girl received her education at home, for which her parents hired first-class teachers. The level of knowledge she acquired is evidenced by the fact that in 1861, that is, barely reaching the age of 17, she successfully passed the exams at Moscow University and received a diploma as a home teacher.

The chairman of the examination committee, Professor N. S. Tikhonravov, especially noted the essay presented to her on a given topic. It was called "Music". There is a lot of evidence that Sofya Andreevna Bers had a literary gift from birth and began writing stories at an early age. However, her talent was fully revealed when writing personal diaries, which are recognized as real works of the memoir genre.

Options for upcoming marriage

The age difference between Sophia Bers and Lev Nikolaevich was 16 years, and he, already an adult, knew her as a child, but, returning to Moscow after a trip to Western Europe, which the count undertook at the end of the Crimean War, he met a fully formed and very attractive girl.

During the same period, a rapprochement occurred again between both families, who had previously communicated closely with each other, but were then separated by circumstances. The Berses considered Lev Nikolayevich as a quite suitable groom, but they intended him to be the husband of their eldest daughter Elizabeth, and it is known that the count himself quite seriously considered this option. However, fate decreed otherwise.

The event that determined the rest of her life was the meeting of Sophia Bers with her future husband in August 1862, when, on the way to Ivitsy (the estate of Alexander Mikhailovich Islenyev’s grandfather), she and her whole family stopped at Yasnaya Polyana - an estate that belonged to the Tolstoy family and was located in 14 kilometers from Tula. Since this family nest played an important role in the future fate of Sofia Andreevna, let us dwell in more detail on its history.

An estate that went down in the history of Russian culture

The estate was founded back in the 17th century, and its first owners were the Kartsev boyars. From them the estate passed to the Volkonskys, and then the Tolstoys became its owners - representatives of an ancient and very extensive noble family, which originated, as they claimed, from a certain Indris, apparently a fictitious native of the Holy Roman Empire, who settled in Rus' in the 14th century. century.

This estate has become an integral part of Russian culture, since it was here that Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born on August 28 (September 9), 1828. Here he wrote his main works and was buried after his death in 1910. As for its architectural appearance, the estate owes it to the writer’s grandfather N.S. Volkonsky, who carried out a major reconstruction of it.

Groom's pre-wedding revelations

It is known, by the way, that before connecting his life with his future wife, Tolstoy gave her his own diary to read, containing a detailed description of his former bachelor life. He motivated this act by the desire to be completely honest and frank with his chosen one.

It is difficult to say whether this chivalrous act raised him in the eyes of his bride. From what she read, Sophia learned not only about the groom’s passion for gambling, which he indulged in at every opportunity, but also about his numerous love affairs, among which was a relationship with a peasant girl who was expecting a child from him.

Brought up in a purely puritanical spirit, Sofya Andreevna was extremely shocked by such revelations, but was able to control herself and not show it. However, throughout her subsequent married life, memories of what she read left an imprint on her attitude towards her husband.

Wedding and anticipation of future happiness

Having visited Yasnaya Polyana in August 1862, Sofya Andreevna received a marriage proposal from its owner, 34-year-old Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, less than a month later. To make it, he followed her to Ivica, where a ball was held on the occasion of their engagement, and a week later the count led his happy bride down the aisle. From later records it is known that, in addition to her external charm, Sophia captivated him with her spontaneity, combined with simplicity and clarity of judgment.

Such a short period between the engagement and the wedding (only a week) was explained by the count’s impatience, to whom it seemed that he had finally found the ideal woman he had long dreamed of. It is also important to note such a detail that in his perception of the young bride, the image of his deceased mother, whom he lost at the age of 2, but despite this, loved immensely, played an important role.

Despite his considerable life experience, the count was an idealist in his own way and expected that his wife would be able to compensate for the lack of warmth that he lost with the death of his mother. He wanted to see his chosen one not only as a faithful wife and caring mother of future children, but also, importantly, as a close assistant in literary creativity, capable of fully appreciating her husband’s gift as a writer.

Hope for future happiness was instilled in him by the bride’s desire to withdraw from the splendor of secular society, in which she was accepted thanks to the position that her father occupied by that time, and to devote herself entirely to life next to him in the quiet of a country estate. Family, children, housekeeping and caring for her husband ─ this is the circle of interests beyond which Sofya Andreevna, in her own words, did not want to go.

Family holidays of the Tolstoys

Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya (after the wedding she took her husband’s surname), becoming the mistress of Yasnaya Polyana, created a special world on the estate, filled with family traditions. They manifested themselves especially clearly during various holidays, which were loved here very much and for which they thoroughly prepared. Two miles from the estate was the St. Nicholas Church, to which the couple often went for liturgy. The subsequently published diaries of Sofia Tolstoy contain colorful descriptions of the celebrations held in Yasnaya Polyana on Easter, Trinity and, especially, Christmas.

These winter days were always filled with the magical charm of a Christmas tree, personally brought from the forest and decorated with gilded nuts, animal figures that children cut out of cardboard, as well as multi-colored wax candles. The crowning glory of the holiday was the masquerade. All residents of Yasnaya Polyana became its participants. Sofia Tolstaya invariably invited to the hall not only guests who came from neighboring estates, but also courtyard people with their children, since the Nativity of the Savior, in her conviction, united all people, regardless of their social status. Her husband shared the same opinion.

An indispensable attribute of all the festivities held in the family of Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy and her husband Lev Nikolaevich was a pie prepared according to a special recipe brought from abroad by their good friend Dr. Anke. Named "Ankovsky Pie" in his honor, it was a constant success among guests at home. In the summer, winter pleasures gave way to swimming in the river, tennis, picnics and mushroom hunting.

Everyday life of family

So their family life began cloudlessly. The first serious disagreement between the spouses occurred after the birth of their first-born Seryozha in 1863. For a number of reasons, Sofya Tolstaya could not feed the baby herself and hired a wet nurse. Lev Nikolaevich categorically opposed this decision, citing the fact that in this case the children of this woman herself would be left without milk. The quarrel was soon settled, but, as it turned out later, it was the first crack in their relationship.

In the same year, Tolstoy began work on his most ambitious work, War and Peace. Sofya Andreevna, barely recovered from childbirth and burdened with many household chores that fell entirely on her shoulders, nevertheless found time to help her husband. Her role in her husband’s work is truly invaluable.

It is known that Lev Nikolaevich had disgusting handwriting, and his wife had to completely rewrite his manuscripts. After that, he looked through them, corrected them, returned them to her, and everything started all over again. It is known that she completely rewrote the novel “War and Peace” seven (!) times and at the same time did not abandon her main responsibilities related to the household and children, which grew more and more from year to year.

Breakdown in the relationship between spouses

Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya was very successful in childbearing, giving birth to thirteen children, five of whom died in infancy. The rest, having reached adulthood, took a worthy position in Russian society. They all received an excellent education at home, and she was their main teacher.

It is generally accepted that the first two decades of their married life passed without clouds, and the breakdown in relations began only in the 80s, when Lev Nikolaevich began to try to implement his new philosophical ideas in his personal life. However, from the diaries of Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy it is clear that a few years earlier he openly and rather sharply expressed his dissatisfaction with life, which offended her greatly. Having devoted herself entirely to her husband, she had the right to count on a more tactful assessment of her work on his part.

The previously brewing crisis in their relationship worsened after Lev Nikolaevich, in accordance with his new philosophical views, began to increasingly go beyond the traditions accepted in the part of society to which they belonged. When her husband began to dress in peasant clothes, plow the land with his own hands, make boots and call on all family members to “settle down” like him, she remained silent and endured it as the eccentricity of a genius.

But after he decided to give up the estate and all the property they had acquired in favor of the village residents, and move to a peasant hut himself to live “by the labor of his own hands,” Sofya Tolstaya rebelled. She always sincerely tried to make life easier for the peasants. She helped them solve various problems, treated and taught their children, but the madness that gripped her husband overflowed her patience.

Further aggravation of the family crisis

From the memoirs of Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy, it is known that she was deeply offended by the knowledge that her husband, who felt, in his words, “guilt before humanity,” did not feel it before her. To please his own ideas, he was ready to destroy the entire world that she had created for him and the children for many years. Moreover, Tolstoy demanded from his wife not only unconditional submission, but also internal acceptance of his philosophy.

His wife’s refusal to share his philosophical views and follow them in real life became the reason for quarrels that became more frequent every day, which over time grew into banal family scandals that poisoned the existence of both spouses. After one of these stormy scenes, Lev Nikolaevich, slamming the door, left the house and did not appear in Yasnaya Polyana for several days. When he finally returned, he further aggravated the tension in the family by removing Sophia Tolstoy from rewriting his manuscripts and entrusting this work to his daughters, which offended her a lot.

On the verge of breaking

In 1888, their last son, seven-year-old Vanya, whom Sofya Andreevna especially loved, died suddenly. This tragedy completely undermined her moral strength. The gap that separated the spouses became increasingly insurmountable, and it is not surprising that she began to look outside the family for satisfaction of her spiritual needs.

One of her long-time hobbies was music. She was once known as a good pianist, but years filled with caring for her family and copying her husband’s countless manuscripts left their mark. As a result, the previous skill was lost. Wanting to somehow unwind and find peace of mind, Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya, whose children were already grown up and did not require her constant presence, began regularly taking music lessons from the then fashionable pianist and amateur court composer Alexander Taneyev ─ the father of the famous maid of honor Anna Vyrubova (Taneeva).

Evil tongues at that time claimed that the teacher and the student were connected by stronger feelings than a common love of music. Perhaps there was some truth in this, but in their relationship they did not cross a certain line, especially since both were no longer young. But Lev Nikolaevich believed the rumors, and scenes of jealousy were added to the previous scandals. In turn, Sofya Andreevna, whose grievances resulted in a kind of manic obsession, began secretly looking through her husband’s diaries, hoping to find abuse in them about herself. Thus, life in the house became unbearable.

End of the couple's life

The denouement of the tragedy came on one of the October nights of 1910. After another ugly scene, Tolstoy packed his things and left, leaving his wife a farewell letter full of undeserved reproaches. It ended with the assurance that, with all his love for her, he could no longer remain in the family and was leaving forever. Struck by grief, Sofya Andreevna tried to drown herself, and only thanks to a happy accident, the courtyard people who happened to be near the pond saved her from death.

A few days after this, a message was received in Yasnaya Polyana that Lev Nikolaevich was seriously ill with pneumonia and was at the Astapovo station, in almost hopeless condition. Unhappy Sofya Andreevna, together with her children, immediately went to the indicated address and found her husband already unconscious, lying in the stationmaster’s house. On November 7, 1910, he died without regaining consciousness.

Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya, whose years of life were filled with the desire to protect her husband from all everyday worries and create conditions for him to create, was very upset about his loss. Death displaced the memory of the grievances she had experienced from her consciousness and left only an unhealed wound in her heart. She spent the final stage of her life in Yasnaya Polyana and devoted it to publishing, publishing the collected works of her husband and her correspondence with him. Having outlived her husband by nine years, Sofya Andreevna died in 1919. At the Kochakovsky cemetery, near Yasnaya Polyana, where Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya is buried, a simple wooden cross was erected, since the difficult post-revolutionary times did not allow thinking about installing a monument.

Afterword

In view of the contribution that Lev Nikolaevich made to Russian culture, an entire section of Russian literary criticism is devoted to the study of his work and life, an integral part of which is Tolstoy’s wife, Sofya Andreevna (maiden name Bers). Many research works have been written about her and the influence she had on her husband’s work, in which she is sometimes given a very ambiguous assessment.

Reproaches are often made against her that she allegedly turned out to be too “down-to-earth”, unable to fully comprehend the scale of her husband’s genius and become a full-fledged support in his work. One can hardly agree with such judgments, since, as stated above, she made every effort to ensure that he could write without wasting mental strength and time on momentary everyday problems.

In addition, one must take into account the colossal work that she did, rewriting his works by hand many times. Despite the fact that the biography of Sophia Tolstoy has been studied very thoroughly, the role of this woman in the life of the writer still requires deeper understanding.

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 this brilliant writer are Russia’s greatest asset.

In August 1828, a classic of Russian literature was born on 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 his father's side, he belonged to the old family of Count Tolstoy, who served and. On the maternal side, Lev Nikolaevich is a descendant of the 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 childbirth fever after the birth of her daughter. At that time, Lev was not even two years old. Seven years later, the head of the family, Count Nikolai Tolstoy, died.

Caring for the children fell on the shoulders of the writer’s aunt, T. A. Ergolskaya. Later, the second aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Sacken, became the guardian of the orphaned children. After her death in 1840, the children moved to Kazan, to a new guardian - their father’s sister P. I. Yushkova. The aunt influenced her 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 at the Yushkov estate in his 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 transferred to another faculty - law. But he did not succeed here either: after two years 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 social entertainment and became interested in music. Tolstoy listened for hours, and...

Disappointed with the life of the landowner after spending the summer in the village, 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 candidate exams at the university, studying music, carousing with cards and gypsies, and dreams of becoming either an official or a cadet in a horse guards regiment. Relatives called Lev “the most trifling fellow,” and it took years to pay off the debts he incurred.

Literature

In 1851, the writer’s brother, officer Nikolai Tolstoy, persuaded Lev 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 Murat”, the stories “Raid” and “Cutting the Forest”.

In the Caucasus, Leo Tolstoy composed the story “Childhood,” which he published in the magazine “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 Nikolaevich his first recognition.

The creative biography of Leo Tolstoy is developing rapidly: an appointment to Bucharest, a transfer to besieged Sevastopol, and command of a battery enriched the writer with impressions. From the pen of Lev Nikolaevich came the series “Sevastopol Stories”. The works of the young writer amazed critics with their bold psychological analysis. Nikolai Chernyshevsky found in them a “dialectic of the soul,” and the emperor read the essay “Sevastopol in 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 over the course of a year, I got tired of the writing environment with its disputes and conflicts, readings and literary dinners. Later in Confession Tolstoy admitted:

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

In the fall of 1856, the young writer went to the Yasnaya Polyana estate, and in January 1857 he went abroad. Leo Tolstoy traveled around Europe for six months. Visited Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland. He returned to Moscow, and from there to Yasnaya Polyana. On the family estate, he began arranging schools for peasant children. With his participation, twenty educational institutions appeared in the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana. In 1860, the writer traveled a lot: in Germany, Switzerland, and 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 works for children and teenagers. The writer has created hundreds of works for young readers, including good and instructive fairy tales “Kitten”, “Two Brothers”, “Hedgehog and Hare”, “Lion and Dog”.

Leo Tolstoy wrote the school textbook “ABC” to teach children writing, reading and arithmetic. The literary and pedagogical work consists of four books. The writer included instructive stories, epics, fables, as well as methodological advice for teachers. The third book includes the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus.”

Leo Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina"

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

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

In search of an answer to the question of the meaning of life, Leo Tolstoy turned to the Russian Orthodox Church, but even there he did not find satisfaction. The writer came to the conclusion that the Christian Church is corrupt, and under the guise of religion, priests are promoting false teaching. In 1883, Lev Nikolaevich founded the publication “Mediator,” where he outlined his spiritual beliefs and criticized the Russian Orthodox Church. For this, Tolstoy was excommunicated from the church, and the writer was monitored by the secret police.

In 1898, Leo Tolstoy wrote the novel Resurrection, which received favorable reviews from critics. 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 teachings on non-violent resistance to evil, was recognized as the spiritual and religious leader of Russia.

"War and Peace"

Leo Tolstoy disliked his novel War and Peace, calling the epic “wordy rubbish.” The classic writer wrote the work in the 1860s, while living with his family in Yasnaya Polyana. The first two chapters, entitled “1805,” were published by Russkiy Vestnik in 1865. Three years later, Leo Tolstoy wrote three more chapters and completed the novel, which caused heated controversy among critics.

Leo Tolstoy writes "War and Peace"

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

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

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

According to the calculations of 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 have made 16 films based on the novel “Anna Karenina”, “Resurrection” has been filmed 22 times.

“War and Peace” was first 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 in 1862, when he was 34 years old. The count lived with his wife for 48 years, but the couple’s life can hardly be called cloudless.

Sofia Bers is the second of three daughters of the Moscow palace office doctor Andrei Bers. The family lived in the capital, but in the summer they vacationed on a 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 an example of the memoir genre.

At the beginning of his married life, Leo Tolstoy, wanting there to be no secrets between him and his wife, gave Sophia a diary to read. The shocked wife learned about her husband’s stormy youth, passion for gambling, wild life and the peasant girl Aksinya, who was expecting a child from Lev Nikolaevich.

The first-born Sergei was born in 1863. In the early 1860s, Tolstoy began writing the novel War and Peace. Sofya Andreevna helped her husband, despite her 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 Leo Tolstoy finished his 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 count's moral turmoil led to Lev Nikolayevich demanding that his relatives give up meat, alcohol and smoking. Tolstoy forced his wife and children to dress in peasant clothes, which he made himself, and wanted to give his acquired property to the peasants.

Sofya Andreevna made considerable efforts to dissuade her husband from the idea of ​​​​distributing goods. But the quarrel that occurred split the family: Leo Tolstoy left home. Upon returning, the writer entrusted the responsibility of rewriting drafts to his daughters.

The death of their last child, seven-year-old Vanya, briefly brought the couple closer together. But soon mutual grievances and misunderstandings alienated them completely. Sofya Andreevna found solace in music. In Moscow, a woman took lessons from a teacher for whom romantic feelings developed. Their relationship remained friendly, but the count did not forgive his wife for “half-betrayal.”

The couple's fatal quarrel occurred at the end of October 1910. Leo Tolstoy left home, leaving Sophia a farewell letter. He wrote that he loved her, but 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 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 own door. If everyone does this, the whole street will be clean.
• It's easier to live 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 because of those who suffer.
• The greatest truths are the simplest.
• Everyone is making plans, and no one knows whether he will survive 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 – “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”
• 1903 – “Notes of a Madman”
• 1889 – “Kreutzer Sonata”
• 1898 – “Father Sergius”
• 1904 – “Hadji Murat”