Images of the fat lion. Leo Tolstoy in photographs

In 1906, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy refused to be considered for the Nobel Prize. The writer explained this by his attitude towards money, but the public perceived the refusal as another waywardness of the count. Below are a few more “quirks” of Leo Tolstoy...

One of the most colorful scenes of Anna Karenina is the description of haymaking, during which Konstantin Levin (whom Lev Nikolaevich, as you know, largely wrote from himself) works in the field along with the men. But Tolstoy glorified physical labor not only through his heroes, but also through his own example. Working in the fields side by side with peasants was not an extravagant lordly hobby for him; he sincerely loved and respected hard physical work.

In addition, Tolstoy, with pleasure and, what is important, with skill, sewed boots, which he then gave to relatives, mowed grass and plowed the land, surprising the local peasants who were watching him and upsetting his wife.

And not with anyone, but with Ivan Turgenev. It is worth saying that Tolstoy in his youth and even in adulthood was very far from the image of a wise and calm old man familiar to us today, calling for humility and lack of conflict. In his youth, the count was categorical in his judgments, straightforward, and sometimes even rude. An example of this is his conflict with Turgenev.

Rumor has it that one of the reasons for the discord was the “love affair” that ensued between Turgenev and Countess Maria Nikolaevna, Tolstoy’s beloved sister. But the final disagreement between them occurred when both writers were visiting the house of Afanasy Fet. Judging by the latter's memoirs, the reason for the squabble was Turgenev's story about his daughter's governess, who, for educational purposes, forced her to mend the torn clothes of beggars.

Tolstoy thought this manner was too ostentatious, which he told his interlocutor with straightforwardness and fervor. The verbal altercation almost led to a fight - Turgenev promised Tolstoy to “punch him in the face,” and he, in turn, challenged him to a duel. Fortunately, they did not start fighting - Turgenev apologized, Tolstoy accepted them, but a long-term discord ensued in their relationship. Only seventeen years later Turgenev came to Yasnaya Polyana to see Tolstoy, who had become enlightened and no longer so hot-tempered.

In 1882, a population census was held in Moscow. It is interesting that Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy took part in it on a voluntary basis. The count wanted to know the poverty in Moscow, to see how people live here, in order to somehow help the poor townspeople with money and business. He chose for his purposes one of the most difficult and disadvantaged areas of the capital - near the Smolensky market on Protochny Lane, in which flophouses and shelters of poverty were located.

I.E. Repin. Leo Tolstoy in a room under the arches. 1891

In addition to social analysis, Tolstoy also pursued charitable goals; he wanted to raise money, help the poor with work, place their children in schools, and the elderly in shelters. Tolstoy personally visited the night shelters and filled out census cards, and in addition raised the problems of the poor people’s disorder in the press and the city duma. The result was his article “So what should we do?” and “About the census in Moscow” with calls for help and support for the poor.

Over the years, Tolstoy became increasingly obsessed with spiritual quests, and he paid less and less attention to everyday life, striving for asceticism and “simplification” in almost everything. The Count engages in hard peasant labor, sleeps on the bare floor and walks barefoot until the coldest weather, thereby emphasizing his closeness to the people. This is exactly how Ilya Repin captured him in his painting, barefoot, wearing a belted peasant shirt and simple trousers.

I.E. Repin. L.N. Tolstoy barefoot. 1901

He described it in the same way in a letter to his daughter: “No matter how this giant humiliates himself, no matter how mortal rags he covers his mighty body, Zeus is always visible in him, from the wave of whose eyebrows the whole Olympus trembles.”

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy plays the Russian folk game gorodki, Yasnaya Polyana, 1909.

Lev Nikolaevich maintained physical vigor and fortitude until his very last days. The reason for this is the count’s passionate love for sports and all kinds of physical exercises, which, in his opinion, were mandatory, especially for those involved in mental work.

Tolstoy’s favorite discipline was walking; it is known that already at the quite respectable age of sixty years, he made three walks from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana. In addition, the count was fond of speed skating, mastered cycling, horse riding, swimming, and began every morning with gymnastics.

Writer Leo Tolstoy learns to ride a bicycle in the former building of the Manege (Cyclist magazine for 1895).

Tolstoy was ardently interested in pedagogy and even set up a school for peasant children on his estate in Yasnaya Polyana. It is interesting that a largely experimental approach to teaching was practiced there - Tolstoy did not put discipline at the forefront, but rather supported the theory of free education - children in his lessons sat as they wanted, there was no specific program, but the classes were very fruitful. Tolstoy not only personally taught his students, but also published children's books, including his own ABC.

The conflict between Tolstoy and the Orthodox Church became one of the strangest and saddest pages in the writer’s biography. The last two decades of Tolstoy's life were marked by his final disappointment in the church faith and rejection of Orthodox dogmas. The writer questioned the authority of the official church and spoke critically of the clergy, insisting on a broader understanding of religion. Thus, his break with the church was a foregone conclusion - in response to public criticism of Tolstoy and a series of publications devoted to the topic of religion, the Synod in 1901 excommunicated him from the church.

Already at the advanced age of 82 years, the writer decided to go wandering, leaving his estate, leaving his wife and children. In a farewell letter to his Countess Sophia, Tolstoy writes: “I can no longer live in the conditions of luxury in which I lived, and I do what old people of my age usually do: they leave worldly life to live in solitude and silence for the last days. own life".

Accompanied by his personal doctor Dusan Makovitsky, the count leaves Yasnaya Polyana and goes on a wanderings without a specific goal. Having stopped at Optina Pustyn and Kozelsk, he decides to go south to his niece, from where he plans to move further to the Caucasus. But the last journey was cut short as soon as it began: on the way, Tolstoy caught a cold and contracted pneumonia - on November 7, Lev Nikolaevich died in the house of the head of the Astapovo railway station.

Dmitry Nazarov

: https://www.softmixer.com/2013/11/blog-post_9919.html#more

"To love and be so happy"
“Be content with little and do good to others”

Lev Tolstoy is one of the most famous writers and philosophers in the world. His views and beliefs formed the basis of an entire religious and philosophical movement called Tolstoyism. The writer's literary heritage amounted to 90 volumes of fiction and journalistic works, diary notes and letters, and he himself was more than once nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Do everything that you have determined to be done.”

Family tree of Leo Tolstoy. Image: regnum.ru

Silhouette of Maria Tolstoy (nee Volkonskaya), mother of Leo Tolstoy. 1810s. Image: wikipedia.org

Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Tula province. He was the fourth child in a large noble family. Tolstoy was orphaned early. His mother died when he was not yet two years old, and at the age of nine he lost his father. Aunt Alexandra Osten-Saken became the guardian of Tolstoy's five children. The two older children moved to their aunt in Moscow, while the younger ones remained in Yasnaya Polyana. It is with the family estate that the most important and dear memories of Leo Tolstoy’s early childhood are associated.

In 1841, Alexandra Osten-Sacken died, and the Tolstoys moved to their aunt Pelageya Yushkova in Kazan. Three years after moving, Leo Tolstoy decided to enter the prestigious Imperial Kazan University. However, he did not like studying; he considered exams to be a formality, and university professors to be incompetent. Tolstoy did not even try to get a scientific degree; in Kazan he was more attracted to secular entertainment.

In April 1847, Leo Tolstoy's student life ended. He inherited his part of the estate, including his beloved Yasnaya Polyana, and immediately went home, never receiving a higher education. On the family estate, Tolstoy tried to improve his life and start writing. He drew up his education plan: study languages, history, medicine, mathematics, geography, law, agriculture, natural sciences. However, he soon came to the conclusion that it is easier to make plans than to implement them.

Tolstoy's asceticism was often replaced by carousing and card games. Wanting to start what he thought was the right life, he created a daily routine. But he didn’t follow it either, and in his diary he again noted his dissatisfaction with himself. All these failures prompted Leo Tolstoy to change his lifestyle. An opportunity presented itself in April 1851: the elder brother Nikolai arrived in Yasnaya Polyana. At that time he served in the Caucasus, where there was a war. Leo Tolstoy decided to join his brother and went with him to a village on the banks of the Terek River.

Leo Tolstoy served on the outskirts of the empire for almost two and a half years. He whiled away his time by hunting, playing cards, and occasionally participating in raids into enemy territory. Tolstoy liked such a solitary and monotonous life. It was in the Caucasus that the story “Childhood” was born. While working on it, the writer found a source of inspiration that remained important to him until the end of his life: he used his own memories and experiences.

In July 1852, Tolstoy sent the manuscript of the story to Sovremennik magazine and attached a letter: “...I look forward to your verdict. He will either encourage me to continue my favorite activities, or force me to burn everything I started.”. Editor Nikolai Nekrasov liked the work of the new author, and soon “Childhood” was published in the magazine. Inspired by the first success, the writer soon began the continuation of “Childhood”. In 1854, he published a second story, “Adolescence”, in the Sovremennik magazine.

“The main thing is literary works”

Leo Tolstoy in his youth. 1851. Image: school-science.ru

Lev Tolstoy. 1848. Image: regnum.ru

Lev Tolstoy. Image: old.orlovka.org.ru

At the end of 1854, Leo Tolstoy arrived in Sevastopol - the epicenter of military operations. Being in the thick of things, he created the story “Sevastopol in December.” Although Tolstoy was unusually frank in describing battle scenes, the first Sevastopol story was deeply patriotic and glorified the bravery of Russian soldiers. Soon Tolstoy began working on his second story, “Sevastopol in May.” By that time, there was nothing left of his pride in the Russian army. The horror and shock that Tolstoy experienced on the front line and during the siege of the city greatly influenced his work. Now he wrote about the meaninglessness of death and the inhumanity of war.

In 1855, from the ruins of Sevastopol, Tolstoy traveled to sophisticated St. Petersburg. The success of the first Sevastopol story gave him a sense of purpose: “My career is literature - writing and writing! Starting tomorrow, I work all my life or give up everything, rules, religion, decency - everything.”. In the capital, Leo Tolstoy finished “Sevastopol in May” and wrote “Sevastopol in August 1855” - these essays completed the trilogy. And in November 1856, the writer finally left military service.

Thanks to his true stories about the Crimean War, Tolstoy entered the St. Petersburg literary circle of the Sovremennik magazine. During this period, he wrote the story “Blizzard”, the story “Two Hussars”, and finished the trilogy with the story “Youth”. However, after some time, relations with the writers from the circle deteriorated: “These people disgusted me, and I disgusted myself.”. To unwind, at the beginning of 1857 Leo Tolstoy went abroad. He visited Paris, Rome, Berlin, Dresden: he got acquainted with famous works of art, met with artists, and observed how people live in European cities. The journey did not inspire Tolstoy: he created the story “Lucerne”, in which he described his disappointment.

Leo Tolstoy at work. Image: kartinkinaden.ru

Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana. Image: kartinkinaden.ru

Leo Tolstoy tells a fairy tale to his grandchildren Ilyusha and Sonya. 1909. Kryokshino. Photo: Vladimir Chertkov / wikipedia.org

In the summer of 1857, Tolstoy returned to Yasnaya Polyana. At his native estate, he continued to work on the story “Cossacks”, and also wrote the story “Three Deaths” and the novel “Family Happiness”. In his diary, Tolstoy defined his purpose for himself at that time: “The main thing is literary works, then family responsibilities, then farming... And living like this for yourself is a good deed a day and that’s enough.”.

In 1899, Tolstoy wrote the novel Resurrection. In this work, the writer criticized the judicial system, the army, and the government. The contempt with which Tolstoy described the institution of the church in his novel “Resurrection” provoked a response. In February 1901, in the journal “Church Gazette,” the Holy Synod published a resolution excommunicating Count Leo Tolstoy from the church. This decision only increased Tolstoy's popularity and attracted the public's attention to the writer's ideals and beliefs.

Tolstoy's literary and social activities became known abroad. The writer was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902 and 1909 and for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1902–1906. Tolstoy himself did not want to receive the award and even told the Finnish writer Arvid Järnefelt to try to prevent the award from being awarded because, “if this happened... it would be very unpleasant to refuse” “He [Chertkov] took the unfortunate old man into his hands in every possible way, he separated us, he killed the artistic spark in Lev Nikolaevich and kindled condemnation, hatred, denial, which can be felt in Lev Nikolaevich’s recent articles years, which his stupid evil genius egged him on".

Tolstoy himself was burdened by the life of a landowner and family man. He sought to bring his life into line with his beliefs and in early November 1910 secretly left the Yasnaya Polyana estate. The road turned out to be too much for the elderly man: on the way he became seriously ill and was forced to stay in the house of the caretaker of the Astapovo railway station. Here the writer spent the last days of his life. Leo Tolstoy died on November 20, 1910. The writer was buried in Yasnaya Polyana.

Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich (1828 - 1910) - count, famous writer, who achieved unprecedented achievements in the history of literature of the 19th century. glory. Belongs to a rich and noble family, which occupied a high position even in the time of Peter the Great. Lev Nikolaevich's great-grandfather, Count Pyotr Andreevich, played a sad role in the history of Tsarevich Alexei. The great-grandson of Pyotr Andreevich, Ilya Andreevich, is described in “War and Peace” in the person of the old Count Rostov. Ilya Andreevich’s son, Nikolai Ilyich, was the father of Lev Nikolaevich (depicted in “Childhood” and “Adolescence” in the person of Nikolinka’s father). With the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Pavlograd Hussar Regiment, he took part in the War of 1812 and retired after the conclusion of peace. Having spent his youth cheerfully, Nikolai Ilyich lost a huge fortune. The passion for the game passed on to his son. To put his upset affairs in order, Nikolai Ilyich, like Nikolai Rostov, married the ugly and no longer very young Princess Volkonskaya. They had four sons: Nikolai, Sergei, Dmitry and Lev and a daughter Maria. Tolstoy's maternal grandfather, Catherine's general, is brought onto the stage in War and Peace in the person of the old Prince Volkonsky, and Lev's mother is depicted in the person of Princess Marya. In addition to the Volkonskys, Tolstoy is closely related to a number of other aristocratic families - the princes Gorchakovs and Trubetskoys.

1854

1862

Editorial Board of the Sovremennik magazine, St. Petersburg. From left to right are L.N. Tolstoy, D.V. Grigorovich. I.A. Goncharov, I.S. Turgenev, A.V. Druzhinin, A.N. Ostrovsky are sitting.

1868

1885

1892, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his family at the tea table in the park.

1900, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy and A.M. Gorky.

1901, Crimea

1901, Crimea. L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov.

1905, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy returns from swimming on the Voronka River

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy and I.E. Repin.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy plays chess with M.S. Sukhotin.

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. L.N. Tolstoy with his granddaughter Tanya

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy with his favorite horse Delir

1908, Yasnaya Polyana. At the terrace of a Yasnaya Polyana house.

1908 House of Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana.

August 28, 1908, Yasnaya Polyana. Leo Tolstoy on his 80th birthday.

On September 9, Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy turns 190 years old. Today his name is known even to those who have not read a single line of his. And everyone keeps in their head their own image of the great Leo, mainly formed in his later years.

Photo:

And this happened because in the last years of Tolstoy’s life, photographers staged a real photo hunt for him. They began to film Tolstoy at his desk, in an open field, at a meal, and even in a wheelchair (as in the photo above), as was the case in Crimea in 1901-1902. and in Yasnaya Polyana during his 80th birthday in 1908. This anniversary was widely celebrated in Russia, but Tolstoy himself did not celebrate; he became seriously ill. This photo is also interesting because here we see Tolstoy in his permanent home clothes - a simple large knitted sweater, which to this day is kept in the Yasnaya Polyana house-museum.