Interesting facts about the life of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Life and work of Leo Tolstoy

The name of the writer, educator, Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is known to every Russian person. During his life, 78 works of art were printed, and 96 more were preserved in the archives. And in the first half of the twentieth century, a complete collection of works was published, numbering 90 volumes and including besides novels, novels, stories, essays, etc., numerous letters and diary entries of this great man, distinguished by enormous talent and outstanding personal qualities. In this article, let us recall the most interesting facts from the life of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

House for sale in Yasnaya Polyana

In his youth, the Count was known as a gambler and, unfortunately, he did not very well like playing cards. It so happened that the part of the house in Yasnaya Polyana, where the writer's childhood was spent, was given for debts. Subsequently, in an empty place, Tolstoy planted trees. Ilya Lvovich, his son, recalled how he once asked his father to show in the house the room where he was born. And Leo Nikolayevich pointed to the top of one of the larch, adding: "There." And the leather sofa on which it happened, he described in the novel "War and Peace". These are interesting facts from the life of Leo Tolstoy, related to the family estate.

As for the house itself, two of its two-story wings were preserved and eventually grew. After the marriage and the birth of children, the Tolstoys' family grew in number, and new premises were built in parallel.

Family education and children of Tolstoy

Lev Nikolaevich always distinguished his attachment to the family. The writer believed that it is she who plays the main role in the life of any person. With his wife, Sofya Andreevna, they lived in love and harmony for fifteen years. Then, quarrels arose on the basis of the graph's negative attitude toward property and the revision of life values.

In the Tolstoy family, thirteen children were born, five of whom died in infancy. The Count never regretted time for them, and before the crisis of the 80s he liked to make pranks. For example, if a jelly was served during dinner, the father noticed that it was good for them to glue together the boxes. Children immediately brought to the table paper, and the process of creativity began.

Another example. Someone in the family was sad or even burst into tears. Observed this graph in a moment organized the "Numidian cavalry." He jumped up, raised his hand and rushed around the table, and children followed him.

Tolstoy Leo Nikolayevich always distinguished his love of literature. He regularly arranged evening readings in his house. Somehow I took Jules Verne's book without pictures. Then he began to illustrate it himself. And although the artist turned out not very good, the family was delighted with what he saw.

Children and comic poems of Tolstoy Leo Nikolayevich were remembered. He read them in the wrong German language with the same goal: to cheer up the house. By the way, very few people know that in the writer's creative heritage there are several poetic works. For example, "Duren", "Volga-hero". Basically, they were written for children and entered the famous "ABC".

Thoughts of suicide

The works of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy became for the writer a way of studying human characters in their development. Psychologism in the image often required the author of great mental stress. So, while working on Anna Karenina with the writer, it was almost a disaster. He was in such a grave emotional state that he was afraid to repeat the fate of his hero Levin and commit suicide. Later in the Confession, Leo Tolstoy noted that the thought of this was so insistent that he even carried out a lace from the room where he was changing his clothes and refused to hunt with a gun.

Disappointment in the Church

Biography of Tolstoy Leo Nikolayevich is well studied and contains many stories about how he was excommunicated. Meanwhile, the writer has always considered himself a believer, and from the year 77 he strictly observed all his posts and attended every church service for several years. However, after visiting the Optina desert in the 81st year, everything changed. Leo Nikolayevich went there with his footman and schoolteacher. They went, as expected, with a knapsack, in bast shoes. Once at the monastery, they found terrible dirt and strict discipline.

Arrived pilgrims settled on general grounds, which outraged the footman, who always treated the master as a master. He turned to one of the monks and said that the old man was Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Creativity of the writer was well known, and he was immediately transferred to the best hotel room. After returning from Optina desert, the count expressed his discontent with such a rank of veneration, and from that time changed his attitude to church conventions and his employees. All ended with the fact that in one of the posts he took a cutlet for his lunch.

By the way, in the last years of his life the writer became a vegetarian, completely giving up meat. But while eating fried eggs every day in different forms.

Physical work

In the early 80's - this is reported by the biography of Tolstoy Leo Nikolayevich - the writer finally came to the conviction that idle life and luxury do not color a person. He was long tormented by the question of how to act: sell all his property and leave his beloved wife and unskilled children to work without money? Or rewrite the whole state on Sofya Andreevna? Later Tolstoy shares everything between family members. In this difficult time for him - the family has already moved to Moscow - Lev Nikolaevich loved to go to the Vorobyovy Gory, where he helped the peasants to cut wood. Then he learned shoemaking and even designed shoes and summer shoes of canvas and leather, which he walked all summer. And every year he helped peasant families, in which there was no one to plow, sow and harvest bread. Not everyone approved of such a life of Lev Nikolaevich. Tolstoy did not understand even in his own family. But he remained adamant. And one summer, the whole Yasnaya Polyana broke into artels and went out to mow. Among those who worked there was even Sofia Andreevna, who raked the grass with rakes.

Helping the hungry

Noting interesting facts from the life of Leo Tolstoy, one can also recall the events of 1898. In Mtsensk and Chernen Uyezd, hunger erupted once again. The writer, dressed in an old suite and pillars, with his knapsack along with his son, who volunteered to help him, personally traveled all the villages and found out where the situation really was beggarly. For a week they made lists and created about twelve canteens in each county, where they were fed, first of all, children, the elderly and sick. Products were brought from Yasnaya Polyana, cooked two hot meals a day. Tolstoy's initiative provoked a negative on the part of the authorities, who established constant control over him, and local landlords. The latter felt that such actions of the graph could lead to the fact that soon they themselves will have to plow the field and milk their cows.

One day a policeman entered one of the dining rooms and started a conversation with the count. He complained that although he approves of the writer's act, but is a servant, he does not know what to do, it was a question of permission for such activities by the governor. The writer's answer was simple: "Do not serve where you are forced to act against conscience". And this was the whole life of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

Serious illness

In 1901, the writer fell ill with a severe fever and, on the advice of doctors, went to the Crimea. There, instead of curing, he also caught inflammation and typhoid fever. Hope that he survived, almost no choice. Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, whose work contains many works with a description of death, was prepared morally for her. He was not at all afraid to part with life. The writer even said goodbye to his relatives. And although he could only speak in a half-whisper, each of his children gave valuable advice for the future, as it turned out, nine years before his death. This was very useful, since nine years later, none of the members of the family - and they almost all gathered at the station Astapovo - to the patient were not allowed.

The funeral of the writer

Back in the 90's, Lev Nikolaevich in his diary expressed his views on what kind of funeral he wanted to see. Ten years later in "Memoirs" he tells the story of a famous "green wand", buried near a ravine near the oaks. And already in 1908, the dictator dictates the desire: to bury him in a wooden coffin in the place where they sought in the childhood a source of eternal goodness for the brothers.

Tolstoy Leo Nikolayevich, according to his will, was buried in Yasnaya Polyana Park. At the funeral were attended by several thousand people, among whom were not only friends, admirers of creativity, writers, but also local peasants, whom he had treated with care and understanding all his life.

History with the will

Interesting facts from the life of Leo Tolstoy concern his will for creative heritage. Writer was drafted six wills: in 1895 (diary entries), 1904 (letter to Chertkov), 1908 (dictated by Gusev), twice in 1909 and in 1010. According to one of them, all his records and works entered general use. According to others, Chertkov was transferred to them. In the end, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy creativity and all his records bequeathed to his daughter Alexandra, with sixteen years became assistant father.

Number 28

According to the testimony of relatives, the writer has always been ironic about prejudice. But he considered the figure twenty-eight special for himself and loved. What was it - a simple coincidence or a fate fate? It is not known, but many of the most important events in life and the first works of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy are connected with it. Here is their list:

• August 28, 1828 - the birth date of the writer himself.
• May 28, 1856, the censorship granted permission to publish the first book with stories "Childhood and adolescence."
• June 28 was born the first-born, Sergei.
• On February 28, Ilya's son was married.
• October 28, the writer forever left Yasnaya Polyana.