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. Works brilliant writer- Russia's greatest asset.
In August 1828, a classic was born on the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Tula province Russian literature. 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 and 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 Elementary education the classic received 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. Nature of the Caucasus and patriarchal life Cossack village later appeared 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 cycle “ 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. IN family estate began arranging schools for peasant children. In the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana, with his participation, twenty educational institutions. In 1860, the writer traveled a lot: in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium he studied pedagogical systems European countries to apply what we 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 cautionary 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 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 the two storylines: family drama 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 about the meaning of life, Leo Tolstoy turned to the Russian Orthodox Church, but didn’t find satisfaction there either. The writer came to the conclusion that Christian church corrupt, and under the guise of religion, priests promote 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 “ verbose 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, only works abroad Russian classic filmed 40 times. 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 future wife child. Sophia received home education, 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 found out about her husband's turbulent youth, his passion 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 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.
Death last child– seven-year-old Vanya – brought the spouses closer together for a short time. 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 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 house stationmaster. 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 similar to each other, 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”
great-great-grandson of Tolstoy, journalist
Although many modern Tolstoys live abroad (they emigrated after the revolution), they remained with the “block Russian literature"descendants in our country. For example, Pyotr Tolstoy, whose father returned from emigration in 1944 with his brother. Thanks to his family, Peter knew about his great-great-grandfather from childhood: he visited Yasnaya Polyana several times and became closely acquainted with family heirlooms. This representative of the Tolstoy family is very famous Russian journalist and a TV presenter who has been working on Channel One for many years. Currently hosts the programs “Politics” and “Time will tell.” Peter spoke about his famous great-great-grandfather in one of his interviews:
Tolstoy remained honest with himself, always remained so, even when he was mistaken
Fekla Tolstaya
great-great-granddaughter of Tolstoy, journalist
Second cousin of Peter Tolstoy and also a very famous Russian journalist. Her real name is Anna, but she is known mainly under the name Thekla - a childhood nickname that later turned into a pseudonym. Tolstaya was born into a family of philologists and followed in the footsteps of her parents: she graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University and speaks five languages. However, already in childhood she was drawn to television: as a schoolgirl, Fekla began acting in minor roles in cinema, and in 1995 she entered GITIS at the directing department. Behind Fekla’s back there are many projects on radio and television, including original programs about her own family tree“Fat”, as well as “War and Peace”: Reading the novel.” In a conversation with MK Boulevard, the journalist happily spoke about the advantages of her huge family, whose members are scattered all over the world:
If you have relatives in another country, you understand it completely differently. I can explore Rome, for example, together with my beautiful niece, who, like a Roman, shows me the places I have loved since childhood - and this is an incomparable feeling. The same can be said about my relatives in Paris or New York. I get into the family, communicate with their friends
Andrey Tolstoy
great-great-grandson of Tolstoy, reindeer herder
Another descendant representing the Swedish branch of the family, Andrei Tolstoy, is a simple farmer who has been raising reindeer for many years. He reached great success: Andrey is one of the most famous reindeer herders in Scandinavia. He admitted that he was never able to read “War and Peace” at school. However, then I finally mastered the four-volume work. Several years ago, Andrey visited Russia for the first time.
Vladimir Tolstoy
great-great-grandson of Tolstoy, advisor to the President of Russia
Vladimir Ilyich is a person without whom there would be no meetings of Tolstoy’s descendants (which are held regularly today), and the fate of Leo Tolstoy’s Yasnaya Polyana estate would remain under threat. In the early 90s they wanted to take away the lands of the estate for new developments, the forests were cut down... But in 1992, Vladimir Ilyich published in “ Komsomolskaya Pravda» great material about all the troubles. Soon he was appointed director of the museum-reserve. Now Tolstoy is a presidential adviser Russian Federation, and his wife Ekaterina Tolstaya is in charge of the museum’s affairs. Vladimir admitted to the Tula newspaper “Young Communard”, speaking about his relatives:
Each of us has our own individuality, each of us has our own view of the world. And everyone is talented in their own way. Fat people can do anything: they take photographs, draw, write. And at the same time they are embarrassed about their talents: modesty is another family quality...
Victoria Tolstoy
great-great-granddaughter of Tolstoy, jazz singer
Yes, yes, she is Tolstoy, not Tolstoy: the Swede Victoria decided not to decline her surname, but to make it more “authentic”. How did the Swedish line of the Tolstoy family come about? The son of Lev Nikolaevich, Lev Lvovich, was forced for health reasons to turn to the Swedish doctor Westerlund. And then he fell in love with his daughter Dora... The modern representative of this family branch, singer Victoria, is better known in her homeland under the pseudonym “Lady Jazz”. By her own admission, Victoria does not know the Russian language and has not read Lev Nikolaevich’s novels, but in her work she often turns to classical Russian composers. On this moment The blonde already has 8 albums, one of which is called My Russian Soul (“My Russian Soul”). Victoria told the jazz publication JazzQuard:
When I was in Moscow several years ago, I visited the Tolstoy House Museum. I remember I saw there a portrait of a lady from the Tolstoy family and was amazed at how much this young woman from past centuries looked like me! Then for the first time I really felt my involvement in the Tolstoy family: how much connects and unites us at the deepest genetic level!
Ilaria Stieler-Timor
great-great-granddaughter of Tolstoy, Italian teacher
There is still controversy about this couple - there has never been so much gossip about anyone and so many speculations have arisen about them as about the two of them. The story of the Tolstoys' family life is a conflict between the real and the sublime, between everyday life and dreams, and the spiritual abyss that inevitably follows. But who is right in this conflict is an unanswered question. Each spouse had their own truth...
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Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born on August 28, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana. The count came from several ancient families; the branches of the Trubetskoys and Golitsyns, the Volkonskys and the Odoevskys were woven into his genealogy. Lev Nikolayevich’s father married the heiress of a huge fortune, Maria Volkonskaya, who had spent too much time as a girl, not out of love, but the relationship in the family was tender and touching.
Mother little Leva died of a fever when he was one and a half years old. The orphaned children were raised by aunties, who told the boy about what an angel his late mother was - smart, educated, gentle with the servants, and caring for the children - and how happy the priest was with her. Although it was good fairy tale, but it was then that the imagination of the future writer took shape perfect image the one with whom he would like to connect his life. The search for an ideal turned into a heavy burden for the young man, which over time turned into a destructive, almost manic attraction to female. The first step towards revealing this new side of life for Tolstoy was a visit to brothel where his brothers took him. Soon he would write in his diary: “I committed this act, and then stood by this woman’s bed and cried!” At the age of 14, Leo experienced what he believed to be love when he seduced a young maid. Tolstoy, already a writer, will reproduce this picture in “Resurrection,” revealing in detail the scene of Katyusha’s seduction. The whole life of young Tolstoy was spent developing strict rules of behavior, spontaneously evading them and stubbornly struggling with personal shortcomings. There is only one vice he cannot overcome - voluptuousness. Perhaps fans of the great writer’s work would not have known about his many predilections for the female sex - Koloshina, Molostvova, Obolenskaya, Arsenyeva, Tyutcheva, Sverbeeva, Shcherbatova, Chicherina, Olsufieva, Rebinder, the Lvov sisters. But he persistently wrote down in his diary the details of his love victories. Tolstoy returned to Yasnaya Polyana full of sensual impulses. “This is no longer a temperament, but a habit of debauchery,” he wrote upon arrival. “The lust is terrible, reaching the point of physical illness. He wandered around the garden with a vague, voluptuous hope of catching someone in the bush. Nothing stops me from working." Desire or love
Sonechka Bers was born into the family of a doctor, an active state councilor. She got a good education, was smart, easy to communicate, and had a strong character.
In August 1862, the Bers family went to visit their grandfather at his Ivitsy estate and stopped in Yasnaya Polyana along the way. And then 34-year-old Count Tolstoy, who remembered Sonya as a child, suddenly saw a lovely 18-year-old girl who excited him. There was a picnic on the lawn, where Sophia sang and danced, showering everyone around with sparks of youth and happiness. And then there were conversations in the twilight, when Sonya was timid in front of Lev Nikolaevich, but he managed to get her to talk, and he listened to her with delight, and in parting said: “How clear you are!” Soon the Berses left Ivitsy, but now Tolstoy could not live a day without the girl who won his heart. He suffered and suffered because of the age difference and thought that this deafening happiness was inaccessible to him: “Every day I think that it is impossible to suffer anymore and be happy together, and every day I become crazier.” In addition, he was tormented by the question: what is this - desire or love? This difficult period of trying to understand oneself will be reflected in War and Peace. He could no longer resist his feelings and went to Moscow, where he proposed to Sophia. The girl happily agreed. Now Tolstoy was absolutely happy: “Never have I imagined my future with my wife so joyfully, clearly and calmly.” But there was one more thing: before getting married, he wanted them not to have any secrets from each other. 
Sonya had no secrets from her husband - she was pure, like an angel. But Lev Nikolaevich had plenty of them. And then he made a fatal mistake that predetermined the course of further family relations. Tolstoy gave the bride to read his diaries, in which he described all his adventures, passions and hobbies. For the girl, these revelations came as a real shock. 
Sofya Andreevna with children. Only her mother was able to convince Sonya not to give up on the marriage; she tried to explain to her that all men of Lev Nikolayevich’s age have a past, they just wisely hide it from their brides. Sonya decided that she loved Lev Nikolaevich strongly enough to forgive him everything, including the courtyard peasant woman Aksinya, who at that time was expecting a child from the count. Family everyday life
Married life in Yasnaya Polyana began far from cloudless: it was difficult for Sophia to overcome the disgust that she felt towards her husband, remembering his diaries. However, she gave birth to Lev Nikolaevich 13 children, five of whom died in infancy. In addition, for many years she remained Tolstoy’s faithful assistant in all his affairs: a copyist of manuscripts, a translator, a secretary, and a publisher of his works.
The village of Yasnaya Polyana. Photo "Scherer, Nabholz and Co." 1892 Sofya Andreevna was deprived of the delights of Moscow life for many years, to which she had become accustomed since childhood, but she humbly accepted the hardships of rural existence. She raised the children herself, without nannies or governesses. IN free time Sophia copied the manuscripts of the “mirror of the Russian revolution” completely. The Countess, trying to live up to the ideal of a wife, which Tolstoy had told her more than once, received petitioners from the village, resolved disputes, and over time opened a hospital in Yasnaya Polyana, where she herself examined the suffering and helped as much as she had the knowledge and skills. 
Maria and Alexandra Tolstoy with peasant women Avdotya Bugrova and Matryona Komarova and peasant children. Yasnaya Polyana, 1896. Everything she did for the peasants was actually done for Lev Nikolaevich. The Count took all this for granted and was never interested in what was going on in the soul of his wife. Out of the frying pan into the fire...
After writing "Anna Karenina", in the nineteenth year of family life, the writer experienced a mental crisis. He tried to find peace in the church, but could not. Then the writer renounced the traditions of his circle and became a real ascetic: he began to wear peasant clothes, conduct subsistence farming, and even promised to distribute all his property to the peasants. Tolstoy was a real “house builder”, having come up with his own charter later life, demanding its unquestioning implementation. The chaos of countless household chores did not allow Sofya Andreevna to delve into her husband’s new ideas, listen to him, and share his experiences. 
Sometimes Lev Nikolaevich went beyond the bounds of reason. He demanded that younger children not be taught what was not necessary in simple life. folk life, then wanted to give up the property, thereby depriving the family of their livelihood. He wanted to renounce the copyright to his works because he believed that he could not own them and make a profit from them. 
Leo Tolstoy with his grandchildren Sonya and Ilya in Krekshino Sofya Andreevna stoically defended the interests of the family, which led to the inevitable family collapse. Moreover, her mental anguish was revived with renewed vigor. If earlier she did not even dare to be offended by Lev Nikolaevich’s betrayals, now she began to remember all the past grievances at once. 
Tolstoy with his family at the tea table in the park. After all, every time she, pregnant or who had just given birth, could not share the marital bed with him, Tolstoy became infatuated with another maid or cook. He sinned again and repented... But he demanded obedience from his family and compliance with his paranoid rules of life. Letter from the Other World
Tolstoy died during a trip he took after breaking up with his wife at a very old age. During the move, Lev Nikolaevich fell ill with pneumonia, got off at the nearest large station (Astapovo), where he died in the house of the station master on November 7, 1910.
Leo Tolstoy on the road from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana. After the death of the great writer, a flurry of accusations fell on the widow. Yes, she could not become a like-minded person and an ideal for Tolstoy, but she was a model faithful wife and an exemplary mother, sacrificing her happiness for the sake of her family. 
While sorting out her late husband's papers, Sofya Andreevna found a sealed letter from him to her, dated in the summer of 1897, when Lev Nikolaevich first decided to leave. And now, as if from another world, his voice sounded, as if asking for forgiveness from his wife: “...with love and gratitude I remember the long 35 years of our life, especially the first half of this time, when you, with the maternal selflessness characteristic of your nature, so energetically and firmly carried out what she considered herself called to. You gave me and the world what you could give, you gave a lot mother's love and selflessness, and one cannot help but appreciate you for this... I thank you and I remember and will remember with love for what you gave me.” TOLSTOY TRIBE: WHAT WAS THE FATE OF LEO TOLSTOY'S 13 CHILDREN. Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy had 13 children - Sofya Andreevna gave birth to the writer 9 sons and 4 daughters. What was their fate and what mark did they leave on history?
Unfortunately, 5 children out of 13 died early: Peter lived a little more than a year, Nikolay - less than a year, Varvara - a few days, Alexey died at 4 years old, Ivan - at 6 years old. 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.
SERGEY LVOVICH (1863-1947) Tolstoy described his eldest son Sergei as follows: “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. Main feature brother was not selfishness and not self-sacrifice, but a strict middle... Seryozha is smart - a mathematical mind and a sensitivity to art, he studies well, is agile in jumping, 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 commentating Full meeting father's writings. Also known as the author 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.
TATYANA LVOVNA (1864-1950) Tatyana, like her sisters Maria and Alexandra, was a follower of Tolstoy’s teachings. From mother eldest daughter The writer 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, Alexander 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 (1866-1933) 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 (1869-1945) 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 (1871 - 1906) 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 “ good man who has not seen happiness." Maria Lvovna was well-read, fluent in several foreign languages, 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 those close to her, young fragile woman traveled to 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 (1877 - 1916) 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 special assignments under the Tula governor Mikhail Viktorovich Artsimovich, who supported great relationship 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 dreamed a strange dream which he told his brother. He saw himself in dead in my sleep, in a coffin that was taken out of the house. He attended 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 (1879 - 1944) 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: memoirs 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. Mikhail Lvovich died in Morocco in 1944.
ALEXANDRA LVOVNA (1884 - 1979) She was 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 literary heritage father. After October revolution In 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 Soviet Union, leaving for 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.
August 28, old style (and September 9, new style) marks the 190th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. Creative heritage its truly priceless. However, there were also his very real heirs - children born in marriage with Sofia Andreevna Bers. Of the writer’s 13 children, only 8 survived to adulthood. How did their destinies turn out and what mark did they leave on history and literature?
Sergei Lvovich Tolstoy, born in 1863 
The first-born extremely pleased his father with his talents and similarities with the writer’s older brother, Nikolai Nikolaevich. He learned the basics of science at home, and later passed the matriculation exams at the Tula gymnasium. He graduated from Moscow University with the title of Candidate of Sciences, having brilliantly defended his work on heavy petroleum oils. At the same time, he improved in music, mastering not only playing technique, but also theory, harmony, and Russian song.
Sergei Lvovich Tolstoy.
Sergei Lvovich became famous as talented composer, musical ethnographer and author of articles and teaching materials. He was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Afterwards, he worked on preserving his father’s legacy, writing memoirs and articles about the role of music in the life of Leo Tolstoy under the pseudonym S. Brodinsky. He spent every summer in Yasnaya Polyana. He was married twice, in his first marriage a son, Sergei, was born.
Sergei Lvovich died at the age of 84 in Moscow.
Tatyana Lvovna Sukhotina (nee Tolstaya), born in 1864. 
Leo Tolstoy wrote about his special closeness with Tatyana and her ability to create a cheerful, friendly atmosphere around herself.
Tatyana studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Subsequently I wrote about 30 graphic portraits father. Having inherited his writing talent, she published her own diary, which she kept from the age of 14, a series of essays and memoirs. She was the caretaker of the Tolstoy House Museum. 
1870 Children of Lev Nikolaevich: Ilya, Lev, Tatyana and Sergei. / Photo: from the non-memorial fund of the Yasnaya Polyana museum-estate, countertype from a photograph by F. I. Khodasevich, www.myslo.ru
In 1925, she emigrated with her daughter Tatyana, born in marriage to Mikhail Sukhotin, leader of the district nobility and member of the first State Duma.
Tatyana Lvovna died at the age of 85 in Rome.
Ilya Lvovich Tolstoy, born in 1866 
Ilya caused a lot of trouble to his parents in childhood, diligently violating prohibitions and not showing any talent for science. However, it was him who Leo Tolstoy considered the most gifted literary. He did not manage to finish high school; he was military service, then worked as an official, an agent for the liquidation of estates, and served in a bank. Later he became a journalist and founded a newspaper, but received recognition only after emigrating to America. There, his works were published in various publications, but he received his main income from lecturing about his father’s work. 
L.N. Tolstoy with his son Ilya Lvovich. 1903
He was married twice, in his first marriage with Sofia Filosofova seven children were born. He died at the age of 67 in America from cancer.
Lev Lvovich Tolstoy, born in 1869 
The writer's third son was closer to his mother, and from her he inherited common sense. Later he always took his mother’s side in family conflicts. Lev Lvovich wrote about himself as a very contradictory nature, and Sofya Andreevna noted his nervousness and lack of cheerfulness. 
Lev Lvovich Tolstoy.
Not particularly zealous in the sciences, however, was compensated by the gift of writing, musicality and artistic talent. He left his mark on history as the author of many works for children and memoirs about his father. Since 1918 he lived in Sweden.
He was married twice, in his first marriage with Dora Westerlund, 10 children were born, in his second, with Marianna Solskaya, one son was born. Died in Sweden in 1945.
Maria Lvovna Obolenskaya (nee Tolstaya), born in 1871 
Maria was a sickly child from childhood. She is the only one of all the children to whom the writer showed outward signs of love and could caress. The girl did not have a good relationship with her mother, but from childhood she became a faithful assistant, associate and favorite of her father. She was engaged in educational work and devoted a lot of energy and health to helping those in need.
She died of pneumonia at the age of 35 in Yasnaya Polyana.
Andrei Lvovich Tolstoy, born in 1877 
Lev Nikolaevich took little part in raising the younger children born after the death of Peter, Nicholas and Varvara. It cannot be said that he did not love them, but he instructed them much less. Andrei was his mother's favorite. But he upset his father a lot with his very free lifestyle, his love of wine and women. Andrei Lvovich did not show any special talents; he took part in Russian-Japanese war, was wounded and received the St. George Cross for bravery. Afterwards he held the position of a high-ranking official. 
Andrey Lvovich Tolstoy.
He was married twice and had three children from two marriages. Died as a result of sepsis at the age of 39 in Petrograd. Shortly before his death I saw prophetic dream, in which he attended his own funeral.
Mikhail Lvovich Tolstoy, born in 1879 
Musical talent and the desire to compose music were not subsequently reflected in Mikhail’s life. He chose the military path and took part in the First World War. In 1920 he emigrated. Last years lived in Morocco, where his only work “Mitya Tiverin” was written, which is Mikhail Lvovich’s memoirs about life in Yasnaya Polyana. He was married and had 9 children.
He died in Morocco at the age of 65.
Alexandra Lvovna Tolstaya, born in 1884 
The writer’s youngest daughter was already coping with the job of her father’s personal secretary at the age of 16. Many noted her talent and serious attitude to life. She took part in the First World War as a nurse and was the head of a military medical detachment. 
Alexandra Lvovna Tolstaya.
In 1920 she was arrested and sentenced to three years, after early release returned to Yasnaya Polyana, where in 1924 she became a museum curator, while simultaneously doing educational work. Emigrated to America in 1929. She actively gave lectures, wrote memoirs about her father, and created and headed the Tolstoy Foundation. Helped Russian emigrants settle in the USA.
For anti-Soviet statements, her name was forbidden to be mentioned even during museum excursions, photographic materials and newsreels with her participation were removed from the exhibitions.
She died at the age of 95 in America.
