Leo Tolstoy was a Russian writer, philosopher, and activist known for his novels, including War and Peace and Anna Karenina. He was born into the aristocracy, but later became disillusioned with his privileged life and became a peasant ascetic. His later philosophical works inspired many, including Gandhi, and he is still seen as a teacher by many Christians. Despite his literary success, his wife controlled the printing rights to his work and financed the family’s existence. Tolstoy’s writings had a huge impact on people around the world, despite his excommunication from the Russian Orthodox Church.
Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian writer, activist and philosopher. He is best remembered for his voluminous War and Peace, published in serial form in the 1860s. Leo Tolstoy led a markedly different life from other famous Russian authors of the time, such as Dostoyevsky. His novels are considered classics of Russian literature, and his later philosophical works have inspired a wide variety of people.
Leo Tolstoy was born into the Russian aristocracy in late 1828 and was one of five children. His parents both died before he reached the age of ten and the relatives who had raised him had educated him at home. Leo Tolstoy also briefly attended Kazan University, although he never graduated there.
Tolstoy spent his twenties in Moscow among the Russian elite, later writing bitterly of the experience. Leo Tolstoy felt that his youth in Moscow had been wasted on gambling, affairs and the exploitation of peasants who formed the foundation of his family’s wealth. Leo Tolstoy ended up enlisting in the army, seeing action in the Crimean War that inspired Sevastopol (1855), The Cossacks (1861), and “The Raid,” a short story published in 1852.
After his military service, Leo Tolstoy traveled in Europe and in 1862 he married Sofia Bers, with whom he had 13 children. The two remained married throughout Tolstoy’s life, although he spent his final years physically separated from his wife. His history of social activism began in the late 1850s when he started a school for peasant children, realizing that education was the key to social mobility. During this period he wrote his best known novels, including Anna Karenina, published in 1873.
Leo Tolstoy became disillusioned with his life as a member of the aristocratic elite and in 1884 gave up his worldly possessions to live as a peasant ascetic. The reasoning leading to this decision is documented in his later philosophical writing, which explores Christian philosophy and expounds Tolstoy’s personal beliefs. Leo Tolstoy came to the conclusion that passive non-resistance was a vital personal and political tool and that true Christians needed to be guided by God rather than social norms or the state. Tolstoy was also a firm believer in helping the lower classes, providing them with education, food, shelter, and other forms of assistance.
Leo Tolstoy is still seen as a teacher by many Christians, who value his simple values and strive to realize them in their lives. His writings on non-violence, love of enemies and renunciation of evil inspired a wide variety of public and private figures, including Gandhi. Tolstoy’s decision to live out his last years in relative poverty was applauded by many, even at the time, and his writings became popular with Russians seeking a less decadent way of life.
Tolstoy’s family suffered to some extent during his wanderings, and they would have led very difficult lives if his wife had not controlled the printing rights to his literary property. Using the sale of his books, essays and short stories, she financed the family’s existence. Despite the hardships she endured, Sofia remained devoted to her husband throughout her life, championing the greater cause of hers which she embodied than hers.
While Tolstoy is overwhelmingly remembered for his works of fiction, which were extremely valuable additions to the field of Russian literature, he also helped expand Christian philosophy, inspiring his readers to challenge their belief systems and form new ideas. about life and happiness. Tolstoy was a man of very strict morals, which he explored logically and convincingly in books such as Confession (1884) and What I Believe (1886). Tolstoy reworked traditional Christian thought in a way that attracted many readers, and his writings had a huge impact on people around the world, despite his 1901 excommunication from the Russian Orthodox Church.
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