All novels by Leo Tolstoy. Leo is fat. Respect old people

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a little over twenty years old when he began teaching literacy to peasant children on his estate. He continued to work at the Yasnaya Polyana school intermittently until the end of his life; he worked long and enthusiastically on compiling educational books. In 1872, “Azbuka” was published - a book set containing the alphabet itself, texts for initial Russian and Church Slavonic reading, arithmetic and a teacher’s manual. Three years later, Tolstoy published The New ABC. When teaching, he used proverbs, sayings, and riddles. He composed many “proverb stories”: in each, the proverb unfolded into a short story with a moral. The “New Alphabet” was supplemented by “Russian Books for Reading” - several hundred works: stories and stories, retellings folk tales and classical fables, natural history descriptions and reasoning.

Tolstoy strove for extremely simple and precise language. But to the modern child It is difficult to understand even the simplest texts about ancient peasant life.

So what? The works of Leo Tolstoy for children become literary monument and leave Russian children's reading, the basis of which they have been for a whole century?

There is no shortage of modern publications. Publishers are trying to make books interesting and understandable to today's children.

1. Tolstoy, L. N. Stories for children / Leo Tolstoy; [preface V. Tolstoy; comp. Yu. Kublanovsky] ; drawings by Natalia Parent-Chelpanova. - [Yasnaya Polyana]: L.N. Tolstoy Museum-Estate “Yasnaya Polyana”, 2012. - 47 p. : ill.

Children's stories by Leo Tolstoy, illustrated by the Russian artist in exile Natalya Paren-Chelpanova, translated into French were published in Paris by Gallimard in 1936. In the Yasnaya Polyana booklet they are, of course, printed in Russian. There are stories here that are usually included in modern collections and are undisputed in children's reading(“Fire Dogs”, “Kitten”, “Filipok”), and rare, even amazing. For example, the fable “The Owl and the Hare” - how a arrogant young owl wanted to catch a huge hare, grabbed his back with one paw, the other into a tree, and he “rushed and tore the owl apart”. Read on?

What is true is true: Tolstoy’s literary means are strong; The impressions after reading will remain deep.

Natalia Parent’s illustrations brought the texts closer to the little readers of her time: the characters in the stories were drawn as if they were the artist’s contemporaries. There are French inscriptions: for example, “Pinson” on the grave of a sparrow (for the story “How my aunt talked about how she had a pet sparrow - Zhiwchik”).

2. Tolstoy, L. N. Three Bears / Leo Tolstoy; artist Yuri Vasnetsov. - Moscow: Melik-Pashaev, 2013. - 17 p. : ill.

In the same 1936, Yuri Vasnetsov illustrated the story retold in Russian by Leo Tolstoy English fairy tale. At first the illustrations were in black and white, but the later colorful version is reproduced here. The fairy-tale bears of Yu. Vasnetsov, although Mikhail Ivanovich and Mishutka are in vests, and Nastasya Petrovna with a lace umbrella, are quite scary. The child understands why “one girl” was so afraid of them; but she managed to escape!

Illustrations have been color corrected for the new edition. You can see the first edition, as well as reprints that differ from one another, in the National Electronic Children's Library (books are protected by copyright, registration is required to view).

3. Tolstoy, L. N. Lipunyushka: stories and fairy tales / Leo Tolstoy; illustrations by A. F. Pakhomov. - St. Petersburg: Amphora, 2011. - 47 p. : ill.- (Library of a junior school student).

Many adults have retained in their memory “The ABC” by Leo Tolstoy with illustrations by Alexei Fedorovich Pakhomov. The artist knew the peasant way of life very well (he himself was born in a pre-revolutionary village). He painted peasants with great sympathy, children - sentimentally, but always with a firm, confident hand.

The St. Petersburg "Amphora" more than once published small collections of stories from L. N. Tolstoy's "ABC" with illustrations by A. F. Pakhomov. This book contains several stories from which peasant children learned to read. Then the fairy tales - “How a man divided the geese” (about a cunning man) and “Lipunyushka” (about a resourceful son who "came out in cotton").

4. Tolstoy, L. N. About animals and birds / L. N. Tolstoy; artist Andrey Brey. - Saint Petersburg; Moscow: Rech, 2015. - 19 p. : ill. - (Mom’s favorite book).

Stories “Eagle”, “Sparrow and Swallows”, “How Wolves Teach Their Children”, “What Mice Are for”, “Elephant”, “Ostrich”, “Swans”. Tolstoy is not sentimental at all. Animals in his stories are predators and prey. But, of course, a moral must be read in a basic story; Not every story is straightforward.

Here is “Swans” - a genuine prose poem.

It must be said about the artist that he painted animals expressively; among his teachers was V. A. Vatagin. “Stories about Animals” with illustrations by Andrei Andreevich Brey, published by Detgiz in 1945, are digitized and available in the National Electronic Children's Library (registration is also required to view).

5. Tolstoy, L. N. Kostochka: stories for children / Leo Tolstoy; drawings by Vladimir Galdyaev. - Saint Petersburg; Moscow: Rech, 2015. - 79 p. : ill.

The book contains mainly the most frequently published and read children's stories by L. N. Tolstoy: “Fire”, “Fire Dogs”, “Filipok”, “Kitten”...

“The Bone” is also a widely known story, but few people are ready to agree with the radical educational method shown in it.

The contents of the book and layout are the same as in the collection “Stories and Were”, published in 1977. More texts and drawings by Vladimir Galdyaev were in L. N. Tolstoy’s “Book for Children,” published by the Moskovsky Rabochiy publishing house in the same 1977 (the publications, of course, were preparing for the writer’s 150th anniversary). The rigor of the drawing and the specific character of the characters correspond well to Tolstoy's literary style.

6. Tolstoy, L. N. Children: stories / L. Tolstoy; drawings by P. Repkin. - Moscow: Nigma, 2015. - 16 p. : ill.

Four stories: “The Lion and the Dog”, “Elephant”, “Eagle”, “Kitten”. They are illustrated by Peter Repkin, a graphic artist and animator. It is interesting that the lion, eagle, elephant and his little owner depicted by the artist obviously resemble the characters of the cartoon “Mowgli”, the production designer of which was Repkin (together with A. Vinokurov). This cannot harm either Kipling or Tolstoy, but it does make one think about the differences and similarities in the views and talents of the two great writers.

7. Tolstoy, L. N. The Lion and the Dog: a true story / L. N. Tolstoy; drawings by G. A. V. Traugot. - St. Petersburg: Rech, 2014. - 23 p. : ill.

On the flyleaf there is a drawing depicting Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy in London in 1861 and as if confirming: this story is true. The story itself is given in the form of captions to the illustrations.

First line: “Wild animals were shown in London...” An ancient multi-colored, almost fairy-tale Western European city, townspeople and townswomen, curly-haired children - all in a manner that has long been characteristic of the artists “G. A. V. Traugot." Meat thrown into a lion's cage does not look naturalistic (like Repkin's). A lion yearning for a dead dog (Tolstoy honestly writes that she “died”) is drawn very expressively.

I told you more about the book “Biblioguide”.

8. Tolstoy, L. N. Filipok / L. N. Tolstoy; artist Gennady Spirin. - Moscow: RIPOL classic, 2012. -: ill. - (Masterpieces of book illustration).

“Filipok” from “The New ABC” is one of the most famous stories Leo Tolstoy and all Russian children's literature. The figurative meaning of the word “textbook” here coincides with the direct one.

The RIPOL Classic publishing house has already republished the book with illustrations by Gennady Spirin several times and included it in the New Year's gift collection. This “Filipok” was previously published in English (see on the artist’s website: http://gennadyspirin.com/books/). In the drawings of Gennady Konstantinovich there is a lot of affection for the ancient peasant life and winter Russian nature.

It is noteworthy that in “The New Alphabet” behind this story (at the end of which Filipok “he began to speak to the Mother of God; but every word he spoke was wrong") followed by “Slavic letters”, “Slavic words under titles” and prayers.

9. Tolstoy, L. N. My first Russian book for reading / Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. - Moscow: White City, . - 79 s. : ill. - (Russian books for reading).

"White City" has undertaken a complete publication of "Russian books for reading". The second, third and fourth books were published in the same way. There are no abbreviations here. Stories, fairy tales, fables, descriptions and reasoning are given in the order in which Lev Nikolaevich arranged them. There are no comments on the texts. Illustrations are used instead of verbal explanations. Basically, these are reproductions of paintings, famous and not so famous. For example, to the description of “The Sea” - “The Ninth Wave” by Ivan Aivazovsky. To the discussion “Why does the wind happen?” - “Children running from a thunderstorm” by Konstantin Makovsky. To the story “Fire” - “Fire in the Village” by Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky. To the story " Caucasian prisoner" - landscapes by Lev Lagorio and Mikhail Lermontov.

The range of ages and interests of readers of this book can be very wide.

10. Tolstoy, L. N. Sea: description / Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy; artist Mikhail Bychkov. - St. Petersburg: Azbuka, 2014. - p. : ill. - (Good and eternal).

Of the books listed, this one seems to belong most to our time. Artist Mikhail Bychkov says: “A few lines by L. N. Tolstoy gave me a wonderful opportunity to draw the sea”. On large-format spreads, the artist depicted the southern and northern sea, calm and stormy, day and night. To Tolstoy's short text he made a drawn appendix about all kinds of sea vessels.

The work fascinated Mikhail Bychkov, and he illustrated three stories from Tolstoy’s “ABC”, combining them with a fictional trip around the world on a sailing warship. In the story "The Jump" such a journey is mentioned. The story "Shark" begins with the words: "Our ship was anchored off the coast of Africa." The story “Fire Dogs” takes place in London - and the artist painted a Russian corvette flying the St. Andrew’s flag against the backdrop of the construction of the Tower Bridge (built from 1886 to 1894; “ABC” was compiled earlier, but in the same era, especially if viewed from our time) .

The book “Were” was published by the Rech publishing house in 2015. In the spring of 2016 in State Museum L. N. Tolstoy on Prechistenka hosted an exhibition of illustrations by Mikhail Bychkov for these two children's books.

“The sea is wide and deep; there is no end in sight to the sea. The sun rises at sea and sets at sea. No one has reached or knows the bottom of the sea. When there is no wind, the sea is blue and smooth; when the wind blows, the sea will stir up and become uneven..."

"Sea. Description"

“...Water from the sea rises in fog; the fog rises higher, and clouds become from the fog. The clouds are driven by the wind and spread across the ground. Water falls from the clouds to the ground. It flows from the ground into swamps and streams. From streams it flows into rivers; from rivers to sea. From the sea again the water rises into the clouds, and the clouds spread across the earth...”

“Where does the water go from the sea? Reasoning"

Leo Tolstoy's stories from "ABC" and "Russian Books for Reading" are laconic, even lapidary. In many ways, they are archaic, in today's opinion. But this is what is essential about them: a now rare, non-playful, serious attitude to words, a simple, but not simplified attitude towards everything around them.

Svetlana Malaya

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a great Russian writer who created more than 279 literary works. In our article you will get acquainted with the list of the best and most popular books by this author.

Novels

War and Peace

“War and Peace” is an epic four-volume novel written during the hostilities of 1805-1812. Tolstoy was inspired by the events taking place, which is why he decided to create this masterpiece. The book takes place during the war with Napoleon (Russia was an ally of Austria, which was also involved in this conflict). Each volume tells a different story. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

The first volume tells about the life of Russian society in the 19th century, about how people lived in those difficult years, and touches on the stories of the poor and rich social strata.

The second volume of the book “War and Peace” describes in detail the arrival of Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov to Austria in the town of Braunau, which was made to inspect and assess the power and strength of the Russian army.

The third volume is considered the most “calm and peaceful”, as it is dedicated to love stories main characters, in particular the young count's son Pierre Bezukhov.

The fourth part of the novel begins with the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte's troops on Russian soil.

Anna Karenina

“Anna Karenina” is a novel about the unhappy love of a young married woman named Anna Karenina, who was passionately in love with the brave and courageous officer Alexei Vronsky. Also in this work you can find many interesting historical facts about the life of bourgeois and peasant society in the 19th century. The author describes in detail St. Petersburg at that time, and this happens simultaneously with the love events of the novel.

Family happiness

“Family Happiness” is a novel that was first published in the then famous magazine “Russian Messenger” in 1859. The book tells the story of a young village girl who fell in love with the best friend of her recently deceased father, 38-year-old Sergei Mikhailovich. After some time, the man married a young beauty, so the first years of their married life are described below, including quarrels and separations.

Resurrection

"Resurrection" is a work written in 1899, which is considered last novel Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. The book tells the story of a court hearing at which the case of the theft of money and the poisoning of the merchant Smelkov, who could not be saved, is being considered, as a result of which he dies. The police were able to identify three suspects in this crime. What will happen next? Who will be found guilty? You can find out about this by reading the book.

Stories

Yule night

“Yuletide Night” is a story written in 1853. The book is about a little girl remembering an old Christmas story her grandmother told her. One night, a man went in search of fire to warm his wife and newly born child. Along the way, he meets shepherds warming themselves by the fire. The shepherds allowed the stranger to take coals from their fire. They were very surprised that he did not get burned when he took the hot stones in his hands. Who is this mysterious traveler? If you are intrigued, then you need to read this story as soon as possible.

Sevastopol in August 1855

“Sevastopol in August 1855” is a book included in a cycle of three works about the defense of the city of Sevastopol, which took place in 1855 during the Crimean War. The story “Sevastopol in August 1855” describes the fate of the young soldier Volodya, who voluntarily went to the front. This work describes military operations, the experiences of the main character, his personal idea and impression of the war.

Blizzard

"The Blizzard" is a short story written by Leo Tolstoy in 1856. The book is told from the author's point of view and begins with a story about how he jumps into a sleigh to a passing coachman and asks to take him home from the station. On the way, a strong snowstorm begins, the likes of which the city of Novocherkassk has not seen for a long time. lately. It became difficult for the horse to walk, she could hardly see anything because of the snowstorm, so the driver decided to turn back. Main character tried to help the coachman and decides to get out of the cart to find the track from the sleigh, but nothing comes of it. How will they manage to cope with this situation?

Demoted

“Demoted” is a story that was written in 1856, part of the Caucasian cycle of works by Tolstoy. The plot of the book takes place during the Caucasian War in 1850. The story begins with a young prince serving in an artillery battalion Russian army. In a small forest clearing near a fire, officers gather to chat and play a game that was popular at that time - gorodki. Suddenly a strange stranger appears - a little man in a rabbit sheepskin coat, who sits down with the officers and begins to tell his story. Who is this strange man? You will only learn about this from the book.

Caucasian prisoner

“Prisoner of the Caucasus” is a story that was first published in the magazine “Zarya” in 1873. It tells the story of the Russian officer Zhilin, who, by an unfortunate coincidence, was captured by the mountaineers during the Caucasian War. Zilina's mother sends him a letter asking his son to come see her. The young man immediately decides to go to meet his mother. Along the way, he is attacked and taken prisoner.

Filipok

“Filipok” is a story written by Lev Nikolaevich in 1875. The plot describes the life of a small, curious boy named Philip, but his mother affectionately calls him “Filipok.” The boy is interested in everything that catches his eye. Philip dreams of going to school. Every morning he looks with envy at the older kids getting ready for school. One day he decides to sneak into class. What will he do? You can find out by reading the book.

Surat coffee shop

"The Surat Coffee House" is a story created in 1906. It tells the story of one small coffee shop located in the Indian town of Surat. Travelers, travelers and high-ranking officials loved to come to this place, because excellent coffee was brewed in the Surat coffee shop. One day a strange man came here, introducing himself as a scholar-theologian. What is the meaning of his appearance? You can learn about this from the story.

The Young King's Dream

“The Dream of a Young Tsar” is a work written in 1958. It tells about the life of a young king who had recently ascended the throne. For almost 5 weeks he worked tirelessly, with virtually no rest: he signed decrees, attended meetings, received foreign ambassadors and guests. One day he had an extraordinary dream. What was he talking about? You can find out about this only after reading this book.

Stories

Childhood

“Childhood” is one of the books included in the trilogy of autobiography by Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, which was written in 1852. The story tells many facts and stories from the writer’s life, describing his experiences, joys, grievances, first love, ups and downs.

Cossacks

“Cossacks” is a story by Lev Nikolaevich, written in 1864. It tells about the Cossack cadet Dmitry Andreevich Olenin, who went from Moscow to the Caucasus to a new duty station. Olenin settled in the small village of Novomlinskaya, located on the banks of the Terek River. A little later, the guy falls in love with the daughter of the owners of the house from whom he rents. The girl’s parents are against such a union, because they already have a groom in mind for their daughter. Who is this? You can only learn about this from a book.

Morning of the landowner

“The Landowner's Morning” is a story created in 1856, which has an autobiographical writing style. It tells about the 19-year-old Prince Nekhlyudov, who comes to his village on vacation. After life in the capital young man He was very surprised by the poor life of the local peasants, so he decided to help the unfortunate people. The guy decides to leave the university, return to his native land and take up farming.

Two hussars

“Two Hussars” is a story first published in the Sovremennik magazine in 1857. Lev Nikolaevich dedicated this work to his beloved sister. It tells about the hussar Fyodor Turbin (a count and a well-known socialite at that time), who arrived in a small provincial town, in whose hotel he meets the cornet Ilyin, who not long ago lost a large sum of money at cards. Turbin decides to help the unfortunate man and comes up with a game plan in order to beat the cheater. Will they succeed?

Idyll

“Idyll” is one of the last stories by Leo Tolstoy, written in 1862. In this work, the author describes the life of his family in the village of Yasnaya Polyana, located in the Tula province. The rural “idyll” of the Tolstoy family is described in detail in this book.

Boyhood

“Adolescence” is the second story from autobiographical trilogy Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, created in 1855. The book tells about the teenage period of the life of the boy Kolya, who experiences many difficulties: first feelings, betrayal of friends, school exams and admission to cadet school.

Youth

"Youth" - last story from an autobiographical trilogy written in 1857. This describes the life of a young guy Nikolai Irtenev in university years, about his friends, their experiences and difficulties that they will face more than once.

Hadji Murat

“Hadji Murad” is a story published in 1890. The book tells about the life of the famous brave Avar Hadji Murad, who fought in Caucasian War against the Russian army. Hadji Murat goes over to the enemy's side, abandons his compatriots and runs away from them into the mountains. Next, he tries to improve relations with Russian soldiers, starting to fight alongside them.

Along with this also read

The above works, written by Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, are considered one of the best and most famous among readers all over the world. But, there are books that are no less popular and interesting. These include:

• "Polyushka";
• "Mother";
• "Notes of a Madman";
• "Master and Worker";
• “Posthumous Notes of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich”;
• "Father Sergius";
• "The History of Yesterday";
• "Two Horses";
• "Kholstomer";
• "Lucerne";
• “It’s expensive”;
• "Fake coupon";
• "Alyosha Pot";
• "For what?";
• "The Power of Childhood";
• "Father Vasily";
• "Three days in the village";
• "Khodynka";
• "Infected Family";
• "Nihilist";
• "Fruits of Enlightenment";
• "Grateful Soil";
• "The Aeronaut's Tale";
• "Bounce";
• “The power of darkness, or the Claw is stuck, the whole bird is lost”;
• "Peter Khlebnik"
• “All qualities come from her”;
• “Dramatic adaptation of the legend of Ageya”;
• “Song about the battle on the Chernaya River on August 4, 1855.”

In this article you learned about the best and interesting works Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. The most popular novels, novellas and short stories were described here. Each of which we recommend reading.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is one of the most widely known Russian writers and thinkers, revered as one of greatest writers peace. Participant in the defense of Sevastopol. Educator, publicist, religious thinker, whose authoritative opinion caused the emergence of a new religious and moral movement - Tolstoyism.

Born in Krapivensky district of Tula province, on his mother’s hereditary estate - Yasnaya Polyana. He was the fourth child in the family. His mother died when Lev was not yet 2 years old.

Took up raising children distant relative T. A. Ergolskaya. In 1837, the family moved to Moscow, settling on Plyushchikha, because the eldest son had to prepare to enter the university. Soon, their father suddenly died, and the three younger children again settled in Yasnaya Polyana under the supervision of Ergolskaya and their paternal aunt, Countess A. M. Osten-Sacken. Here Lev remained until 1840, when Osten-Sacken died, the children moved to Kazan, to their father’s sister P. I. Yushkova.

The Yushkov house was considered one of the most fun in Kazan; All family members highly valued external shine. The most varied, as Tolstoy himself defines them, “philosophies” about the most important issues existence left an imprint on his character in that era of life.

Following his brothers, Lev decided to enter the Imperial Kazan University (the most famous at that time), where Lobachevsky worked at the Faculty of Mathematics, and Kovalevsky worked at the Eastern Faculty. In 1844 he was enrolled as a student of the category of oriental literature as a paying student. According to the results of the year, he had poor academic performance, did not pass the transition exam and had to go through the first-year program again. To avoid a complete repetition of the course, I switched to the Faculty of Law. "...the first year I...didn't do anything. In the second year...I started studying...there was a professor...who...gave me a job - comparing Catherine's "Order" with Montesquieu's "The Spirit of the Laws" ...I was fascinated by this work, I went to the village, began to read Montesquieu, this reading opened up endless horizons for me; I began to read Rousseau and left the university." Tolstoy tried to establish a new relationship with the peasants. In 1849 he first opened a school for peasant children. The main teacher was Foka Demidovich, a serf, but Lev Nikolaevich himself often taught classes. He was studying seriously English, music, law.

In 1851, Tolstoy, having passed the exam in Tiflis, entered the 4th battery of the 20th artillery brigade, stationed in the Cossack village of Starogladovskaya on the banks of the Terek, near Kizlyar, as a cadet. He had the right to the St. George Cross, but in accordance with his convictions, he “gave in” to his colleague, considering that a significant improvement in the conditions of service of a colleague was higher than personal vanity. With the beginning of the Crimean War, Tolstoy transferred to the Danube Army, participated in the battle of Oltenitsa and the siege of Silistria, and in 1854-1855 he was in Sevastopol. For the defense of Sevastopol, Tolstoy was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 4th degree, and the medals “For the Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855” and “In Memory of the War of 1853-1856.” In 1856 the writer leaves military service with the rank of lieutenant.

In St. Petersburg, the young writer was warmly welcomed in high society salons and in literary circles. However, a cheerful life left a bitter aftertaste in Tolstoy’s soul, and he began to fall out with the circle of writers close to him. As a result, “people became disgusted with him, and he became disgusted with himself.” And in 1857 Tolstoy went on a journey. He visited Germany, France, England, Switzerland, Italy.

In 1859 Tolstoy took part in the organization of the Literary Fund.

On his next trip he was mainly interested in public education. His beloved brother Nikolai died of tuberculosis. The death of his brother made a huge impression on Tolstoy. In 1862, Tolstoy began publishing the pedagogical magazine Yasnaya Polyana. Soon Tolstoy left teaching. Marriage, the birth of his own children, and plans related to writing the novel “War and Peace” pushed back his pedagogical activities by 10 years. In the early 1870s, he began to create his own "ABC" and published it in 1872, and then released the "New ABC" and a series of four "Russian books for reading."

Leo Tolstoy is known for his monumental works, but his children's works also deserve attention. The famous classic wrote dozens of excellent fairy tales, epics and stories for children, which will be discussed below.

Fairy tales, fables, there were stories

The famous Russian writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy always treated children's literature with special trepidation. The author's long observations of peasant children are reflected in his work. The famous “ABC”, “New ABC” and “Russian books for reading” made a huge contribution to the development of children's education. This edition includes the fairy tales “Three Bears”, “Lipunyushka”, “Two Brothers”, “Filipok”, “Jump”, stories about the dog Bulka, which are widely used to this day in preschool and primary school education. Further

Three bears

Leo Tolstoy's collection includes essays written more than half a century ago for students of the Yasnopolyansky school. Today, the texts are no less extremely popular among children, thanks to their simple and colorful descriptions of worldly wisdom. Illustrations in the book are provided by famous artist I. Tsygankov. Suitable for senior preschool age. Further

The collected works include such works as “Lipunyushka”, “Shark”, as well as “The Lion and the Dog”, “Two Brothers”, the famous “Bone”, “Jump”, and, of course, “Three Bears”. The works were written for all young students in the Yasnaya Polyana estate, but continue to arouse great interest among young reader and to this day. Further

This publication is a collection of folklore works“The Fox and the Crane”, “Geese-Swans”, “Gingerbread House”, retold by L.N. Eliseeva and A.N. Afanasyeva and the creation of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy “Three Bears”. The works tell about such concepts as kindness, intelligence, justice, and intelligence. Here you will meet everyone's famous fairy-tale heroes: sly fox, evil gray wolf, Mashenka, who loved to eat from someone else’s cup. The publication is accompanied by pictures by artists Sergei Bordyug and Natalia Trepenok. Further

A collection of fascinating fairy tales about animals with many bright images for preschool children: “The Fox and the Mouse” by Vitaly Bianchi, “The Frog the Traveler” by Vsevolod Garshin, “The Gray Neck” by Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak, “The Three Bears” by Leo Tolstoy and others. Illustrator: Tatyana Vasilyeva. Further

All the best for children

A golden collection of works by Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, which will not leave both kids and older children indifferent. The theme of a carefree childhood will appeal to modern children and their parents. The book calls on the younger generation to love, kindness and respect, which, perhaps, permeate the entire work of the great writer. Further

This is a collection of stories, epics and fairy tales included in the primary school curriculum. A series of stories about Lev Nikolaevich’s dogs – Milton and Bulka – will not leave boys and girls indifferent primary classes. Further

Novels and stories

Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in the Tula province (Russia) into a family belonging to the noble class. In the 1860s he wrote his first great novel- “War and Peace”. In 1873, Tolstoy began work on the second of his most famous books, Anna Karenina.

He continued to write fiction throughout the 1880s and 1890s. One of his most successful later works is “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.” Tolstoy died on November 20, 1910 in Astapovo, Russia.

First years of life

On September 9, 1828, the future writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born in Yasnaya Polyana (Tula province, Russia). He was the fourth child in a large noble family. In 1830, when Tolstoy’s mother, née Princess Volkonskaya, died, cousin father took over the care of the children. Their father, Count Nikolai Tolstoy, died seven years later, and their aunt was appointed guardian. After the death of his aunt, Leo Tolstoy, his brothers and sisters moved to their second aunt in Kazan. Although Tolstoy experienced many losses in early age, he later idealized his childhood memories in his work.

It is important to note that primary education in Tolstoy's biography, he received lessons at home from French and German teachers. In 1843, he entered the Faculty of Oriental Languages ​​at the Imperial Kazan University. Tolstoy failed to succeed in his studies - low grades forced him to transfer to an easier law faculty. Further difficulties in his studies led Tolstoy to eventually leave the Imperial Kazan University in 1847 without a degree. He returned to his parents' estate, where he planned to start farming. However, this endeavor also ended in failure - he was absent too often, leaving for Tula and Moscow. What he really excelled at was keeping his own diary - it was this lifelong habit that inspired Leo Tolstoy to most of his works.

Tolstoy was fond of music, his favorite composers were Schumann, Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Mendelssohn. Lev Nikolaevich could play their works for several hours a day.

One day, Tolstoy’s elder brother, Nikolai, during his army leave, came to visit Lev, and convinced his brother to join the army as a cadet in the south, in the Caucasus mountains, where he served. After serving as a cadet, Leo Tolstoy was transferred to Sevastopol in November 1854, where he fought in the Crimean War until August 1855.

Early publications

During his years as a cadet in the army, Tolstoy had a lot of free time. During quiet periods, he worked on an autobiographical story called Childhood. In it, he wrote about his favorite childhood memories. In 1852, Tolstoy sent a story to Sovremennik, the most popular magazine of the time. The story was happily accepted, and it became Tolstoy's first publication. From that time on, critics put him on a par with already famous writers, among whom were Ivan Turgenev (with whom Tolstoy became friends), Ivan Goncharov, Alexander Ostrovsky and others.

After completing his story “Childhood,” Tolstoy began writing about his daily life at an army outpost in the Caucasus. The work “Cossacks”, which he began during his army years, was completed only in 1862, after he had already left the army.

Surprisingly, Tolstoy managed to continue writing while actively fighting in the Crimean War. During this time he wrote Boyhood (1854), a sequel to Childhood, the second book in Tolstoy's autobiographical trilogy. At the height of the Crimean War, Tolstoy expressed his views on the startling contradictions of the war through a trilogy of works " Sevastopol stories" In the second book " Sevastopol stories", Tolstoy experimented with a relatively new technique: part of the story is presented as a narration from the point of view of a soldier.

After the end of the Crimean War, Tolstoy left the army and returned to Russia. Arriving home, the author enjoyed great popularity on the literary scene of St. Petersburg.

Stubborn and arrogant, Tolstoy refused to belong to any particular school of philosophy. Declaring himself an anarchist, he left for Paris in 1857. Once there, he lost all his money and was forced to return home to Russia. He also managed to publish Youth, the third part of an autobiographical trilogy, in 1857.

Returning to Russia in 1862, Tolstoy published the first of 12 issues of the thematic magazine Yasnaya Polyana. That same year he married the daughter of a doctor named Sofya Andreevna Bers.

Major Novels

Living in Yasnaya Polyana with his wife and children, Tolstoy spent much of the 1860s working on his first famous novel“War and Peace.” Part of the novel was first published in “Russian Bulletin” in 1865 under the title “1805”. By 1868 he had published three more chapters. A year later, the novel was completely finished. Both critics and the public debated the historical justice of the Napoleonic Wars in the novel, coupled with the development of stories of its thoughtful and realistic, but still fictional characters. The novel is also unique in that it includes three long satirical essays on the laws of history. Among the ideas that Tolstoy also tries to convey in this novel is the belief that the position of man in society and the meaning human life are mainly derivatives of his daily activities.

After the success of War and Peace in 1873, Tolstoy began work on the second of his most famous books, Anna Karenina. It was based in part on real events period of the war between Russia and Turkey. Like War and Peace, this book describes some of the biographical events in Tolstoy's own life, most notably in the romantic relationship between the characters Kitty and Levin, which is said to be reminiscent of Tolstoy's courtship with his own wife.

The first lines of the book “Anna Karenina” are among the most famous: “All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Anna Karenina was published in installments from 1873 to 1877, and was highly acclaimed by the public. The royalties received for the novel quickly enriched the writer.

Conversion

Despite the success of Anna Karenina, after the completion of the novel, Tolstoy experienced a spiritual crisis and was depressed. The next stage of Leo Tolstoy's biography is characterized by the search for the meaning of life. The writer first turned to the Russian Orthodox Church, but did not find answers to his questions there. He concluded that Christian churches were corrupt and, instead of organized religion, promoted their own beliefs. He decided to express these beliefs by founding a new publication in 1883 called The Mediator.
As a result, for his unconventional and controversial spiritual beliefs, Tolstoy was excommunicated from Russian Orthodox Church. He was even watched by the secret police. When Tolstoy, driven by his new conviction, wanted to give away all his money and give up everything unnecessary, his wife was categorically against this. Not wanting to escalate the situation, Tolstoy reluctantly agreed to a compromise: he transferred the copyright and, apparently, all royalties on his work until 1881 to his wife.

Late fiction

In addition to his religious treatises, Tolstoy continued to write fiction throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Among the genres of his later works were moral stories and realistic fiction. One of the most successful of his later works was the story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” written in 1886. The main character tries his best to fight the death hanging over him. In short, Ivan Ilyich is horrified by the realization that he wasted his life on trifles, but this realization comes to him too late.

In 1898, Tolstoy wrote the story “Father Sergius”, work of art, in which he criticizes the beliefs he developed after his spiritual transformation. The following year he wrote his third voluminous novel, Resurrection. Got the job good reviews, but it is unlikely that this success corresponded to the level of recognition of his previous novels. Other late works of Tolstoy are essays on art, these are satirical play entitled “The Living Corpse,” written in 1890, and a story called “Hadji Murat” (1904), which was discovered and published after his death. In 1903 Tolstoy wrote short story“After the Ball,” which was first published after his death, in 1911.

Old age

During it later years, Tolstoy reaped the benefits of international recognition. However, he still struggled to reconcile his spiritual beliefs with the tension he had created in his family life. His wife not only did not agree with his teachings, she did not approve of his students, who regularly visited Tolstoy on the family estate. In an effort to avoid his wife's growing discontent, Tolstoy and his youngest daughter Alexandra went on pilgrimage in October 1910. Alexandra acted as a doctor for her elderly father during the trip. Trying not to show off your privacy, they traveled incognito, hoping to evade unnecessary questions, but sometimes this was to no avail.

Death and legacy

Unfortunately, the pilgrimage proved too onerous for the aging writer. In November 1910, the head of the small Astapovo railway station opened the doors of his house to Tolstoy so that the ailing writer could rest. Shortly after this, on November 20, 1910, Tolstoy died. He was buried in the family estate, Yasnaya Polyana, where Tolstoy lost so many people close to him.

To this day, Tolstoy's novels are considered one of the best achievements literary art. “War and Peace” is often cited as greatest novel ever written. In the modern scientific community, Tolstoy is widely recognized as having a gift for describing the unconscious motives of character, the subtlety of which he championed by emphasizing the role of everyday actions in determining the character and goals of people.

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