History Creator / LeoTolstoy

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Никола́евич Толсто́й; 9 September [Old Style 28 August] 1828 – 20 November [Old Style 7 November] 1910), usually referred to as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer and philosopher. He is best known internationally for his novels, which include the notorious {{doorstopp|er}}ing [[TheEpic epic]] ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' and ''Literature/AnnaKarenina''. He also received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909. He never won, and that is considered to be a major controversy.

* GodIsGood: The Russian Orthodox Church on the other hand... [[CorruptChurch has seen better days.]]
* HeelRealization: The autobiographical ''My Confession'' partly consist of Tolstoy having one of these:

* TheHeretic: He denied a lot of things that the Orthodox Church taught. For one thing, he rejected the sacraments, the doctrine of the Trinity, miracles, and accepted only the Sermon on the Mount. He wrote a "corrected" version of the Gospels portraying Jesus as a merely wise man, and he denied the doctrine of the Redemption of mankind, considering it "to be one of the most untrue and harmful of Church dogmas". ''Resurrection'' is where he made these views very transparent, and this is what got him excommunicated by the Orthodox Church. His unorthodox views of Christianity also denied him a Christian burial.

* RealMenLoveJesus: Tolstoy was a devout Orthodox Christian, though he had grievances with the Russian Orthodox Church. The Church became the main object of his attacks in a couple of his writings, which led to his excommunication on 20 February 1901.

Upon completing ''Anna Karenina'', Tolstoy fell into a profound state of existential despair and then experienced a profound spiritual awakening. Around 1879-82, Tolstoy wrote ''A Confession'', which marked a change in his life and works. Tolstoy even wrote a series of pamphlets after 1880 in which he espoused indictment to the demands of the flesh, nonviolent resistance, and denunciation of private property, something his wife strongly objected to. This strained their marriage, and Tolstoy eventually conceded his wife the copyrights — and the royalties — to all of his pre-1881 writings. His spiritual awakening also led Tolstoy to become an unorthodox Christian; he rejected the sacraments, miracles, the Holy Trinity, and all other doctrines of the Christian faith. He also rejected the Old Testament and much of the New Testament, accepting only the Sermon on the Mount and nothing more, even composing his own "corrected" version of the Gospels, in which Jesus is portrayed as a merely wise man who arrived at a true account of life. His unorthodox Christian beliefs, also expounded in ''Resurrection'' (1899), led to his eventual excommunication by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1901.

* PlatoIsAMoron: Wrote an entire pamphlet devoted to arguing that Creator/WilliamShakespeare was a terrible writer and ''Theatre/KingLear'' a terrible play.

On 20 November 1910, Leo Tolstoy died at the age of 82 due to pneumonia.

Upon completing Anna Karenina, Tolstoy fell into a profound state of existential despair and then experienced a profound spiritual awakening. Around 1879-82, Tolstoy wrote ''A Confession'', which marked a change in his life and works. Tolstoy even wrote a series of pamphlets after 1880 in which he espoused indictment to the demands of the flesh, nonviolent resistance, and denunciation of private property, something his wife strongly objected to. This strained their marriage, and Tolstoy eventually conceded his wife the copyrights — and the royalties — to all of his pre-1881 writings. His spiritual awakening also led Tolstoy to become an unorthodox Christian; he rejected the sacraments, miracles, the Holy Trinity, and all other doctrines of the Christian faith. He also rejected the Old Testament and much of the New Testament, accepting only the Sermon on the Mount and nothing more, even composing his own "corrected" version of the Gospels, in which Jesus is portrayed as a merely wise man who arrived at a true account of life. His unorthodox Christian beliefs, also expounded in ''Resurrection'' (1899), led to his eventual excommunication by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1901.

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Никола́евич Толсто́й; 9 September [Old Style 28 August] 1828 – 20 November [Old Style 7 November] 1910), usually referred to as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer and philosopher. He is best known internationally for his novels, which include the notorious {{doorstopp|er}}ing [[TheEpic epic]] ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' and Anna Karenina. He also received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909. He never won, and that is considered to be a major controversy.

Tolstoy was born on 9 September 1828 at Yasnaya Polyana in the Tula province and descended from a well-known Russian noble family. He was the fourth of five children of Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (1794-1837), a veteran of the Patriotic War of 1812; and Princess Mariya Tolstaya (née Volkonskaya; 1790–1830). They died when he was very young, leaving their children to be raised by their relatives.

* CreatorBacklash: Tolstoy grew to '''despise''' much of his early work, which he came to view as nothing more than vain attempts at getting recognition with no true artistic passion invoked behind them. He also had a pretty low opinion of the quality of his work in general.

* {{Doorstopper}}: He was so infamous for it that his name has actually entered the Russian language to mean a very long book.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/leo_tolstoy.jpg]]

-->--'''Leo Tolstoy''', "Three Methods Of Reform" in ''Pamphlets: Translated from the Russian'' (translated by Aylmer Maude)

* ''The Death of Ivan Ilyich'' (1886): A novella written shortly after his spiritual awakening. It tells the story of a high-court judge in 19th-century Russia succumbing to a terminal illness.

Tolstoy was born on 9 September 1828 at Yasnaya Polyana in the Tula province, and descended from a well-known Russian noble family. He was the fourth of five children of Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (1794-1837), a veteran of the Patriotic War of 1812; and Printess Mariya Tolstaya (née Volkonskaya; 1790–1830). They died when he was very young, and they left their children to be raised by their relatives.

He received his primary education at home, at the hands of French and German tutors. In 1843, he studied Oriental languages and law at the University of Kazan but failing to excel as a student and prone to drinking, visiting brothels, and gambling, he ultimately left the university without attaining a degree. He attempt university exams again in the hopes of obtaining a position with the government, but he ended up in Caucusus serving in the army following in the footsteps of his elder brother in 1851. It was during this time that Tolstoy began writing.

After the defense of Sebastopol, he wrote ''The Sebastopol Sketches'' (1855-6), which established his reputation as a writer. After a period in St Petersburg and abroad, where he studied educational methods for use in his school for peasant children in Yasnaya Polyana, he married Sophie Andreyevna Behrs, mostly called Sonya, in 1862. They had thirteen children, and Sonya acted as Tolstoy's secretary, proofreader, and financial manager. In the meantime, Tolstoy continued his educational projects, cared for his peasants, and wrote ''War and Peace'' (1865-1868) and ''Anna Karenina'' (1874-6).

* ''Literature/AnnaKarenina'' (1878): Another novel in eight parts with more than a dozen major characters. It is centered on an extramarital affair between Anna Karenina and the cavalry officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky. The affair scandalized the social circles of St Petersburg, forcing the two lovers to flee to Italy in search of happiness. When they return to Russia, their lives further unravel.

He received his primary education at home, at the hands of French and German tutors. In 1843, he studied Oriental languages and law at the University of Kazan, but failing to excel as a student and prone drinking, visiting brothels, and gambling, he ultimately left the university without attaining a degree. He attempt university exams again in the hopes of obtaining a position with the government, but he ended but up in Caucusus serving in the army following in the footsteps of his elder brother in 1851. It was during this time that Tolstoy began writing.

After the defense of Sebastopol, he wrote ''The Sebastopol Sketches'' (1855-6), which established his reputation as a writer. After a period in St Petersburg and abroad, where he studied educational methods for use in his school for peasant children in Yasnaya Polyana, he married Sophie Andreyevna Behrs, mostly called Sonya, in 1862. They had thirteen children, and Sonya acted as Tolstoy's secretary, proofreader, and financial manager. At the meantime, Tolstoy continued his educational projects, cared for his peasants, and wrote ''War and Peace'' (1865-1868) and ''Anna Karenina'' (1874-6).

Upon completing Anna Karenina, Tolstoy fell into a profound state of existential despair, and then experienced a profound spiritual awakening. Around 1879-82, Tolstoy wrote ''A Confession'', which marked a change in his life and works. Tolstoy even wrote a series of pamphlets after 1880 in which he espoused indictment to the demands of the flesh, nonviolent resistance, and denunciation of private property, something his wife strongly objected to. This strained their marriage, and Tolstoy eventually conceded his wife the copyrights — and the royalties — to all of his pre-1881 writings. His spiritual awakening also led Tolstoy to become an unorthodox Christian; he rejected the sacraments, miracles, the Holy Trinity, and all other doctrines of the Christian faith. He also rejected the Old Testament and much of the New Testament, accepting only the Sermon on the Mount and nothing more, even composing his own "corrected" version of the Gospels, in which Jesus is portrayed as a merely wise man who arrived at a true account of life. His unorthodox Christian beliefs, also expounded in ''Resurrection'' (1899), led to his eventual excommunication by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1901.

* ''Literature/AnnaKarenina'' (1878): Another novel in eight parts with more than a dozen major characters. It is centered on an extramarital affair between Anna Karenina and the cavalry officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky. The affair scandalized the social circles of St Petersburg, forcing the two lovers to flee to Italy in a search for happiness. When they return to Russia, their lives further unravel.

!!Leo Tolstoy's body of work provide examples of:

* ActualPacifist: This is frequently debated in his work, as the man himself became a die-hard pacifist in the later part of his life. In fact, his book ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kingdom_of_God_Is_Within_You The Kingdom of God Is Within You]]'' heavily influenced UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and {{inverted|Trope}} in ''What is Art?'' with Tolstoy arguing that beauty more often coincide with amorality and immorality than with goodness.

* CreatorBacklash: Tolstoy grew to '''despise''' much of his early work, which he came to viewed as nothing more then vain attempts at getting recognition with no true artistic passion invoked behind them. He also had a pretty low opinion on the quality of his work in general.

* RealMenLoveJesus: Tolstoy was a devout Orthodox Christian, though he had grievances with the Russian Orthodox Church. The Church became the main object of his attacks in a couple of his writings, which led to his excommunication 20 February 1901.

* CreatorBacklash: Tolstoy grew to '''despise''' much of his early work, which he came to viewed as nothing more vain attempts at getting recognition with no true artistic passion invoked behind them. He also had a pretty low opinion on the quality of his work in general.

-->--'''Leo Tolstoy''', "Three Methods Of Reform" in ''Pamphlets: Translated from the Russian'' (translated by Aylmer Maude)

Tolstoy was born on 9 September 1828 at Yasnaya Polyana in the Tula province, and descended from a well-known Russian noble family. He was the fourth of five children of Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (1794-1837), a veteran of the Patriotic War of 1812; and Printess Mariya Tolstaya (née Volkonskaya; 1790–1830). They died when he was very young, and they left their children to be raised by their relatives.

Upon completing Anna Karenina, Tolstoy fell into a profound state of existential despair, and then experienced a profound spiritual awakening. Around 1879-82, Tolstoy wrote ''A Confession'', which marked a change in his life and works. Tolstoy even wrote a series of pamphlets after 1880 in which he espoused indictment to the demands of the flesh, nonviolent resistance, and denunciation of private property, something his wife strongly objected to. This strained their marriage, and Tolstoy eventually conceded his wife the copyrights — and the royalties — to all of his pre-1881 writings. His spiritual awakening also led Tolstoy to become an unorthodox Christian; he rejected the sacraments, miracles, the Holy Trinity, and all other doctrines of the Christian faith. He also rejected the Old Testament and much of the New Testament, accepting only the Sermon on the Mount and nothing more, even composing his own "corrected" version of the Gospels, in which Jesus is portrayed as a merely wise man who arrived at a true account of life. His unorthodox Christian beliefs, also expounded in ''Resurrection'' (1899), led to his eventual excommunication by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1901.