Complete Works of Leo Tolstoy: Text, Summary, Motifs and Notes (Annotated)

Born to an aristocratic Russian family in 1828, [3] he is best known for the novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877), [4] often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction.[3] He first achieved literary acclaim in his twenties with his semi-autobiographical trilogy, Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852-1856), and Sevastopol Sketches (1855), based upon his experiences in the Crimean War. Tolstoy's fiction includes dozens of short stories and several novellas such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886), Family Happiness (1859), and Hadji Murad (1912). He also wrote plays and numerous philosophical essays. In the 1870s Tolstoy experienced a profound moral crisis, followed by what he regarded as an equally profound spiritual awakening, as outlined in his non-fiction work A Confession (1882). His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him to become a fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist.[3] Tolstoy's ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894), were to have a profound impact on such pivotal 20th-century figures as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, [5] and Martin Luther King, Jr.[6] Tolstoy also became a dedicated advocate of Georgism, the economic philosophy of Henry George, which he incorporated into his writing, particularly Resurrection (1899). Origins The Tolstoys were a well-known family of old Russian nobility who traced their ancestry to a mythical nobleman named Indris described by Pyotr Tolstoy as arriving "from Nemec, from the lands of Caesar" to Chernigov in 1353 along with his two sons Litvinos (or Litvonis) and Zimonten (or Zigmont) and a druzhina of 3000 people.[7][8] While the word "Nemec" has been long used to describe Germans only, back in the days it was applied to any foreigner who didn't speak Russian (from the word nemoy meaning mute).[9] Indris was then converted to Eastern Orthodoxy under the name of Leonty and his sons -- as Konstantin and Feodor, respectively. Konstantin's grandson Andrei Kharitonovich was nicknamed Tolstiy (translated as fat) by Vasily II of Moscow after he moved from Chernigov to Moscow.[7][8] Because of the pagan names and the fact that Chernigov at the time was ruled by Demetrius I Starshy some researches concluded that they were Lithuanians who arrived from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then part of the State of the Teutonic Order.[7][10][11] At the same time, no mention of Indris was ever found in the 14th - 16th-century documents, while the Chernigov Chronicles used by Pyotr Tolstoy as a reference were lost.[7] The first documented members of the Tolstoy family also lived during the 17th century, thus Pyotr Tolstoy himself is generally considered the founder of the noble house, being granted the title of count by Peter the Great

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Tolstoy was born at Yasnaya Polyana, a family estate 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southwest of Tula, Russia, and 200 kilometers (120 mi) south of Moscow. He was the fourth of five children of Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy (1794-1837), a veteran of the Patriotic War of 1812, and Countess Mariya Tolstaya (née Volkonskaya; 1790-1830). After his mother died when he was two and his father when he was nine, [14] Tolstoy and his siblings were brought up by relatives.[3] In 1844, he began studying law and oriental languages at Kazan University. His time there was not a success however, with teachers describing him as "both unable and unwilling to learn."[14] Tolstoy left the university in the middle of his studies, [14] returned to Yasnaya Polyana and then spent much of his time in Moscow, Tula and Saint Petersburg, leading a lax and leisurely lifestyle.[3] He began writing during this period, [14] including his first novel Childhood, a fictitious account of his own youth, which was published in 1852.[3] In 1851, after running up heavy gambling debts, he went with his older brother to the Caucasus and joined the army. Tolstoy served as a young artillery officer during the Crimean War and was in Sevastopol during the 11-month-long siege of Sevastopol in 1854-55, [15] including the Battle of the Chernaya. During the war he was recognised for his bravery and courage and promoted to lieutenant.[15] He was appalled by the number of deaths involved in warfare, [14] and left the army after the end of the Crimean War.