In 1906, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy refused to consider him as a candidate for the Nobel Prize. The writer explained this with his attitude to money, but the public perceived the refusal as another waywardness of the count. Below are a few more "quirks" of Leo Tolstoy …
One of the most colorful scenes by Anna Karenina is the description of the haymaking, during which Konstantin Levin (whom Lev Nikolayevich, as you know, in many respects painted from himself) works in the field along with the peasants. But Tolstoy glorified physical labor not only through his heroes, but also through his own example. Working in the field side by side with peasants was not an extravagant lordly hobby for him, he sincerely loved and respected hard physical labor.
In addition, Tolstoy gladly and, what is important, skillfully sewed boots, which he later gave to relatives, mowed the grass and plowed the land, surprising the local peasants watching him and upsetting his wife.
Yes, not with anyone, but with Ivan Turgenev. It is worth saying that Tolstoy in his youth and even in adulthood was very far from the image of a wise and calm old man we are used to today, calling for humility and lack of conflict. In his youth, the count was categorical in his judgments, straightforward, and sometimes even rude. An example of this is his conflict with Turgenev.
Rumor has it that one of the reasons for the discord was the "love affair" between Turgenev and Countess Maria Nikolaevna, Tolstoy's beloved sister. But the final disagreement between them happened when both writers were visiting the house of Afanasy Fet. Judging by the memoirs of the latter, the reason for the squabble was Turgenev's story about his daughter's governess, who, for educational purposes, forced her to mend the ragged clothes of beggars.
To Tolstoy, this manner seemed too ostentatious, which he informed his interlocutor with straightforwardness and ardor. The verbal squabble almost led to a fight - Turgenev promised Tolstoy "to give in the face", and he, in turn, challenged him to a duel. Fortunately, they did not shoot themselves - Turgenev apologized, Tolstoy accepted them, but there was a long discord in their relationship. Only seventeen years later, Turgenev came to Yasnaya Polyana to the enlightened and no longer so hot-tempered Tolstoy.
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In 1882, a population census was held in Moscow. It is interesting that Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy took part in it on a voluntary basis. The count wanted to learn about poverty in Moscow, to see how people live here, in order to somehow help the poor townspeople with money and deed. For his purposes, he chose one of the most difficult and disadvantaged metropolitan areas - at the Smolensk market on Protochny lane, which housed the shelters and shelters of poverty.
I. E. Repin. Leo Tolstoy in the vaulted room. 1891
In addition to social analysis, Tolstoy also pursued charitable goals, he wanted to raise money, help the poor with work, arrange their children in schools, and the elderly in shelters. Tolstoy personally bypassed the hostels and filled out the census cards, and in addition raised the problems of the disorder of the poor in the press and the city council. The result was his article "So what should we do?" and "On the census in Moscow" with calls for help and support for the poor.
Over the years, Tolstoy became more and more enthralled by spiritual quests, and he pays less and less attention to everyday life, in almost everything striving for asceticism and "simplification." The count is engaged in hard peasant labor, sleeps on the bare floor and walks barefoot until the very cold, thereby emphasizing his closeness to the people. This is exactly how - on bare feet, in a belted peasant shirt, simple pants - Ilya Repin captured him in his painting.
I. E. Repin. Leo Tolstoy barefoot. 1901 year
He described it in the same way in a letter to his daughter: "No matter how humiliated this giant, no matter what perishable rags he covers his mighty body, Zeus is always visible in him, from whose eyebrows the whole Olympus trembles."
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy plays the Russian folk game small towns, Yasnaya Polyana, 1909
Lev Nikolaevich maintained physical vigor and fortitude until the very last days. The reason for this is the count's passionate love for sports and all kinds of physical exercises, which, in his opinion, were necessary, especially for those who are engaged in mental work.
Tolstoy's favorite discipline was walking; it is known that already at the rather respectable age of sixty, he made three pedestrian transitions from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana. In addition, the count was fond of speed skating, mastered the bicycle, horse riding, swimming, every morning he began with gymnastics.
Writer Lev Tolstoy learns to ride a bicycle in the former Manege building (magazine "Cyclist", 1895).
Tolstoy was passionately fond of pedagogy and even set up a school for peasant children on his estate in Yasnaya Polyana. It is interesting that a largely experimental approach to teaching was practiced there - Tolstoy did not put discipline at the forefront, but rather supported the theory of free education - the children sat in his lessons as they wanted, there was no specific program, but the classes were very fruitful. Tolstoy not only personally studied with students, but also published children's books, including his own "ABC".
The conflict between Tolstoy and the Orthodox Church became one of the strangest and saddest pages in the writer's biography. The last two decades of Tolstoy's life were marked by his final disillusionment with church faith and rejection of Orthodox dogmas. The writer questioned the authority of the official church and was critical of the clergy, insisting on a broader understanding of religion. Thus, his break with the church was a foregone conclusion - in response to public criticism of Tolstoy and a series of publications devoted to the topic of religion, the Synod excommunicated him in 1901.
Already at the old age of 82, the writer decided to leave to wander, leaving his estate, leaving his wife and children. In a farewell letter to his Countess Sophia, Tolstoy writes: “I can no longer live in those conditions of luxury in which I lived, and I do what old people of my age usually do: they leave worldly life to live in solitude and silence for the last days own life.
Accompanied by his personal doctor Dusan Makovitsky, the count leaves Yasnaya Polyana and goes on wanderings without a specific goal. Having stopped at Optics Pustyn 'and Kozelsk, he decides to go south to his niece, from where he plans to move further to the Caucasus. But the last journey ended as soon as it began: on the way, Tolstoy caught a cold and caught pneumonia - on November 7, Lev Nikolayevich died in the house of the head of the Astapovo railway station.
Dmitry Nazarov