Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoi 1828-1910 In full Lev Nikolayevich, Count Tolstoy Leo Tolstoy was born at Yasnya Polyana, in the Tula Province. His father’s family was new to Russia. The grand duke of Moscow, at the time, gave the name “Tolstoy” to the family. The word “tolstoy”, in russian, literally means fat. His parents died when he was a child, and relatives were left to bring him up. Tolstoy started his studies of law and oriental …

…his estate to his family, and attempted to live as a poor, celibate peasant. Attracted by Tolstoy's writings, Yasnaya Polyana was visited by hundreds of people from all over the world. In 1901 the Russian Orthodox Church excommunicated him. Tolstoy died of pneumonia on November 7 in 1910 at a remote railway junction after leaving his estate on the urge to live as a wandering ascetic. His collected works,which were published in Soviet Union, consist of 90 volumes.