Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828–1910), usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. He 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.
Born to an aristocratic Russian family in 1828, Tolstoy is best known for the novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878), often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction. 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. His 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. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894), had a profound impact on such pivotal 20th-century figures as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. He also became a dedicated advocate of Georgism, the economic philosophy of Henry George, which he incorporated into his writing, particularly Resurrection (1899).
Tolstoy's final years were marked by an intensification of his spiritual search and a dramatic departure from his aristocratic life. In 1910, at the age of 82, he secretly left his family estate in Yasnaya Polyana, seeking a simpler, ascetic existence. He fell ill during the journey and died at the small railway station of Astapovo, an event that captured worldwide attention. Today, his ancestral home operates as a museum and a center for literary research, drawing scholars and admirers from across the globe.
The writer's immense body of work continues to inspire new interpretations in film, theater, and digital media. Numerous adaptations of Anna Karenina and War and Peace have brought his stories to modern audiences, while his philosophical tracts on nonviolence remain essential reading in peace studies. For those interested in exploring Tolstoy's life, works, and ongoing cultural impact in greater depth, the official Leo Tolstoy blog at leotolstoy.blog offers curated articles, and historical insights. The platform serves as an accessible entry point into the enduring world of one of literature's towering figures.
Photos
Movies (150)
War and Peace
2027 · Book
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
2026 · Book
Masha and the Bears
2025 · Story
Family Happiness
2025 · Book
Семейное cчастье (Semeynoe schaste)
2025 · Book
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
2024 · Book
Anna Karenina
2023 · Novel
Guerra e pace (Teatro) - Prima parte
2021 · Novel
Guerra e pace (Teatro) - Seconda parte
2021 · Novel
Resurrection
2019 · Novel
Anna Karenina. The Intimate Diary
2019 · Story
Dark as the Night. Anna Karenina
2019 · Characters
Anna Karenina. Vronsky's Story
2017 · Novel
Winter Thaw
2016 · Novel
The Woman Who Left
2016 · Original Story
Anna Karenina
2012 · Novel
Boxing Day
2012 · Story
2 Jacks
2012 · Story
Greed Eats the Soul
2009 · Original Story
Anna Karenina
2009 · Novel
The Kreutzer Sonata
2008 · Novel
A Day in the Country
2008 · Original Story
Chouga
2007 · Novel
Tolstoy: The Man Behind Anna
2007 · Self (archive footage)
Frozen Land
2005 · Novel
Leo Tolstoy - Larger than the others
2003 · Self (archive footage)
Resurrection
2001 · Novel
ivans xtc.
2000 · Novel
Anna Karenina
1997 · Novel
Why?
1996 · Author
Prisoner of the Mountains
1996 · Story
Flammen der Liebe
1995 · Novel
Beautiful Stranger
1993 · Novel
War and Peace
1991 · Book
The Story of a Horse
1989 · Novel
The Light Shines in the Darkness
1988 · Original Story
The Kreutzer Sonata
1987 · Novel
Kreutzer Sonata
1987 · Book
The Living Corpse
1987 · Author
The Old Alphabet
1987 · Novel
Anna Karenina
1985 · Novel
A Simple Death
1985 · Novel
Albert
1985 · Novel
L'Argent
1983 · Story
Swans
1983 · Book
أشياء ضد القانون
1982 · Novel
The Living Corpse
1981 · Story
The Jump
1980 · Short Story
A Question Of Faith
1979 · Novel
Cinema in Russia
1979 · Archive footage
The Power of Darkness
1978 · Author
Father Sergius
1978 · Novel, Music
Caucasian Story
1977 · Story
Martin the Cobbler
1977 · Short Story
Green, Bygone...
1976 · Short Story
Anna Karenina
1975 · Novel
Caucasian Prisoner
1975 · Novel
Childhood. Boyhood. Youth
1973 · Story
St. Michael Had a Rooster
1972 · Novel
Family Happiness
1971 · Book
Dalal Al-Masria
1970 · Novel
The Living Corpse
1969 · Theatre Play
Scarabea – How Much Land Does a Man Need?
1969 · Novel
Anna Karenina
1967 · Novel
War and Peace, Part IV: Pierre Bezukhov
1967 · Novel
War and Peace, Part III: The Year 1812
1967 · Novel
War and Peace, Part II: Natasha Rostova
1966 · Novel
War and Peace
1966 · Novel
War and Peace, Part I: Andrei Bolkonsky
1966 · Novel
Iván Iljics halála
1965 · Novel
The Power of Darkness
1965 · Original Story
Posle bala
1962 · Short Story
Anna Karenina
1961 · Novel
The Cossacks
1961 · Novel
Resurrection
1960 · Novel
The River of Love
1960 · Novel
Also People
1960 · Novel
The White Warrior
1959 · Novel
Polikuschka
1958 · Story
Resurrection
1958 · Novel
The Unforgettable Night
1958 · Novel
The Three Bears
1958 · Short Story
Forbidden Love
1958 · Novel
Los ojos del siglo (Volumen I)
1957 · Él mismo (material de archivo)
War and Peace
1956 · Novel
Locura pasional
1956 · Novel
The Kreutzer Sonata
1956 · Short Story
Anna
1955 · Original Story
Resurrection
1955 · Original Story
Anna Karenina
1953 · Novel
The Living Corpse
1952 · Theatre Play
Paris 1900
1948 · Self (archive footage)
Anna Karenina
1948 · Novel
Lovers Without Love
1948 · Novel
Celos
1946 · Novel
Resurrección
1943 · Novel
What Men Live By
1938 · Short Story
White Nights in Saint Petersburg
1938 · Novel
Anna Karenina
1935 · Novel
We Live Again
1934 · Novel
The Woman of the Port
1934 · Story
Resurrection
1931 · Novel
Resurrection
1931 · Original Story
Her Boy
1930 · Short Story
Redemption
1930 · Novel
The White Devil
1930 · Novel
The Living Corpse
1929 · Theatre Play
Cossacks
1928 · Novel
The Cossacks
1928 · Novel
Love
1927 · Novel
Resurrection
1927 · Novel
The Kreutzer Sonata
1927 · Story
Resurrection
1926 · Novel
Die Macht der Finsternis
1924 · Theatre Play
Auferstehung. Katjuscha Maslowa
1923 · Story
Man by the Roadside
1923 · Novel
Résurrection
1923 · Story
Polikushka
1922 · Story
Die Kreutzersonate
1922 · Story
Anna Karenina
1920 · Novel
Atonement
1919 · Story
Anna Karenina
1918 · Novel
A Corpse Living
1918 · Theatre Play
Father Sergius
1918 · Novel
Der lebende Leichnam
1918 · Story
The Living Corpse
1918 · Story
Resurrezione
1918 · Novel
Anna Karenine
1917 · Novel
Master and Servant
1917 · Book
The Weakness of Man
1916 · Theatre Play
A Woman's Resurrection
1915 · Novel
Anna Karenina
1915 · Novel
Kreutzer Sonata
1915 · Novel
War and Peace
1915 · Novel
Natasha Rostova
1915 · Novel
Die Erkenntnis
1915 · Book
The Kreutzer Sonata
1914 · Novel
Katyusha
1914 · Story
Anna Karenina
1914 · Novel
Master and Servant
1912 · Book
Anna Karenina
1912 · Novel
The Living Corpse
1911 · Theatre Play
The First Distiller
1911 · Theatre Play
Anna Karenina
1911 · Novel
The Kreutzer Sonata
1911 · Story
The Power of Darkness
1909 · Theatre Play
Count Tolstoi
1909 · Self (as Comte Léon Tolstoï)
Resurrection
1909 · Novel
Coming to You
· Novel
Papa Panov's Special Christmas
· Original Story
TV shows (13)
Linhas Cruzadas
2021 · Novel
Anna Karenina
2017 · Novel
Guerra & Paz
2016 · Book
Anna Karenina
2013 · Novel
Resurrection
2011 · Novel
Nesmrteľní
2010 · Novel
La guerra y la paz
2007 · Novel, Creator
Anna Karenina
2000 · Novel
ჰაჯი მურატი
1983 · Novel
Anna Karenina
1974 · Novel, Creator
Lemmi and the Bookworms
1973 · Story
War & Peace
1972 · Novel
Anna K
· Original Story