Childhood and youth

Young Leo Tolstoy
Tolstoy returned to his family nest - Yasnaya Polyana. He had a plan to start his life anew, to live in harmony with the peasants. Nothing came of this idea, but during this period he recorded all observations in a diary and drew conclusions. In addition, young Count Tolstoy was often seen at social events and playing music. He could listen to his favorite composers like Frederic Chopin, Johann Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for hours.
Leo spent the summer at his house, realizing that he did not like the life of the landlord. He left the village and immediately settled in Moscow, and then moved to St. Petersburg. At this time, he tried to make a decision in life, so he diligently prepared to pass candidacy exams at the university, was engaged in music, played cards and crossed paths with gypsies. He wanted to go to the authorities at the same time, and then to the junker of the horse regiment. His relatives saw him as a "little bastard" who was good for nothing and never had time to pay his debts.


LITERATURE
In 1851, Leo listened to the advice of his brother Nikolai, who at that time had the rank of an officer, and left for the Caucasus. For three years he lived at a station scattered along the Terek River. Later, Tolstoy colorfully described the local nature and lifestyle of the Cossacks in his works - "Haji-Murat", "Cossacks", "forest cutting", "raid".
Leo Tolstoy in the process of creation
It was when he lived in the Caucasus that his story "Childhood" was born, which was published by "Sovremennik" magazine. Tolstoy did not sign his surname, the initials of L. N. were under the publication. After that, the young writer created a continuation of the story called "Adolescence" and "Youth". These stories were combined into a trilogy. The debut in literature was successful and gave a strong impetus to the development of a creative biography. Leo Tolstoy became a famous writer.
Soon, Leo Tolstoy was assigned to Bucharest, then he was in the besieged Sevastopol, commanding a battery. These events in life did not go unnoticed, the writer reflected them in his works. "Stories of Sevastopol" were published, which were highly appreciated by critics. They found Brave psychological analysis in the cycle of stories. According to Nikolay Chernyshevsky, these stories were characterized by a "dialectic of the soul". Emperor Alexander II himself admired the creative abilities of the writer, he especially liked the story "Sevastopol in December".
In 1855, Leo Tolstoy settled again in Petersburg and became a member of the Sovremennik circle. The 28-year-old writer was warmly received, he was called "the great hope of Russian literature". For a year, Lev attended all the meetings of the circle, participated in literary readings, entered into disputes and disputes, participated in literary dinners. That was until he realized that people didn't like him and he wasn't happy with himself anymore.
Leo Tolstoy is surrounded by other writers in Sovremennik
In 1856, he left Petersburg and settled again in Yasnaya Polyana. But he stayed there until January 1857 and went abroad. For six months, he visited Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France. After returning, Tolstoy lived for a short time in Moscow, and then again settled in Yasnaya Polyana. He put forward the idea of teaching the children of peasants, and Leo began to open educational institutions for them with great zeal. Thanks to the writer's efforts, twenty schools soon opened around his property.
In 1860, Tolstoy went abroad again. He visited Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and later studied the nuances of the pedagogy of these countries in order to use what he saw in his homeland.
Tolstoy loved children and created many instructive fairy tales and stories for them, breathing Kindness. From his pen came out fairy tales called "Two Brothers", "Kitten", "Lion and Dog", "Hedgehog and Rabbit".