Interesting Leo Tolstoy Facts You Probably Didn't Know About!

Whether for 'War And Peace' or 'Anna Karenina,' Tolstoy's name is known far and wide.

This Russian writer and radical thinker had his own ways and was known for his magical writing style. Born in the 19th century, his works are appreciated around the world.

Leo Tolstoy is one of the greatest writers to have ever lived. He was a very unusual person and had some radical views.

Did you know that he was not at all a fan of Shakespeare? Leo Tolstoy was otherwise very appreciative of his contemporaries and people relevant to the literary world before his birth. Still, the one person who he could not stand was Shakespeare.

Born into nobility, Leo Tolstoy was given some luxuries in life. These luxuries, such as a home tutor and an extensive library, created a foundation upon which this writer built his own empire.

Leto Tolstoy was respected in literary circles not only in Russia but of the world, and for a good reason. Tolstoy has given us some amazing pieces, such as 'War And Peace,' 'The Cossacks And Childhood,' and 'Anna Karenina,' which continue to inspire people. Keep reading to learn more about Leo Tolstoy.

What is Leo Tolstoy known for?

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a very celebrated Russian author and novelist. He is known to have been way ahead of his time in more ways than one, and hence, he was both criticized and revered in Russian society.

Born into a wealthy family, Leo Tolstoy was the fourth of five children in the household. He and his siblings lost their parents at a very young age, and Leo Tolstoy was brought up by his relatives.

Even though he signed up to study law, Leo Tolstoy eventually understood that this was not his career path. For this reason, he left his education and joined the army.

As with any person born into a wealthy family in Russia in the 19th century, Leo Tolstoy was given proper education. He was adept in many foreign languages, which he could both read and write quite skillfully.

Leo Tolstoy was studying at Kazan University when he realized that this was not what he wanted to do.

As a child, he was homeschooled and became very good at speaking and writing in an array of languages. This eventually became the reason why Leo Tolstoy had a library that contained thousands of books in many different languages from around the world.

After dropping out of college in 1847, Leo Tolstoy joined the army in 1851, which gave him plenty of time to pursue his passion for writing. His elder brother was already in the military.

This Russian novelist started writing formally during his time in the army. He wrote an autobiographical piece called 'Childhood.' This literary piece was enough for the learned circles of Russia to understand that Leo Tolstoy had unmatched talent.

He is now remembered as one of the greatest writers in literary history. However, his editor would have remembered him for different reasons.

While Tolstoy had an undeniable flair for writing, he was not particularly well-off in the handwriting sector. His handwriting was so bad that his editor could not make out his words.

Eventually, Tolstoy's wife had to take charge and rewrite all his sheets. This got to such a point that the writer's wife even rewrote his diaries so that future generations would not get as frustrated as the editor.

He is known to have been an inspiration behind many radical thinkers and leaders of the world, such as Mahatma Gandhi. In fact, Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi were pen pals.

They exchanged many letters throughout the years, and Leo Tolstoy instilled the values of non-violence into this world leader. However, Mahatma Gandhi was not the only pen pal that Leo Tolstoy had. He also maintained correspondence with several other fans and kept in touch with everyone in his own ways.

He was a believer in the Russian orthodox church for the majority of his life. However, the Russian orthodox church eventually had him excommunicated based on some suspicions.

Leo Tolstoy is most famous for his books 'War And Peace' and 'Anna Karenina.' These novels are based on very different topics and are incredibly long.

Leo Tolstoy was one of the very few people from the literary world who did not want a Nobel Prize. He was convinced that he did not want the award. This conviction was such that when Leo Tolstoy came to know that he was nominated for a Nobel Prize, he had his nomination removed.

He believed that if he did get the Nobel Prize, he would have to go through much more trouble in turning it down. Let's say that Leo Tolstoy was one of a kind.

What was interesting about Leo Tolstoy's life?

It is not hard to believe that the man behind masterpieces such as 'War And Peace' and 'Anna Karenina' was very unusual. Keeping in touch with the general view that all the world's greatest writers were a little radical and ahead of their time, Leo Tolstoy created an image that no other writer in the Russian empire could beat.

Leo Tolstoy was the fourth of the five children that Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy and Countess Mariya Tolstaya had. He was named Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy at birth.

He went on to father 13 children of his own. Since he was born into a wealthy family, Tolstoy was homeschooled and had knowledge of many different languages. This Russian writer led a very remarkable life and was known for his many radical thoughts.

Leo Tolstoy favored poverty and even wrote in favor of it. His idealization of poverty eventually reached a point where he would start to decline the right of authors to his own works.

This, understandably, was something that his wife saw as a threat to the family's future, and hence, she had to swerve Tolstoy from these unusual practices. He was also very fond of the countryside, which was where he was born. Tolstoy was raised by his relatives and spent plenty of time in such settings.

In fact, before Leo Tolstoy married Sophia Tolstaya, he was deeply in love with a peasant girl. His love for this peasant girl named Aksinya also became his inspiration behind the depiction of men having desires for women. These depictions can be found in literary pieces such as 'The Devil' and 'Tikhon And Malanya.'

Leo Tolstoy was a staunch believer in the practices of the Russian Orthodox church. He was baptized and was a religious man all his life.

However, when he started some of the church's practices, the Russian orthodox church excommunicated him. Leo Tolstoy was a believer in non-violent methods of administration, and hence when the Tsar was assassinated, he asked for mercy for the perpetrators.

While he placed his argument in such a way that it would be an act of mercy on behalf of God, the Russian empire took it as a suggestion in support of terrorism. This put his image in question, and the Russian empire started to see Leo Tolstoy as a mere strange writer.

Vegetarianism was not a common practice in Russia at the time. However, Leo Tolstoy was always ahead of his period.

He became a vegetarian after he turned 50 and refrained from eating non-vegetarian food anytime afterward. When Leo Tolstoy was nominated for a Nobel Prize by the Russian Academy of Sciences, he had them remove the nomination altogether.

He did not start writing 'War And Peace' with a clear intention that it would become a depiction of Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The event that he wanted to write about was completely different, but he had to change his train of thought as the writing process went on.

How many languages did Leo Tolstoy know?

Since he was born into Russian nobility, Leo Tolstoy had access to some of the best facilities from a very young age. This essentially meant that the young Tolstoy was homeschooled and given all the education he could possibly think of.

Tolstoy became very skilled in just the mainstream languages such as English, German, and French. He was also adept in other languages of the world, such as Greek, Latin, Italian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Spanish, and Turkish.

Since he was capable of reading and writing in so many languages, Leo Tolstoy could also maintain a collection of over 23,000 books. These books were written in around 39 languages, which adds to his marvel and many other talents of this remarkable man.

Tolstoy also believed that he was a teacher at heart. When the new Russian act asked for farmers to leave their farmlands and move to cities, their children were left without a way to get educated.

For this reason, Tolstoy started a school on his own family estate and started teaching basics to children from surrounding villages. As this venture became successful, he also opened other schools in neighboring areas so that everyone could benefit from them.

Leo Tolstoy's Famous Works

While all of Leo Tolstoy's works are treated as masterpieces, there are a few that everyone should read. His novels are definitely a commitment in terms of the time they require, but Tolstoy's words are sure to work their magic on you.

'Anna Karenina' is invariably one of Tolstoy's most famous works. This beautiful novel was written in 1877 and revolved around a woman in contemporary Russian society.

'Anna Karenina' was also appreciated by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. 'War And Peace' is a gigantic novel that is surely not for anyone who is looking for a light read. This novel consists of over 1,000 pages and is about Napoleon's invasion of Russia.

'Kreutzer Sonata' was a novella written in 1889. It was about the hypocrisy in marriage conventions. It was censored by the authorities for the radical views that it upheld. His 'Death Of Ivan Ilyich' revolves around the theme of death.

This novella was also behind Tolstoy's excommunication by the Russian Orthodox Church. Tolstoy started writing 'The Cossacks' when he joined the army. It also shows some aspects of his own life and desire for a peasant woman.