Legacy of Leo Tolstoy

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

print Print
Please select which sections you would like to print:
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Also known as: Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Leo Tolstoi
Quick Facts
Tolstoy also spelled:
Tolstoi
Russian in full:
Lev Nikolayevich, Graf (count) Tolstoy
Born:
August 28 [September 9, New Style], 1828, Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, Russian Empire
Died:
November 7 [November 20], 1910, Astapovo, Ryazan province
Also Known As:
Leo Tolstoi
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy
Movement / Style:
realism

In contrast to other psychological writers, such as Dostoyevsky, who specialized in unconscious processes, Tolstoy described conscious mental life with unparalleled mastery. His name has become synonymous with an appreciation of contingency and of the value of everyday activity. Oscillating between skepticism and dogmatism, Tolstoy explored the most-diverse approaches to human experience. Above all, his greatest works, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, endure as the summit of realist fiction.

Gary Saul Morson The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica