Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910) was a Russian writer and one of the most influential authors of all time. Best known for War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878), he crafted some of the greatest realist novels ever written. Born into an aristocratic family at Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy first gained recognition with Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852 – 1856) and Sevastopol Sketches (1855), based on his experiences in the Crimean War.
In the 1870s, he underwent a deep moral and spiritual crisis, leading him to embrace a philosophy of Christian anarchism and nonviolence, rejecting material wealth and social privilege. His ideas, detailed in The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894), profoundly influenced figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
Tolstoy’s later works, such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886) and Resurrection (1899), reflected his philosophical shift toward moral introspection and social justice. Despite being nominated for the Nobel Prize multiple times, he never won, which remains a major literary controversy.
His personal life was complex; married to Sophia Andreevna Behrs, they had 13 children. However, ideological conflicts strained their relationship. In his final years, Tolstoy attempted to renounce his wealth and live humbly, ultimately dying while traveling away from his estate. His legacy as a literary and philosophical giant endures.