“In the midst of a noisy ball, by chance...” No, I heard this romance later, but first there were “My Bells, Flowers of the Steppe!”, the bewitching fairy tale “Sadko”. In my youth, “Prince Silver” made a special impression on me. I was worried and couldn’t calm down for several weeks.
Alexei's mother was the illegitimate daughter of Count A.K. Razumovsky, Anna Alekseevna Perovskaya. Anna was raised in the Razumovsky family and married Count Tolstoy in 1816.
But the marriage most likely was not according to mutual sympathy, the widowed count was much older than his wife. As soon as they got married, Alexei Tolstoy’s parents began to quarrel and separated soon after his birth.
Tolstoy's uncle on his father's side was the medalist artist Fyodor Tolstoy.
But the boy was raised by his mother and her brother, the then famous writer A. Perovsky, who wrote under the pseudonym Antony Pogorelsky.
Alexey spent his childhood on the estate of his mother and then his maternal uncle in Ukraine in the village of Pogoreltsy.
Later, Tolstoy himself wrote in: “For another six weeks I was taken to Little Russia by my mother and my maternal uncle, Alexei Alekseevich Perovsky, who was later a trustee Kharkov University and known in Russian literature under the pseudonym Anton Pogorelsky. He raised me, and my first years were spent on his estate.”
Alexey got a good one. From the age of 10, the boy was taken abroad. So in 1826 he went to Germany with his mother and uncle. An event took place there that Tolstoy remembered for the rest of his life - while visiting Weimar, the family visited Goethe, and Alexei sat on the lap of the great German writer.
The trip to Italy made a great impression on the boy. As he himself later wrote: “We started in Venice, where my uncle made significant acquisitions in the old Grimani Palace. From Venice we went to Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples - and in each of these cities my enthusiasm and love for art grew in me, so that upon returning to Russia I fell into a real “homesickness”, a kind of hopelessness, as a result of which I did not want to eat anything during the day, and cried at night when my dreams carried me to my lost paradise.”
When Tolstoy was 8 years old, he, his mother and uncle moved to St. Petersburg. Close friend uncle, the Russian poet V. Zhukovsky introduced Alexei to the Tsarevich, and from then on Alexei Tolstoy was one of those children who were part of the childhood circle of the heir to the throne, the future Alexander II.
On Sundays he came to the palace to play. Children's relationships did not evaporate with childhood, but continued throughout Tolstoy's life. Tolstoy was treated with great respect by the wife of Alexander II, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who highly valued Tolstoy’s poetic gift.
Tolstoy began writing on French, it was on it that two of his fantastic stories in the late 1830s and early 1840s - “The Family of the Ghoul” and “Meeting after Three Hundred Years.”
In May 1841, Tolstoy’s first book was published under the pseudonym “Krasnorogsky”.
The book was noticed by V. G. Belinsky himself and spoke very favorably about it, seeing in it “all the signs of a still too young, but nevertheless remarkable talent.”
In 1834, Tolstoy became the so-called “archive youth”, entering the Moscow archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a “student of the archive,” in 1836 he passed an exam “in the sciences that formed the vector of movement of the former faculty of literature” at Moscow University, and was assigned to the Russian mission at the German Diet in Frankfurt am Main.
In the same year, his uncle Perovsky died, leaving his nephew a large fortune.
In 1840, Tolstoy received service in St. Petersburg under royal court, where he served in the II department of his own Imperial Majesty chancellery, had a court rank, while continuing to travel around different countries and lead an easy social life.
In 1843 he received the court rank of chamber cadet.
In the 1840s, Alexey Konstantinovich began working on the historical novel “Prince Silver,” which he completed only in 1861. At the same time, he wrote lyrical poems and ballads.
Tolstoy was familiar with Panaev, Nekrasov, Gogol, Aksakov, Annenkov. It was he who helped Turgenev free himself from exile in 1852.
Probably everyone knows the aphorisms of Kozma Prutkov. So this satirical character was created by Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy together with cousins Zhemchuzhnikov.
During Crimean War Tolstoy at first wanted to form a special voluntary militia, but when he failed, he entered military service and was appointed aide-de-camp.
He never had time to take part in hostilities, having contracted typhus near Odessa. Many of his fellow soldiers died from this disease. And Tolstoy himself was in a very difficult condition, one might say, hanging by a thread between life and death.
The Emperor was so concerned that he was telegraphed about Tolstoy's health several times a day.
Tolstoy was married to the wife of Horse Guards Colonel S.A. Miller, nee Bakhmetyeva. And Alexey Tolstoy fell in love with his savior for the rest of his life.
They were not immediately destined to reunite. Sofia Andreevna’s husband did not give her a divorce, and getting a divorce in those days was very problematic. Tolstoy’s mother also did not want him to marry Sofya Andreevna. Of course, she dreamed of a completely different bride for her only son. Their marriage was officially formalized only in 1863.
But Tolstoy’s letters to Sofya Andreevna, written in adulthood, amaze with their indescribable tenderness. Everyone who knew this couple said that their marriage was happy from the first to the last day.
During the coronation in 1856, Alexander II appointed Tolstoy as an aide-de-camp, but Tolstoy did not want to remain in military service, explaining this by the fact that “Service and art are incompatible,” and received the title of Jägermeister, in which he remained until the end of his days, without performing any service.
Since the mid-60s, Tolstoy’s health had deteriorated, and he longer time began to live in winter in the resorts of Italy and Southern France, and spent the summer on his Russian estates - Pustynka on the banks of the Tosna River near St. Petersburg and Krasny Rog, Mglinsky district, Chernigov province, near the city of Pochep.
In 1866-1870, Alexey Konstantinovich published a historical trilogy, consisting of the tragedy “The Death of Ivan the Terrible”, “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich”, “Tsar Boris”.
But not only health deteriorated, but also financial position writer, since he paid little attention to housekeeping.
IN last years Tolstoy wrote many poems and ballads, published in the magazines “Sovremennik”, “Russian Bulletin”, “Bulletin of Europe” and others. In 1867 he published a collection of poems.
The writer died at the age of 58 on the Krasny Rog estate in the Chernigov province. The doctor prescribed him treatment with morphine and during another attack of headache on September 28, 1875, Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy made a mistake and injected himself with too large a dose of morphine.
Now Red Horn is in Bryansk region and there is the Museum-Estate of Alexei Tolstoy.
There is also a chapel-tomb where A.K. is buried. Tolstoy. The stone crypt was built in 1875 by the poet’s wife Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy. It became a tomb for S.A. herself. Tolstoy, who far outlived her husband, died in 1892.
Probably, many will be surprised that Tolstoy, having a tremendous opportunity for career growth, chose to be “only” an artist.
In one of his first poems dedicated to mental life Tolstoy wrote about his hero, the courtier and poet John of Damascus: “We love Caliph John; he deserves honor and affection.” But John of Damascus turns to the caliph with a request: “I was born simple as a singer, to glorify God with a free verb... Oh, let me go, caliph, let me breathe and sing in freedom.”
The writer himself desired exactly the same share for himself.
And all his works, from lyric poems, satire and ballads to historical novel and dramas are valuable pearls in the treasury of Russian literature.
And his romances shed a hymn of undying love and aching tenderness into the hearts of listeners.
"Prince Silver".
1866 - the tragedy “The Death of Ivan the Terrible” was written.
1867 - the first collection of poems was published.
1868 - the tragedy “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” was written.
1869 - the tragedy “Tsar Boris” was created.
1870s - ballads “The Serpent Tugarin”, “Song of Herald and Yaroslavna”, “Roman Galitsky”, “Ilya Muromets”, etc. were published.
1880s - political poems were published satires(“History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev”, “Popov’s Dream”, etc.).
1875, September 28 (October 10) - died in the Krasny Rog estate.
Essay on life and work
Personality formation.
The biography of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy can form the basis of a romantic narrative about a hero who came to the 19th century from Ancient Rus'. In it in early years were both become and scope epic heroes. The men of the Tolstoy-Perovsky family easily broke horseshoes and tied cast iron pokers into knots. However, they were distinguished not only physical strength, but also a diverse education.
The count's chivalrous character was known in the ruling circles of Russia, he was trusted, so he easily and quickly moved up the bureaucratic ladder that he hated and at the end of his career was appointed “master of ceremonies of His Majesty’s Court.” But Tolstoy strived for independence creative life and achieved retirement to take up writing.
Historical theme in the works of A.K. Tolstoy.
Interest in antiquity, philosophical problems of history, rejection of political tyranny, love for the nature of his native land are manifested in all of him creations.
Here is one of the lyrical miniatures, which conveys not only an interest in history, but also a deep and exciting feeling of involvement in every detail that carries the signs of the times.
The bell, peacefully dozing, was hit by a heavy bomb
thundered. With a crash, fragments scattered all around.
He shuddered - and mighty copper sounds came to the people
They flowed into the distance, indignant, buzzing and calling for battle.
We can probably call this poem a historical miniature - its pathos is obvious and it is emotionally convincing. Let us also recall that it is based on a true incident from the Crimean War. Tolstoy traveled through Crimea for two months shortly after the end of the war, and this is one of the poetic responses to the events that took place.
In his depiction of historical events there is an idealization of the past, but there is also recognition of the merits of past generations, which is important at any time.
Works by A.K. Tolstoy historical topics mainly cover two periods: Kiev-Novgorod Rus, to which numerous ballads are dedicated (“Ilya Muromets”, “Sadko”, “The Serpent Tugarin”, etc.), and the times of Ivan the Terrible (ballads “Vasily Shibanov”, “Prince Mikhailo Repnin”, the novel “Prince Silver”, dramatic trilogy) .
Tolstoy's view of the era of Ivan the Terrible and the time of Peter the Great is uncompromising and critical. He is straightforward and even one-sided in his depiction of the main figures. But at the same time, he is fascinated by the picture of life in a distant time, and the heroes from the people are created with sincere sympathy. Romantically vivid plot and persuasiveness psychological characteristics captivate the reader.
Tolstoy is brave and devoid of servility, faced with any manifestation of despotism. This is his position in the ballad “Vasily Shibanov”. It would seem that it was easiest for the author to build a conflict on the contrast of the behavior of the main characters: to show despotism Ivan the Terrible and justify the rebellion of Prince Kurbsky. But the author is looking for a true image historical painting: he argues that both the tsar and the rebellious boyar, despite the importance of their contradictions, are characterized by such qualities as pride, arrogance, inhumanity, and ingratitude. Tolstoy showed nobility and ability to self-sacrifice in common man- hero of the ballad by Vasily Shibanov.
The writer worked for ten years on a historical novel. "Prince Silver" (1863), in which he posed many politically important problems. The author is far from delighted with the winner, who arrogated to himself the right to be an autocratic sovereign. He not only denounces unbridled autocracy and terror, but shows their harmful influence on the tsar and his entourage. For Tolstoy it is obvious that it is the people and those who know how to understand their aspirations who make history. And this is not only Prince Serebryany (you shouldn’t look for his real prototype), but also historically reliable characters - Ermak Timofeevich, Ivan Koltso, Mitka... In the most important scenes of the novel, authentic folk historical songs are heard that echo thoughts author .
The dramatic trilogy, including the tragedies “The Death of Ivan the Terrible” (1866), “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” (1868) and “Tsar Boris” (1869) depicts the life of Russia late XVI- beginning of the 15th century. The author does not so much strive for authenticity as he strives for a solution to historical and philosophical problems. The tragedies of three reigns pass before the reader and viewer. The rulers and their destinies are different, but they are equally removed from solving the problem of a humane ruler. Neither the tyrant Ivan the Terrible, nor the gentle Fedor, nor the “genius ambitious” Godunov can solve it. This problem also acutely worried the writer’s contemporaries. Censorship sensed criticism of autocracy in Tolstoy's plays, and the trilogy was banned for thirty years. Only after the death of the author in 1898, the tragedy “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” triumphantly opened the first season of the Moscow Art Theater theater.
Satirical and humorous works.
A soulful lyricist, A.K. Tolstoy was both a mischievous humorist and a bright satirist. An active and interested view of the world generated the courage to express one’s own positions. The poet’s satirical and humorous works include the funny “Medical Poems,” the humorous “Wisdom of Life,” “Inscriptions on Pushkin’s Poems,” and political satires. The author's harshness often excluded the possibility of their publication. “Popov’s Dream” and “History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev” were distributed in manuscript.
“Popov's Dream” is a funny and mischievous joke. But this joke has sharp political implications. It was in this work that for the first time in Russian fiction mentions the famous lll Department and its actions. Eyewitnesses recall that “Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy used to say about “Popov’s Dream”:
“Oh, what a sweet thing this is, this is real satire and excellent satire!
And further:
- This is incomparable. No, I can't help but read this to you...
And he masterfully read the poem, causing bursts of laughter from his listeners.”
Tolstoy's political satires were very popular. The poet polemicized with revolutionary democracy (“Sometimes Merry May...”, “Against the Current,” etc.), criticized historical traditions, which gave birth current system. Words from the “History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev” are often quoted today:
Our land is rich
There is just no order in it...
The author's courage can hardly be associated with the political clarity of his positions. They could coincide with the clearly defined views of the Slavophiles, but they could oppose them. Thus, the poem “Arrogance walks, puffing up...” evoked an enthusiastic assessment by K. S. Aksakov: “Arrogance...” is so good that it no longer seems like an imitation of a folk song, but this very song. folk song... in this song the author is no longer heard: it’s as if the people sang it.” Conveying this assessment to his wife, A.K. Tolstoy asserted: “These words for me are the best praise I could wish for.” Check the accuracy of these judgments - the poem is not long.
Arrogance walks, puffing up,
Rolling from side to side.
The height of Arrogance is a yard and a quarter,
The hat he’s wearing is a whole fathom long,
The belly is all covered in pearls,
His back is gilded.
And Arrogance would go to his father and mother,
Yes, the gates are unpainted!
And I would pray for Arrogance in the Church of God,
Yes, the floor is not swept!
Arrogance walks and sees: there is a rainbow in the sky;
Hubris turned in the other direction:
It’s not good for me to get drunk!
If love lyrics the poet is touchingly tender and lyrical, then, turning to satire, the author changes the manner of communication with words and phrases, even with the rhythmic sound of poetry.
Proximity to folklore motives and the sharpness of the outlines of satirical images echo the nameless creations of folk authors. Here is the beginning of the poem “People were gathering at the order gates...”:
People gathered at the order gates
thick,
says in simplicity what is in his stomach
Empty!
“You fool,” said the clerk, “any of you should be
In body;
Back in the Duma yesterday we had difficulty sturgeon
Ate! »
A satirical understanding of the environment also lives in the works of Kozma Prutkov, created by the poet and his cousins A. M. and V. M. Zhemchuzhnikov. The works of this fictional author are still republished and quoted, showing readers the world limited person inert views, little culture and great conceit.
To my portrait
which will be published soon
at full meeting my writings
When you meet a person in the crowd,
Which naked 1
;
Whose forehead is darker than the foggy Kazbek,
The step is uneven;
Whose hair is raised in disarray,
Who, crying out,
Always trembling in a nervous fit, -
Know - it's me!..
Creative position.
In the field of art appreciation, A.K. Tolstoy was a defender of the direction called “pure art.” The poem “Against the Current” (1867) was called by some a manifesto of “pure art.”
Friends, do you hear a deafening cry:
“Surrender, singers and artists! By the way
Are your inventions in our positive age?
What remains for you, dreamers?
Surrender to the onslaught of new times!
The world has become sober, hobbies have passed -
Where can you, an outdated tribe, stand?
Against the stream?
After reading these lines, you will probably remember Bazarov’s position and involuntarily become involved in an unfinished debate about the role of art in life. Tolstoy did not accept the extremes of nihilism, but at the same time believed: “If I had met with Bazarov, I am sure that we would have become friends, despite the fact that we would have continued to argue.”
Option 1: “Which tailcoat is he wearing?” Note by K. Prutkov.
In one of his poems from 1871, the poet writes:
No, full of a different feeling,
I believe realists:
Art for art's sake
I equalize with a bird whistle:
I, a new learner
Surrendering without division,
I want you to sing
It always came through.
It is no coincidence that when meeting him, one so often has to return to the lines of the poem “Two camps are not a fighter, but only a random guest...” (1858), confirming the duality of his positions.
Two stans is not a fighter, but only a random guest,
38 truth I was glad to raise my good sword.
But the dispute with both is hitherto my secret lot,
And no one could bring me to the oath;
There will not be a complete union between us -
Not bought by anyone, under whose banner I would stand,
With the passionate jealousy of friends I cannot bear,
I would defend the honor of the Enemy's banner!
This poem in its first version was called “Halifax” and was dedicated to an English public figure who “... was always strict towards his ardent allies and was always in friendly relations with their moderate opponents." This was the reason for expressing A.K. Tolstoy’s own views.
And so it was until the end of his days. An example of this is a fragment from a letter to B. M. Markevich: “Six o’clock in the morning. The roosters crow as if they are obligated under a contract with a penalty. The cook Denis and the cook Avdotya are now heating up the kitchen to bake bread. Lights were lit in the village, which can be seen on the other side of the lake. All this is good, I love this, I could live like this all my life, but to the best of my ability I will have to take my wife to Venice or Pustynka. She wants to know for sure whether Napoleon lll exists or not? It doesn't matter to me. What do I care about this? If Paris is worth a mass, then Kpacny Rog (Tolstoy's estate in the Chernigov region. - Author) with its forests and bears is worth all the Napoleons, no matter how they are numbered... I would easily agree not to know what is happening in our seculum (century . - Author "... What remains is the true, eternal, absolute, not dependent on any century, nor on any fashion, nor on any trend... - and this is what I surrender completely to. Long live the absolute, i.e. ... long live humanity and poetry!!”
Literature. 10 grades : textbook for general education. institutions / T. F. Kurdyumova, S. A. Leonov, O. E. Maryina, etc.; edited by T. F. Kurdyumova. M.: Bustard, 2007.
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Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a writer of multifaceted and brilliant talent. He created novels about modernity and the historical past of our Motherland, stories and plays, scripts and political pamphlets, autobiographical stories and fairy tales for children.
A. N. Tolstoy was born in the city of Nikolaevsk, Samara province - now the city of Pugachev Saratov region. He grew up in the wild life of the bankrupt Trans-Volga landowners. The writer colorfully depicted this life in his stories and novels written in 1909–1912. (“Mishuka Nalymov”, “Cranks”, “The Lame Master”, etc.).
Great October socialist revolution Tolstoy did not accept it right away. He emigrated abroad.
“Life in exile was the most difficult period my life,” Tolstoy later wrote in his autobiography. “There I understood what it means to be a guy, a person, cut off from his homeland, weightless, barren, not needed by anyone under any circumstances.”
Homesickness evoked in the writer's memory childhood memories and pictures of his native nature. This is how the autobiographical story “Nikita’s Childhood” (1919) appeared, in which you can feel how deeply and sincerely Tolstoy loved his homeland, how he yearned away from it. The story tells about the writer's childhood, beautifully depicting pictures of Russian nature, Russian life, and images of Russian people.
In Paris, Tolstoy wrote a scientific fantasy novel"Aelita."
Returning to his homeland in 1923, Tolstoy wrote: “I became a participant in a new life on earth. I see the tasks of the era." The writer creates stories about Soviet reality (“Black Friday”, “Mirage”, “Union of Five”), a science fiction novel “Engineer Garin’s Hyperboloid”, a trilogy “Walking in Torment” and a historical novel “Peter I”.
Tolstoy worked on the trilogy “Walking Through Torment” (“Sisters”, “The Eighteenth Year”, “Gloomy Morning”) for about 22 years. The writer defined its theme as follows: “This is the lost and returned Motherland.” Tolstoy talks about the life of Russia during the period of revolution and civil war, about the difficult path to the people of Russian intellectuals Katya, Dasha, Telegin and Roshchin. The revolution helps the heroes of the trilogy determine their place in the national struggle for socialism and find personal happiness. The reader leaves them at the end civil war. A new stage in the life of the country begins. The victorious people begin to build socialism. But, saying goodbye to his regiment, the heroes of the novel Telegin says: “I warn you - there is still a lot of work ahead, the enemy has not yet been broken, and it is not enough to break him, he must be destroyed... This war is such that it must be won, it cannot be won cannot win... On a stormy, gloomy morning we went out into battle for a bright day, but our enemies want a dark robber night. And the day will rise, even if you burst out of frustration...”
The Russian people appear in the epic as the creators of history. Under the leadership of the Communist Party, he fights for freedom and justice. In the images of representatives of the people - Ivan Gora, Agrippina, Baltic sailors - Tolstoy reflects the perseverance, courage, purity of feelings, devotion to the Motherland of the Soviet people. With great artistic power, the writer managed to capture the image of Lenin in the trilogy, showing the depth of thoughts of the leader of the revolution, his determination, energy, modesty and simplicity.
Tolstoy wrote: “To understand the secret of the Russian people, its greatness, you need to know its past well and deeply: our history, its fundamental nodes, the tragic and creative eras in which the Russian character was born.”
One of these eras was the era of Peter the Great. A. Tolstoy addressed her in the novel “Peter I” (the first book – 1929–1930, the second book – 1933–1934). This is a novel not only about the great transformer Peter I, but also about the fate of the Russian nation in one of the “tragic and creative” periods of its history. The writer speaks truthfully about major events Peter's era: Streltsy riot, Crimean campaigns Prince Golitsyn, about Peter’s struggle for Azov, Peter’s travels abroad, his transformative activities, about the war between Russia and the Swedes, about the creation of the Russian fleet and new army, about the founding of St. Petersburg, etc. Along with all this, Tolstoy shows the life of the most diverse segments of the population of Russia, the life of the masses.
When creating the novel, Tolstoy used a huge amount of material - historical research, notes and letters from Peter’s contemporaries, military reports, court archives. “Peter I” is one of the best Soviet historical novels, it helps to understand the essence of a distant era, fosters love for the Motherland, legitimate pride her past.
For children younger age Tolstoy wrote the fairy tale “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio.” Using the material from the fairy tale, he made a film script and a play for the children's theater.
During the Great Patriotic War, A. Tolstoy talked about the strength and heroism of the Soviet people in the fight against the enemies of the Motherland. His articles and essays: “Motherland”, “Blood of the People”, “Moscow is Threatened by an Enemy”, the story “Russian Character” and others - inspired the Soviet people to new exploits.
During the war years, A. Tolstoy also created the dramatic story “Ivan the Terrible,” consisting of two plays: “The Eagle and the Eaglet” (1941–1942) and “Difficult Years” (1943).
A wonderful writer was also outstanding public figure. He was repeatedly elected as a deputy Supreme Council USSR, was elected full member Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
A patriotic writer and humanist, an artist of wide creative range, a master of the perfect literary form, who mastered all the riches of the Russian language, Tolstoy went through a difficult creative path and took a prominent place in Russian Soviet literature.
TOLSTOY Alexey Konstantinovich (08/24/1817-09/28/1875), Russian prose writer, poet, playwright. He spent his childhood in Chernigov province. on the estate of his uncle Alexei Perovsky (known in literature under the pseudonym Anton Pogorelsky), who encouraged the boy’s early literary interests.
In 1834, Tolstoy passed an exam at the university and was enrolled as a “student” in the Moscow archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1837 he was seconded to the Russian mission at the German Diet in Frankfurt am Main; in 1840 he returned to Russia and was appointed an official in the office of legislation.
For the first time in print, Tolstoy spoke with fantastic story"Ghoul". In the 1840s, Tolstoy wrote a lot, but published only one poem, which was written at that time and appeared in print much later.
In the 1850s, Tolstoy, together with his cousins the Zhemchuzhnikovs, created the image of Kozma Prutkov, on whose behalf they performed literary parodies and satires. Since 1854, Tolstoy’s lyrical poems and Prutkov’s satires began to appear in Sovremennik. These years were the most fruitful in the writer’s work. Having retired in 1861, he lived in a village near St. Petersburg or in Chernigov province, occasionally visiting the capital. Tolstoy's work is multi-genre. In 1867 the first collection of his poems was published. In the 60s he wrote the novel “Prince Silver”, a dramatic trilogy: “The Death of Ivan the Terrible” (1866), “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” (1868) and “Tsar Boris” (1870), his highest artistic achievement; a number of ballads and satires.
In the last years of his life, Tolstoy suffered seriously from a nerve disorder, relieving the pain with morphine. He died on the Krasny Rog estate in Chernigov province.
Tolstoy’s work, imbued with a love of healthy earthly life, Russian nature and homeland, reflected the movement of Russian literature from romanticism to realism, the achievements of which were reflected in the clarity and accuracy of the depiction of nature, in the fidelity and depth of disclosure of emotional experiences, in the satirical denunciation of serfdom.
K.P. Bryullov. Portrait of Count A.K. Tolstoy. 1836.
Tolstoy Alexey Konstantinovich (08/24/1817-09/28/1875), writer, poet, playwright. Born in St. Petersburg. On his mother’s side he came from the Razumovsky family (great-grandfather - the last Little Russian hetman Kirill Razumovsky; grandfather - Minister of Public Education under Alexander I - A. K. Razumovsky ). Father - gr. K.P. Tolstoy, with whom the mother separated immediately after the birth of her son. He was brought up under the guidance of his mother and her brother, the writer A. A. Perovsky (see: A. Pogorelsky), who encouraged Tolstoy’s early poetic experiments. In 1834 he entered the Moscow archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then he was in the diplomatic service. In 1843 he received the rank of chamber cadet. In the 30s - n. In the 40s, Tolstoy wrote fantastic stories in the style of a Gothic novel and romantic prose - “The Family of the Ghoul” and “Meeting after Three Hundred Years” (in French). The first publication was the story “The Ghoul” (1841, under the pseudonym Krasnorogsky). In the 40s, Tolstoy began working on the historical novel “Prince Silver” (finished in 1861), at the same time he created a number of ballads and lyrical poems, published later (in the 50s and 60s); many of them gained wide popularity (“My Bells”, “You know the land where everything breathes abundantly”, “Where the vines bend over the pool”, “Barrow”, “Vasily Shibanov”, “Prince Mikhailo Repnin”, etc.). In n. In the 50s, Tolstoy became close to I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov and other writers. Since 1854 he has published poems and literary parodies in Sovremennik. In collaboration with his cousins A. M. and V. M. Zhemchuzhnikov, in the “Literary Jumble” department of Sovremennik, in “Svistok” he published satirical and parody works signed by Kozma Prutkov; the work of their fictitious author became a parodic mirror of obsolete literary phenomena and at the same time created a satirical type of bureaucrat claiming to be a legislator of artistic taste.
Having withdrawn from participation in Sovremennik in 1857, Tolstoy began to publish in Russian Conversation, and in the 60-70s - Ch. arr. in "Russian Bulletin" and "Bulletin of Europe". During these years, he defended the principles of the so-called. “pure art”, independent of political, including “progressive” ideas. In 1861, Tolstoy left the service, which he was very burdened with, and concentrated on literary studies. He published the dramatic poem “Don Juan” (1862), the novel “Prince Silver” (1863), the historical trilogy - the tragedies “The Death of Ivan the Terrible” (1866), “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” (1868), “Tsar Boris” (1870). In 1867, the first collection of Tolstoy's poems was published. In the last decade he wrote ballads (“Snake Tugarin”, 1868, “Song about Harald and Yaroslavna”, 1869, “Roman Galitsky”, 1870, “Ilya Muromets”, 1871, etc.), poetic political satires (“History of the Russian State from Gostomysla to Timashev”, published 1883; “Popov’s Dream”, published 1882, etc.), poems (“Portrait”, 1874; “Dragon”, 1875), lyric poems.
Tolstoy's work is imbued with a unity of motives, philosophical ideas, and lyrical emotions. Interest in national antiquity, problems of the philosophy of history, rejection of political tyranny, love for the nature of his native land - these features of Tolstoy as a person and thinker are reflected in his works of all genres. Ideal state structure, corresponding national character Russian people, he considered Kievan Rus and ancient Novgorod. A high level of development of art, the special importance of the cultural layer of the aristocracy, simplicity of morals, the prince’s respect for the personal dignity and freedom of citizens, breadth and diversity international relations, especially connections with Europe - this is how the way of life of Ancient Rus' seemed to him. Ballads depicting images of Ancient Rus' are imbued with lyricism; they convey the poet’s passionate dream of spiritual independence, admiration for the integral heroic natures captured in folk epic poetry. In the ballads “Ilya Muromets”, “Matchmaking”, “Alyosha Popovich”, “Kanut” and other images legendary heroes and historical subjects illustrate the author’s thoughts, embody his ideal ideas (for example, Prince Vladimir of Kyiv). By system artistic means these ballads are close to some of Tolstoy’s lyrical poems (“Blagovest”, “If you love, so without reason”, “You are my land, my native land”, etc.).
Tolstoy's ballads, depicting the era of strengthening Russian statehood, are imbued with a dramatic beginning. The subjects of many of them were events from the history of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, who seemed to the poet the most striking exponent of the principle of unlimited autocracy and complete absorption of the individual by the state. “Dramatic” ballads are more traditional in form than “lyrical” ballads, which relate mainly to the 60s - AD. 70s. However, in them too Tolstoy showed himself as original poet, modifying the poetic structure of the genre. Thus, in the ballad “Vasily Shibanov,” Tolstoy reconsiders the heroic situation of a dispute between a freedom-loving subject and the tsar, which gained recognition under the influence of the work of F. Schiller. Conveying the denunciation of Ivan the Terrible by Kurbsky, Tolstoy emphasizes the common features of the participants in the dramatic conflict - the tsar and the rebellious boyar: pride, inhumanity, ingratitude. The author sees the ability for self-sacrifice, the willingness to suffer for the words of truth in a simple person whom the powers that be sacrifice to their dispute: the unknown slave wins a moral victory over the king and with his feat restores the triumph of truly human greatness over the imaginary. “Vasily Shibanov,” like Tolstoy’s other “dramatic” ballads, in its themes and the complexity of the psychological characteristics of the characters, in the poet’s ethical approach to historical events adjoins Tolstoy's works of major genres.
In the novel “Prince Silver,” Tolstoy depicts brutal clashes between strong people in an atmosphere of unbridled autocracy and shows the harmful influence of arbitrariness on the personality of the monarch himself and his entourage. The novel shows how, moving away from the corrupt court circle, and sometimes hiding from persecution or social oppression, gifted people from different strata of society “make history”, protect their homeland from the invasion of external enemies, discover and develop new lands (Prince Serebryany, Ermak Timofeevich, Ivan Koltso, Mitka, etc.). The style of the novel is associated with the traditions of the historical novel and stories of the 30s, including traditions coming from the stories of N.V. Gogol " Terrible revenge" and "Taras Bulba".
In the dramatic trilogy, Tolstoy depicted Russian life from the 16th century. XVII century The solution of historical and philosophical problems in these plays is more important for him than the accurate reproduction of historical facts. He paints the tragedy of three reigns, depicting three autocrats: obsessed with the idea divine origin their power, Ivan the Terrible, the kind-hearted Fyodor and the wise ruler - the “genius ambitious” Boris Godunov.
Tolstoy attached particular importance to the creation of individual, original and vibrant characters historical figures. Major achievement The image of Tsar Fyodor appeared, testifying to the writer’s assimilation of the principles of psychological realism in the 60s. The Moscow Art Theater was opened in 1898 with the production of the tragedy “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich”.
The peculiarities of Tolstoy's historical thinking were also reflected in his political satires. Behind the anecdotal plot of “Popov’s Dream” was hidden the poet’s caustic mockery of liberals. The polemics with the nihilists were reflected in the poems “Sometimes Merry May...”, “Against the Current”, etc. In “The History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev” Tolstoy mercilessly ridiculed historical phenomena which, as he believed, interfered with life national Russia. Tolstoy's intimate lyrics, in contrast to his drama and ballads, are alien to elevated tone. His lyric poems simple and sincere. Many of them are like psychological short stories in verse (“In the middle of a noisy ball, by chance...”, “That was in early spring”). Tolstoy introduced elements of folk poetic style into his lyrics; his poems are often close to songs. More than 70 of Tolstoy's poems have been set to music by Russian composers; romances based on his words were written by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, P. I. Tchaikovsky, M. P. Mussorgsky, S. I. Taneyev and others.
MAIN DATES IN THE LIFE AND WORK OF A. K. TOLSTOY
1817 , August 24 - in St. Petersburg, a son, Alexey, was born into the family of adviser to the State Assignation Bank Konstantin Petrovich Tolstoy and Anna Alekseevna Tolstaya (nee Perovskaya). October - departure of A. A. Tolstoy with his son to the estate of his brother Alexei Alekseevich Perovsky ( literary name- Anthony Pogorelsky) Fire victims.
1826 , August - during the celebrations in Moscow on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas I, Alexei Tolstoy was “chosen as a playmate” for the heir to the throne, the future Alexander II.
1827 , summer - the journey of Alyosha Tolstoy with his mother and A. A. Perovsky to Germany; visit to Goethe.
1831 - trip to Italy, meeting K. P. Bryullov.
1834 , March 9 - A.K. Tolstoy is enrolled in the Moscow archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
1835 - A. A. Perovsky shows the poetic experiments of his nephew V. A. Zhukovsky.
December - Alexei Tolstoy takes exams at Moscow University “from the subjects that make up the course of the Faculty of Literature to obtain an academic certificate for the law of first-class officials.”
1836 , January - arrival of K. P. Bryullov to Moscow; working on a portrait of young A.K. Tolstoy on a hunt.
May - A.S. Pushkin’s arrival in Moscow.
1837 - A.K. Tolstoy is included “extra staff” in the “Russian mission” in Frankfurt am Main; acquaintance with N.V. Gogol.
1838 - a trip to Europe in the retinue of the heir.
1841 - release of a separate edition of A. K. Tolstoy’s story “The Ghoul” (under the pseudonym Krasnorogsky).
1843 , autumn - the first poem by A.K. Tolstoy “A pine forest stands in a lonely country…” appeared in print.
1850 - business trip to Kaluga, close communication with Gogol and A. O. Smirnova-Rosset.
1851–1852 - the appearance of the first works attributed to Kozma Prutkov (in collaboration with the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers).
1851 , January 8 - the scandalous premiere of “Fantasy” at the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.
January - meeting at a masquerade with Sofia Andreevna Miller.
1852 - efforts to free I. S. Turgenev from exile in Spasskoye-Lutovinovo.
1855–1856 - military service.
1858 - publication of the poem “John of Damascus”.
1861 , September 28 - decree on dismissal from court service. 1862 - publication of the dramatic poem “Don Juan” and the novel “Prince Silver”.
April - the drama “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” was completed. The poem “History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev” was written.
1869 , autumn - the end of work on “Tsar Boris”, which completed the dramatic trilogy (“The Death of Ivan the Terrible”, “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich”, “Tsar Boris”).
1873 , summer - the poem “Popov’s Dream” was written.
1875 , September 28 - death of A.K. Tolstoy in Krasny Rog; buried in a crypt near the Assumption Church of the village.
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