A gambler, a Saint or a genius: 10 little-known facts about Leo Tolstoy

109 years ago, November 10 (new style), 1910, gathering only the Essentials from your own home left Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. Gone and could not return. However, the whole life of this extraordinary man was filled with strange and sometimes unpredictable behavior.

The house where he was born ln. Tolstoy, 1828. In 1854, the house sold by order of the writer to export to the village Long. Broken in 1913.

In his youth, Leo Tolstoy loved to play cards. The stakes were high, and drove the writer not always. Once card debt became so great that I had to pay part of his family nest — estate in Yasnaya Polyana. The victim of passion became the part of the house where Tolstoy was born and spent his childhood.

As soon as he learned that he was nominated for the Nobel prize, he immediately wrote a letter to the Finnish writer Jarnefelt, asking him to tell the Swedes that he was not awarded the prize. When the award went not to him, Tolstoy was very pleased. He was sure that the money is evil, he is not needed, it would be a huge embarrassment to dispose of them. Besides, the writer liked to receive sympathy from many people who complained that the award went not to him.

During military service in the Caucasus Leo Tolstoy lost the simple soldier his award — the George cross. His act was due to the fact that the soldiers were rootless and poor, and the presence of such an award is entitled to a lifetime pension equal to the standard soldier's salary.

As a person close to nature and immensely loving his country, Leo took care of the future. In 1857 he developed his own plan for the greening of Russia and was ready to take part in it. In a document addressed to the Ministry of state properties, he offered for 9 years to give him land, located in the Tula region, and he was prepared to plant trees. According to Tolstoy, the state is immoral is drawn from natural resources. But officials have called this project does not have any prospects and bear the losses.

Leo loved all kinds of manual labor. He enjoyed the process of creating things with their hands, especially if it brings benefit and joy to friends and family. One of his Hobbies was sewing boots. Created pair of shoes is a writer with great pleasure gave family, friends and acquaintances. His son even wrote about this gift in his memoirs, giving the gift of great importance. He noted he would keep the boots on one shelf with the publication of "War and peace".

Being a wealthy man and having noble roots, Tolstoy was still a fan of hard physical labor. He believed that an idle life is not pretty, it leads to the destruction of the personality, both physical and moral. In difficult times, when thoughts of the future gave the writer the rest (he's already started to think about giving up their property), Leo went with a simple men to cut firewood. A little later began to sew for use shoes made of birch bark, perfectly mastered this difficult craft. He annually helped peasant families who, for whatever circumstances, there was no one to plow, sow or harvest. And despite universal disapproval among his noble entourage, constantly took part in the haymaking.

In one of the periods of reflection on his life, the writer found his condition not very well, and put a diagnosis of "melancholy and indifference". Following the fashion of the time, he was treated to kumys. The method came to his mind, and he even bought a house next to kumysopitiya. This place later became the site of the annual holiday with the whole family.

Peaceful life in the family of Lev Nikolaevich and Sofia Andreevna came under attack at the moment when the count has caught the idea to give up the copyright on all your works and to sell all the property. The couple did not see eye to eye on vital principles and practices. Tolstoy tries to give all the benefits and live a poor life, and his wife worried that their descendants will remain on the street and will lead a miserable existence.

Due to experiences she was not herself, constantly listening to conversation of the count and watched his actions. Once he announced all his intentions to be closer to the common people, to distribute property and to relinquish the rights to their works, Sofya Andreyevna expected that Colon will present these thoughts in the will, making them his last will. In addition to the surveillance by the writer, at any moment she checked his office, going through documents and papers, trying to find evidence of this consent. On this basis, she developed a persecution complex and became obsessed.

In the summer of 1910 the wife of the count began tantrums and fits, she almost couldn't control himself. Doctors, called Yasnaya Polyana, diagnosed her with "degenerate double Constitution: paranoid and hysterical, with a predominance of the first."

From 27 to 28 October (old style) in the dead of night accompanied by his doctor Tolstoy began a strange journey. At first they was on his way to the Optina Hermitage, the count wanted to talk to the elders. To Kozelsk they went with the common people in the smoky, stuffy car, Tolstoy often went out on a strong wind, to trouble breathing from the stench. In these moments, and the writer caught a fatal cold.

Having visited Optina desert, but not having met any of the elders, 29 th Earl went to the convent Shamordino. Tormented mental anguish, he constantly changed plans and point of his journey. Became one of the last Novocherkassk, where he lived with his niece. From there he wanted to go to Bulgaria and the Caucasus. But then manifested itself obtained in the train Kozelsk cold. As the graph got worse and they had to get off the train in the Lipetsk region at the station of Astapovo.

The flu went into pneumonia, Leo Tolstoy died three days later in the house of the chief of the railway station.

Since then, in the Lipetsk region there was a city Leo Tolstoy, and the time on the clock of the old station stayed on them all the time 6 hours 5 minutes — at this time 7 (20) November 1910 died writer.

The Countess could not goodbyes with her husband, she allowed him only when he was already unconscious.

After leaving the house with a small suitcase, Leo Tolstoy returned to Yasnaya Polyana in a wooden coffin. His last trip lasted 10 days.