The man who occupies a special place in the life of the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was his father, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy. He was born back in 1794, at a time when science and art were rapidly developing in Russia, and sentimentalism prevailed in the mindset of society.
Count N. I. Tolstoy's family
The father of Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy - Ilya Andreevich Tolstoy - was born in 1757, did civil service in the Navy, then was enlisted in the Life Guards and a year before the birth of the first-born Nikolai, he retired, elevated to the rank of brigadier.
According to his grandson, Ilya Andreevich was a gentle and generous man, but "stupidly winded." He endlessly arranged feasts, balls and dinners, as a result of which he went bankrupt and, having died, left his family in debt. Pelageya Nikolaevna, Leo Tolstoy's grandmother, belonged to the Gorchakov family, famous in the military field, was a poorly educated and spoiled woman.
Born on June 26, 1794, Nikolai became the first child in theirfamily. After him, a daughter appeared, then a brother, who was prevented by a birth injury from surviving to the age of eight, and another girl.
Everything went on as usual
In early childhood, namely at the age of 6, Nikolai was enlisted in the civil service. Having reached the age of 16, he had the rank of stationmaster. At the age of 17, he entered the military service and participated in hostilities outside his country. In 1824, having the rank of colonel, he retired.
Due to the recklessness of his father, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy found himself in an extremely constrained economic situation. His biography has a good continuation, since, having married Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya in 1822, he managed to create a happy family and at the same time improve his financial situation.
The girl did not possess at that time either youth or beauty, but she was well educated, modest and reasonable. At the time of the wedding with Nikolai Tolstoy, her parents were no longer alive, and her only sister died in childhood. Volkonskaya read a lot, played music and knew four foreign languages.
In the Yasnaya Polyana estate inherited by Princess Maria, the Tolstoy family lived alone, but happily. For 8 years they gave birth to four sons and one daughter. Leo became the youngest son. And shortly after the birth of her daughter, named after her mother, Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya died.
Life after the death of a spouse
After the death of his wife, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy lived with his children in Yasnaya Polyana. Tatyana Alexandrovna Ergolskaya,who was a distant relative of Tolstoy, took up the upbringing of his five children. Nikolai Ilyich continued to lead a secluded life, leaving home only when necessary to settle matters related to his father's debts, or going hunting with friends. He devoted a lot of time to children, household chores and reading books.
In July 1937, while on business in Tula, he suddenly died. "Bloody stroke", according to doctors, was the reason why Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy died. The brief biography of the father of the great Russian writer ends here, but the memory of him was kept in the heart of Leo Tolstoy for many years and was reflected in some of his works.
Psychological portrait
Nikolai Tolstoy, according to his youngest son, was a worthy man and "never humiliated himself before anyone." His character was characterized by a special courtesy to others. He had a great sense of humor, liked to amuse others with comic stories.
From the surviving portraits one can judge what Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy looked like - a photo in those distant times was a rarity. In childhood memories of Lev Nikolaevich, his father was depicted as a well-built man, always in a good mood, but with sad eyes.
The fate of children
The eldest son Nikolai was very similar to his mother with his modesty and prudence. After graduating from Moscow and then Kazan University, he entered the military service. Shortly after he retired, he moved south to live. France, where he died of tuberculosis before reaching the age of his father.
Sergei Tolstoy was endowed with extraordinary beauty, wit, ability to sing and science, which aroused the admiration of Leo Nikolayevich. Like his older brother, he graduated from Kazan University and achieved success in the military field. However, he lived to a ripe old age, having a family.
Dmitry Nikolaevich Tolstoy died of consumption before reaching the age of 30. He was a quiet and thoughtful person. He graduated from Kazan University, but he failed to enter the military service. Maria Nikolaevna, who did not know her mother, was trained at the Kazan boarding school for noble maidens. Lived for over 80 years. She gave birth to 4 children to an official spouse, and after a divorce from him, a daughter to a common-law husband. For the last 20 years she has lived in a monastery, leaving a good memory of herself.
Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy did not even imagine that he became the father of the great writer. At first, Leo Tolstoy did not show any attraction to science and, having entered Kazan University, unlike his brothers, he could not graduate from it. Having left for the Caucasus, he achieves success in the military field and simultaneously writes his first works.
Having lived with his wife Sofia for 17 years in Yasnaya Polyana, he became the father of 13 children. The count was engaged in the organization of schools, issued teaching aids. Having become the father of Russian literature in the last decades of his life, he loses all interest in this field, devoting the rest of his life to religious searches.
"Childhood","War and Peace", "Anna Karenina" became the pride of Russian literature. If Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy had lived to see the success of his son, he would have realized what a great contribution he made to the literary development of his country.
