A man occupying a special place in the life of the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was his father, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy. He was born in the distant 1794, at a time when science and art were booming in Russia, and sentimentalism prevailed in the mood of society.
Family of Count N. I. Tolstoy
The father of Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy - Ilya Andreyevich Tolstoy - was born in 1757, served in the Navy, then was enrolled in the Life Guards and a year before the birth of the firstborn, Nikolai retired, elevated to the rank of foreman.
According to the grandson, Ilya Andreevich was a gentle and generous man, but “stupidly motovat”. 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, the grandmother of Leo Tolstoy, belonged to the Gorchakov family, which became famous in the military field, was a poorly educated and spoiled woman.
Born June 26, 1794, Nikolai became the first child in their family. After him, a daughter appeared, then a brother who did not give birth trauma to eight years old, and another girl.
Everything went as usual
In early childhood, namely at 6 years old, Nikolai was enlisted in the civil service. Reaching the age of 16, he had the rank of station superintendent. At the age of 17, he entered 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 Nikolayevna 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 neither youth nor beauty, but she was perfectly educated, modest and prudent. 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 estate of Yasnaya Polyana inherited by Princess Mary, the Tolstoy family lived in solitude, but happily. For 8 years they gave birth to four sons and one daughter. Leo became the youngest son. And soon after the birth of her daughter, named after her mother, Maria Tolstaya died.
Life after the death of a spouse
After the death of his wife, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy lived with children in Yasnaya Polyana. Tatyana Alexandrovna Ergolskaya, who was a distant relative of Tolstoy, took up the education of his five children. Nikolai Ilyich continued to lead a secluded lifestyle, leaving the house only if necessary to settle matters related to his father's debts, or going hunting with friends. He devoted a lot of time to children, household affairs, and reading books.
In July 1937, while on business in Tula, he suddenly died. “Blood strike”, according to doctors, was the reason why Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy died. A brief biography of the father of the great Russian writer ends here, but the memory of him was stored in the heart of Leo Tolstoy for many years and was reflected in some of his works.
Psychological picture
Nikolai Tolstoy, according to his youngest son, was a worthy man and "never humbled himself before anyone." His character was characterized by a special courtesy to others. He had an excellent sense of humor, loved to amuse others with comic stories.
From the surviving portraits, one can judge how Nikolay Ilyich Tolstoy looked - photos in those days were very rare. In the childhood memoirs of Lev Nikolaevich, his father was imprinted with a well-built man, always in a good mood, but with sad eyes.
The fate of the 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 to live in the south of France, where he died of tuberculosis before he reached the age at which his father died.
Sergei Tolstoy was endowed with extraordinary beauty, wit, the ability to sing and science, which caused admiration of Leo Nikolaevich. Like his older brother, he graduated from Kazan University, achieved success in the military field. However, he lived to a very old age, having acquired a family.
Dmitry Nikolayevich Tolstoy died of consumption, not reaching the age of 30. He was a quiet and thoughtful man. He graduated from Kazan University, but he failed to enter military service. Maria Nikolaevna, who did not know her mother, was trained at the Kazan boarding school of noble maidens. Lived over 80 years. She gave birth to 4 children to her official spouse, and after divorcing him, she gave birth to a daughter to a civil husband. The last 20 years and a little she lived in a monastery, leaving a good memory of herself.
Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy did not even imagine that he became the father of a great writer. At first, Leo Tolstoy did not show any craving for science and, having entered the Kazan University, unlike his brothers, could not finish it. Having left for the Caucasus, he achieves success in the military field and simultaneously writes his first works.
Having lived with his wife Sophia for 17 years in Yasnaya Polyana, he became the father of 13 children. The count was engaged in the device 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 pursuits.
"Childhood", "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina" became the pride of Russian literature. If Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy lived to see the time when his son was successful, he would have realized what a great contribution he had made to the literary development of his country.