Nikolai Ilich Tolstoy: biography of the father of the great Russian writer

The person occupying a special place in the life of the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was his father - Count Nikolai Ilich Tolstoy. He was born in the distant 1794, at a time when science and art were developing rapidly in Russia, and sentimentality prevailed in the mood of society.

Family of Count N.I. Tolstoy

Nicholas Ilyich Tolstoy's father, Ilya Andreevich Tolstoy, was born in 1757, passed civil service in the navy, was later enlisted in the Life Guards and a year before the birth of Nikolay's firstborn retired, promoted to the rank of foreman.

According to the grandson, Ilya Andreevich was a gentle and generous person, but "stupidly motile". He endlessly arranged feasts, balls and dinners, as a result of which he was ruined and, having died, left the family in debt. Pelageya Nikolaevna, the grandmother of Leo Tolstoy, belonged to the Gorchakov family, famous in the military field, was a woman of poor education and spoiled.

Born June 26, 1794, Nicholas became the first child in their family. After him, a daughter appeared, then a brother, to whom the birth trauma did not survive until she was eight, and another girl.

Everything went on as usual

In early childhood, namely at the age of six, 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 military operations outside his country. In 1824, having the rank of colonel, retired.

Due to the recklessness of his father, in an extremely tight economic situation, Count Nikolai Ilich Tolstoy turned out to be. His biography has a good continuation, since, having married in 1822 with Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya, he managed to create a happy family and at the same time to improve his financial position.

The girl did not possess at that time neither youth, nor beauty, but she was perfectly educated, modest and sensible. At the time of the wedding with Nikolai Tolstoy, her parents were no longer alive, and the only sister died as a child. Volkonskaya read a lot, played music and knew four foreign languages.

In the estate of Yasnaya Polyana, inherited by the princess Mary, the Tolstoy family lived alone, but happily. For 8 years they gave life to four sons and one daughter. Leo became the youngest son. And soon after the birth of her daughter, named after the mother, Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya passed away.

Life after the death of the wife

After the death of his wife, Nikolai Ilich Tolstoy lived with his children in Yasnaya Polyana. Tatyana Aleksandrovna Ergolskaya, who was a distant relative of Tolstoy, engaged in the upbringing of his five children. Nikolai Ilyich continued to lead a solitary life, leaving the house only if necessary to settle matters related to his father's debts, or going out with friends to hunt. He devoted much time to children, economic affairs and reading books.

In July 1937, while on business in Tula, he suddenly died. The "bloody blow", according to doctors, became the reason why Nikolai Ilich Tolstoy died. A brief biography of the father of the great Russian writer ends on this, but the memory of him for many years was kept in the heart of Leo Tolstoy and was reflected in some of his works.

Psychological picture

Nikolai Tolstoy, according to his youngest son, was a worthy man and "never humiliated before anyone." His character was peculiarly courteous to others. He had an excellent sense of humor, he liked to amuse those around him with comic tales.

From the surviving portraits one can judge how Nikolai Ilich Tolstoy looked like - a photo in those days was a rarity. In his childhood memories of Leo Nikolayevich, his father was depicted as a well-built man, always in good spirits, but with sad eyes.

The fate of children

The eldest son Nikolai was very similar to his mother in his modesty and discretion. After graduating from Moscow, and then from Kazan University, he entered the military service. Soon 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, ability to sing and science, which caused admiration of Lev 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 a family.

Dmitry Nikolaevich Tolstoy died of consumption, not reaching the age of 30 years. He was a quiet and thoughtful man. He graduated from Kazan University, but did not succeed in military service. Maria Nikolaevna, who did not know her mother, was trained in the Kazan boarding house of noble maidens. She lived more than 80 years. She gave birth to 4 children to the official spouse, and after the divorce with him - the daughter of a civil husband. The last 20 years she lived in a monastery, leaving a good memory.

Nikolai Ilich Tolstoy did not even imagine that he had become the father of a great writer. At first, Leo Tolstoy did not show any desire for science and, enrolled in 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 organization of schools, produced teaching aids. Becoming in the last decades of his life the father of Russian literature, he loses 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 lived to the time when his son was successful, he would have understood what a great contribution he made to the literary development of his country.