Leo Tolstoy
Russian writer (1828–1910); War and Peace and Anna Karenina; Christian anarchist and pacifist.
At a glance
Main ideas
Non-resistance to evil by force, Against the state, A moral revolution …
See all 5Books to start with
War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Confession …
See all 6Connections
Peter Kropotkin, Mahatma Gandhi and The Kingdom of God Is Within You
See all 3
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Tolstoy was a Russian writer, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authors of all time.
- Born to an aristocratic family, he wrote War and Peace, Anna Karenina and Resurrection.
- After a moral crisis in the 1870s, his literal reading of the Sermon on the Mount made him a Christian anarchist and pacifist.
- His ideas on nonviolent resistance influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
- He also became an advocate of Georgism.
Why it matters
- His novels are often cited among the greatest ever written, and his writing on nonviolence shaped Gandhi's and later nonviolent movements.
Key facts
- Born
- 9 Sep 1828 (O.S. 28 August), Yasnaya Polyana, near Tula1
- Died
- 20 Nov 1910, Astapovo railway station, of pneumonia, aged 821
- Army
- Artillery officer in the Crimean War; at the siege of Sevastopol in 1854–551
- Schools
- Founded 13 schools for peasant children after the emancipation of the serfs in 18611
- Spouse
- Married Sophia Andreevna Behrs on 23 September 1862; they had 13 children1
- Nobel nominations
- Literature every year from 1902 to 1906; Peace in 1901, 1902 and 1909; never awarded1
Main ideas
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Non-resistance to evil by force1
He read "turn the other cheek" as a commandment of pacifism and nonviolence.
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Against the state1
Being a Christian required pacifism; governments' waging of war made him a philosophical anarchist.
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A moral revolution1
"There can be only one permanent revolution – a moral one: the regeneration of the inner man."
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No private property in land1
With Henry George he rejected private ownership of land.
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Vegetarianism1
Eating meat is immoral because it involves killing; strictly vegetarian from 1890.
Books to start with
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Connections
Related
- Peter KropotkinPersonKropotkin described Tolstoy's anarchist position in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica; Tolstoy recommended Kropotkin's books
- Mahatma GandhiCorresponded from October 1909 until Tolstoy's death; Gandhi named his Tolstoy Colony after him
Links
Sources
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