Lev Tolstoy.

Tolstoy was the fourth of five children born to wealthy landed gentry at Yasnaya Polyana in 1828. His mother died before his second birthday, and his father died when he was eight. He and his siblings were raised by an aunt. He studied languages and law at Kazan Imperial University but left without a degree, dissatisfied with the school. He then returned to his estate to educate himself and manage his inherited land and serfs.

Tolstoy published his first novel, Childhood 1852, while serving in the Caucasus as an army officer. He fought in the Crimean War 1854-55 as an artillery commander and wrote Sevastopol Sketches, which won him acclaim. His masterpieces War and Peace 1863-1869 and Anna Karenina 1873-1877 established him as a literary giant. After a spiritual crisis detailed in his 1879 Confession, he developed a form of Christian anarchism, renouncing his aristocratic privileges and advocating nonviolence. In 1894 he wrote The Kingdom of God is Within You, which influenced Mahatma Gandhi.

In 1862, Tolstoy married Sonya Andreyevna Behrs, who was 18 while he was 34. They had 13 children, though only eight survived to adulthood. Sonya served as his literary secretary, copying and editing his manuscripts. Later in life, Tolstoy became estranged from his family due to his ascetic lifestyle. He left his home in November 1910, seeking a wandering ascetic path, and died of pneumonia at Astapovo station.

Tolstoy’s literary works rank among the pinnacles of realism. His philosophical writings, especially The Kingdom of God is Within You, inspired Mahatma Gandhi and the nonviolent resistance movement. Despite being overlooked for the 1901 Nobel Prize, his influence remains vast. Yasnaya Polyana is now a national museum. He remains a revolutionary writer and moral thinker.