TOLSTOY, LEO (1828–1910), Russian writer. Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born on his family's estate of Yasnaia Poliana (Bright Meadow), in Tula Province. His parents, both from the high aristocracy, died in his early boyhood. Tolstoy was a melancholy child, self-centered but filled with the desire to be a better person.

He entered the University of Kazan in 1844, planning to become a diplomat, but left the university in 1847 without taking a degree. That same year, he inherited Yasnaia Poliana and went there to live. In 1849 he opened a school for the village children and was one of its teachers. At this time, as later, he was strongly under the influence of Rousseau.

Tolstoy volunteered in 1851 for army service in the Caucasus, and he subsequently took part in the Crimean War (1854–1856) in the Danube region and at Sevastopol. He left the army in 1856 and returned to Yasnaia Poliana. By...