PowerPoint presentation on Leo Tolstoy by Emma Caringello

1. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no
one thinks of changing himself.”
Leo Tolstoy
By: Emma Caringello

2. Early Life
 Born on September 9, 1828 in Tula
Province, Russia
 Youngest of four boys
 Mother died in 1830 and the children
were raised by their father’s cousin
 Tolstoy’s grandfather was reckless with his
money and by the time of Leo’s birth had
dwindled the family fortune away

3. College and Work
 Tolstoy attended the University of Kazan and
started off in Oriental languages but later
switched to law
 Was forced to leave university because of low
grades and partying
 Left university in 1847 and attempted farming
on his parents’ estate
 After failing at farming, Tolstoy was convinced
to join the army by his brother
 Fought in the Crimean War

4. Beginning to Write
 Leo used free time in army to begin
writing
 His first work was and autobiography
Childhood in 1852, published in a journal
The Contemporary
 Wrote many stories while in the army: The
Cossacks, Boyhood, Sevastopol Tales

5.  Tolstoy married Sofya Andreyevna Bers in 1862
and spent the majority of the 1860s working
on War and Peace
 The couple had thirteen children
 After marrying Sofya, Tolstoy gave her his
diaries that he had written about his past
sexual conquests and about an illegitimate
child
 After War and Peace, Tolstoy started working
on his most well-known novel, Anna Karenina
 Tolstoy went on to write many other non-
fiction and fiction articles and novels in his
lifetime

6. Later Years
 Leo Tolstoy began following the pacifist
doctrine of non-resistance and gave up
meat, drugs, and alcohol.
 As his religious beliefs became more
literal, his relationships changed
 He died of pneumonia on November 20,
1910

7. Works Cited
 http://www.biography.com/people/leo-
tolstoy-9508518?page=2
 http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/