Knight of Russian literature. The Presidential Library marking Alexei Tolstoy’s anniversary

September 5 marks the 195th anniversary of the birth of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, the eldest of three Tolstoys who entered the history of Russian literature. The author of historical novels and lyrical poems, playwright and one of the creators of the famous literary hoax - Kozma Prutkov, most of his life he had to fight - for the right to engage in creativity, for his love, to fight serious illnesses.

On the line of his own father, Alexei Konstantinovich came from an old noble family; his brother was the artist Fyodor Tolstoy, and his second cousin was the writer Leo Tolstoy. The mother of the future writer, Anna Perovskaya, was the daughter of the statesman Alexei Razumovsky. However, the great-grandson of Hetman Kirill Razumovsky, Alexei Tolstoy, could not declare in secular society that he belonged to glorious ancestors - his mother was illegitimate.

The childhood of Alyosha, who, six weeks old, was taken away from St. Petersburg, first to the village. Pochep of the Chernihiv province, and then in the village. The fire victims, by his own admission, "were very happy".

Childhood on a shady forest estate ended in 1826. At the initiative of the Tsarevich's mentor, the poet Vasily Zhukovsky, the boy was chosen as a companion in the children's games of the heir to the throne, the future Emperor Alexander II, with whom they were the same age. For many years, Alexei Tolstoy was "tied" to the court.

Proximity to the imperial family, rapid career growth - what many dreamed of, Tolstoy was oppressed. For the right to "breathe and sing in the wild" he had to fight for more than 20 years. As a young man, having barely entered the service, he immediately resigned, but to no avail. During the coronation of Alexander II in 1856, Alexei Konstantinovich was appointed adjutant wing - an officer for special assignments, who were with the emperor, but, after long requests, was relieved of this rank.

Tolstoy also had to fight for the happiness of being with his beloved woman. He met Sofia Andreevna Miller, nee Bakhmetyeva, in the winter of 1851 “in the midst of a noisy ball, by chance ...” (Tchaikovsky will compose the music for these poems by Count Tolstoy, and the romance will become one of the most performed and loved in Russia). At that time, she was married to a horse guard captain, whose plans did not at all include giving her a divorce. The union of Alexei Konstantinovich with Sofia Andreevna was also prevented by Tolstoy's mother. They got married only 12 years later, in 1863.

After the long-awaited resignation from the service in 1861, the real state councilor Tolstoy only occasionally ran into the capital. Together with his beloved wife, he first settled in the Pustynka estate on the banks of the Tosna, which was “along the Nikolaev railway to the Sablino station”, and then moved to his beloved estate Krasny Rog in Bryansk Region. Afanasy Fet, who visited the poet at the Razumovsky family estate, wrote: “It was difficult to choose between the conversations of the count in his office, where, speaking about the most serious subjects, he was able to suddenly illuminate the conversation with the surprise “a la” Prutkov, and the salon where the countess knew how enliven your tea table with some subtle remark about an old painter or some historical person, or, going up to the piano, with masterful playing and singing, make the listener breathe a better life.

Krasy Rog was for Alexei Konstantinovich about the same as Yasnaya Polyana was for Leo Tolstoy. It was here that the count conceived or wrote his main works: the historical story of the time of Ivan the Terrible "Prince Silver", the dramatic trilogy "The Death of Ivan the Terrible", "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich" and "Tsar Boris", historical ballads, the best poems.

Gentle, kind-hearted, and even “chivalrous and femininely gentle”, according to Afanasy Fet, Tolstoy possessed amazing physical strength. In the book Following Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy: in Search of Truth (2012), Valeria Zakharova writes that among the old-timers of the village of Krasny Rog there were many stories about the heroic strength of the count.

But, as they say, the disease does not choose - Alexei Konstantinovich developed asthma. In order to save himself from suffocation, which sometimes lasted for several days, he was forced to kneel, and, resting his head against the wall, spend the whole night in this position. Soon unbearable headaches were added to this serious illness. But even in this state, Alexei Konstantinovich tried to treat life with humor: “Two doctors ... found that I had gout in my head. It may be more honorable than simple neuralgia, but I am not ambitious and would exchange it for the most modest runny nose or diarrhea.

A relative of Sofia Andreevna, diplomat Alexei Tsertelev, who visited Tolstoy in Krasny Rog, wrote about the last days of the poet: “Until the last minute, he remained true to himself, thought and cared for others; he was afraid to burden or disturb those around him ... <...> ... the disease never conquered him - he continued to be himself and died, retaining the freshness of his mind and feelings.

Alexei Konstantinovich died in his beloved estate Krasny Rog on October 10, 1875. The immediate cause was one of the injections of morphine given to him by doctors to alleviate his suffering.