Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy died far from Yasnaya Polyana. The cause of death was a fatal cold and pneumonia that developed against its background. The excommunicated writer wanted to have a final talk with the abbot, but did not wait for a confession.
The events of the last weeks of Leo Tolstoy's life
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a great Russian writer. In his works, he collected and expressed all the characteristic features, moods of the era in which he lived. Tolstoy fought for the rejection of the pseudo-values imposed by bourgeois society, for a return to natural roots. He did a lot for the common people. The departure of the writer from life became a real tragedy for his contemporaries.
Lev Nikolaevich died at the age of 82. His death came as a surprise to his family and everyone who appreciated his work. Many researchers have noticed that a number of events in the life of Tolstoy led to the tragic death. Over the past few years, his relationship with his wife has deteriorated dramatically. Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya did not understand her husband. Lev Nikolaevich's books were published in very large editions. At the same time, the family was constantly in a difficult financial situation. Tolstoy had his own convictions, as a result of which he gave up ownership of most of the works. The writer's wife didn't like it.
Relations with his wife became so aggravated that Tolstoy wanted to draw up a will in favor of his daughter, so that after the death of the writer, the spouse would not receive anything. His wife and other relatives considered him to be out of his mind and arranged a real spy on him. This made Tolstoy start a secret diary.
On October 28, 1910, Lev Nikolaevich fled from Yasnaya Polyana. He wrote a note to his wife and asked him not to look. Tolstoy explained his act by the fact that he could no longer live contrary to his own beliefs. He was going to leave for one of the southern provinces and start a simple life. Tolstoy went on a journey by rail and his doctor was with him. First, the writer went to Optina Pustyn, where he had not been for 17 years. Lev Nikolaevich wanted to talk with the elders, but the conversation never happened.
Tolstoy stopped at the Shamardinsky convent, where his sister Maria lived, met his daughter Alexandra there, who accompanied him to the train. During the trip, the writer caught a cold and felt very bad on the train. Together with the accompanying doctor, Tolstoy left at the Astapovo station. He was very weak and his health deteriorated. Lev Nikolaevich was transferred to the house of the station master.
How Lev Tolstoy died
Leo Tolstoy received medical attention, but the possibilities of medicine of that era were very modest. When the writer felt better, he even wanted to continue the journey, and then the disease began to progress again. Tolstoy was sick with pneumonia. The weakened body could not cope with the serious illness.
At Tolstoy's request, a telegram was sent to Optina Pustyn with a request to send an abbot to him. The relatives and followers of the writer who arrived, who were called Tolstoyans-atheists, did not allow the elder to see Lev Nikolaevich, and soon the patient fell into unconsciousness and died on November 7, 1910. The dream of the writer's sister Mary turned out to be prophetic. The disciples made sure that their teacher died without repentance and the sacrament.
Where Leo Tolstoy was buried
The funeral of Leo Tolstoy took place on November 9, 1910. The ceremony was civil, since the writer was excommunicated during his lifetime. Tolstoy's grave has neither a cross nor a tombstone. There is only a small mound on the edge of the ravine in the Stary Zakaz forest, located near Yasnaya Polyana. … The relatives did everything exactly as Lev Nikolaevich asked. Long before the date of his death, he drew up a document in which he prescribed in detail where and how he should be buried.
On the day of the funeral, many fans of his work wanted to accompany the writer on his last journey, but the authorities feared unrest, so the trains in the direction of Yasnaya Polyana were canceled.
