Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy

1828 — 1910

Russia Modern Era Tolstoyism

Biography

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a great Russian writer, author of 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina.' In the later period of his life, he created a religious-philosophical teaching.

Tolstoyism is based on non-resistance to evil by violence, simplification, and moral self-improvement. Tolstoy rejected the church, the state, and private property.

His ideas influenced Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and other leaders of nonviolent resistance.

Key Ideas

  • Non-resistance to evil by violence
  • Simplification
  • Moral self-improvement
  • Critique of state and church
  • Working the land

Works

  • A Confession (1882)

    Spiritual quest

  • What I Believe (1884)

    Religious-philosophical treatise

  • The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894)

    On non-resistance to evil