Editing Tolstoy family (section)

==In Russian literature==
Many of the Tolstoys devoted their spare time to literary pursuits. For instance, Count '''[[Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy|Alexei Konstantinovich]]''' (1817–75) was a courtier but also one of the most popular Russian poets of his time. He wrote admirable [[ballad]]s, a historical novel, some licentious verse, and [[satire]]s published under the penname of [[Kozma Prutkov]]. His lasting contribution to the Russian literature was a trilogy of historical dramas, modelled after [[Alexander Pushkin|Pushkin]]'s ''Boris Godunov''.

[[File:tolstoy kramskoy.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ivan Kramskoi|Kramskoy]]'s portrait of [[Leo Tolstoy]] (1873)]]
Count '''Lev Nikolaevich''' (1828–1910), more widely known abroad as [[Leo Tolstoy]], is acclaimed as one of the greatest novelists of all time. After he started his career in the military, he was first drawn to writing books when he served in [[Chechenya]], and already his first story, ''Detstvo'' ("[[Childhood (Tolstoy novel)|Childhood]]"), was something quite unlike anything written before him. It was in his family estate [[Yasnaya Polyana]] near [[Tula, Russia|Tula]] that he created two novels, ''[[War and Peace]]'' and ''[[Anna Karenina]]'', that are widely acclaimed as among the best novels ever written. Later he developed [[Tolstoyan|a kind of non-traditional Christian philosophy]], described in his work ''[[The Kingdom of God is Within You]]'' which inspired [[Rainer Maria Rilke]] and [[Mohandas Gandhi]], then a young lawyer, whose influence extended to [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[James Bevel]].

Of Lev's thirteen children, most spent their life either promoting his teachings or denouncing them. His youngest daughter and secretary, '''[[Alexandra Lvovna]]''' (1884–1979), had a particularly troubled life. Although she shared with her father the doctrine of [[nonviolence]], she felt it was her duty to take part in the events of [[World War I]].

Count '''[[Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy]]''' (1883–1945) belonged to a different branch of the family. His early short stories, published in 1910s, were panned by critics for excessive [[naturalism (literature)|naturalism]] and wanton eroticism. After the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Revolution]] he briefly emigrated to Germany, but then changed his political views and returned to the [[Soviet Union]]. His science fiction novels ''[[Aelita]]'' (1923), about a journey to Mars, and ''[[The Garin Death Ray]]'' (1927) are still popular with readers. In his later years he published two lengthy novels on historical subjects, ''Peter the First'' (1929–45) and ''The Road to Calvary'' (1922-41). As a staunch supporter of [[Joseph Stalin]], he became known as "Red Count" or "Comrade Count" and his works were acknowledged as classics of [[Soviet literature]]. Most of his reputation declined with that of [[Socialist Realism]], but his children's tale character [[Buratino]] retains his strong legacy with the younger audience of Russia and across the former Soviet space, appearing as popular reading, a movie, and a variety of derivative forms.

His granddaughter '''[[Tatyana Tolstaya]]''' (born May 3, 1951) is one of the foremost Russian short story writers. Another member of the family is Count '''[[Nikolai Tolstoy|Nikolai Tolstoy-Miloslavsky]]''' (born in 1935), a British historian and monarchist, and nominal head of the House of Tolstoy today.