Leo Tolstoy’s Last Days in Yasnaya Polyana. Archives

RIA Novosti ^ | 09/09/2013 | RIA Novosti

[TexGrill]

Leo Tolstoy was born 185 years ago today, on September 9, 1828. This archive video tells the story of the last days of the giant of Russian literature and the fate of his family estate, Yasnaya Polyana.

[TexGrill]

Global business tip

[cynwoody]

Tolstoy. Photographed in 1908 by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky:

[nickcarraway]

Republican Senator Alan Beveridge made a film of Tolstoy in 1901, but it was supposedly destroyed to protect Beveridge’s chances of becoming president.

[jobim]

Henri Troyat’s riveting biography chronicles his running away from his wife to the train station, where crowds began to gather, at least as I recall, having read it 30 years ago. I long used Master & Man and The Death of Ivan Ilych in high school world literature class. Neither popular nor easy, but of lasting value to them.

[nickcarraway]

I had to read Ivan Ilyich for class, but the rest I read on my own. How old were your students? Do you think they would have liked Kreuzer Sonata?

[Standing Wolf]

I long used Master & Man and The Death of Ivan Ilych in high school world literature class. Neither popular nor easy, but of lasting value to them.

I second that.