Leo Tolstoy is a world-renowned great Russian writer. His immortal works are legendary and his life is full of legends. The biography and memoirs about Tolstoy have been published before and after, and the author of the first Tolstoy biography in the world is Toon's friend before his death, the famous Russian writer, publisher and social activist H. n. Biryukov (1860-1931).
On November 4, 1860, H. n. Biryukov was born on a hereditary estate in Kostroma. The Biryukovs are an ancient family dating back to the 15th century AD. His grandfather, Sergei Ivanovich Biryukov, was a major general who participated in the Great Patriotic War against France in 1812 and was seriously wounded in the famous Battle of Borodino. His father, Major General Ivan Sergeyevich Biryukov, graduated from the Pavlovian cadet school. His mother, Varvara Vasilyevna Khristina, is the daughter of a third-class civil servant, well-educated, proficient in many foreign languages, and loves music.
H. n. Biryukov inherited his father's business and was admitted to the military academy, which specialized in recruiting children of nobles. Six years later, he was transferred to the naval school. After graduating in 1880, he was awarded the rank of warrant officer and served in the navy for two years. Later, he was admitted to the Naval Academy and worked as a hydrometeorological rescuer at the Naval Hydrometeorological Station after graduation. During this period, a friend introduced him to the "Christian Relief Society", an aristocratic youth organization in Petersburg, where he met Leo Tolstoy. Influenced by Tolstoy, Biliukov gradually changed his views and began to study Tolstoy's religious philosophy. He soon became a loyal follower of Tolstoy.
In the spring of 1885, Biryukov was discharged from the army, and he devoted himself entirely to the work of the "Media" publishing house. From 1886 to 1888 he served as the head of the society and published Tolstoy's new novels and anthologies.
The work of the publishing house brought Biliukov closer to Tolstoy. From 1892 to 1893, Biryukov and Tolstoy participated in the relief work of the starving people in Ryazan and Samara. In 1897 Biliukov was deported to Courland Province for his support of the Protestant Ritualists, and in 1898 he was deported again. He lived in Austria, England and Switzerland successively, and did not return until 1904.
Biryukov's lifelong pursuit was to write a detailed biography of Tolstoy, a work he began in 1901. From December 1904 to March 1905 Biliukov lived in Yasnaya Polyana, spending time with Tolstoy, learning from him some events in his life and hearing his views on them. Although Biliukov spent most of his time in Switzerland, he and Tolstoy developed a deep friendship and close trust. Tolstoy even consulted with him about a secret donation of the estate and finally adopted his advice.
In 1906, the first volume of Tolstoy's biography was published in Europe. Biliukov sent an English version of the book to Toon, which is now in the Tolstoy House Museum. The second volume was published by the Media Press in 1908. From 1903 to 1909, Biryukov completed the third volume of his biography. The three-volume biography of Tolstoy was reprinted three times in Berlin in five thousand copies each. After Tolstoy's death in November 1910, Biliukov began to write the fourth volume, which was completed in December 1922.
The publication of the four-volume Biography of Tolstoy made the goal that Biliukov struggled for 20 years to achieve. The first volume chronicles the life of Tolstoy from 1828 to 1862. Including the Tolstoy family, Tolstoy's youth, military service, his first creation and the works "The Logging" and "The Story of Sevastopol", Tolstoy's social life and his relationship with Sofia Andre Married Yevna Biels. The second volume describes Toon's life from 1863 to 1884. Including "War and Peace", the creative process of "Anna Karenina", the contradiction and rift with Turgenev, the break with the church, family life and the work "What Do I Believe". The third volume mainly describes the life of Toon from 1885 to 1910 and the last days of his life. The fourth volume is a concluding review of the book and focuses on Toon's last decade, 1900-1910. The book contains Tolstoy's views on the South African War and Protestant Ritualism. Quoting Tolstoy's extensive correspondence to Biliukov. In the letter Tolstoy talks about his own creation, spiritual love, foreboding of imminent death and his final works, "Patriotism and Government," "Slavery in Our Time," and "Do Not Kill." The fourth volume also records the events of Tolstoy's excommunication in 1901 by a proclamation of the Holy Religious Council. In writing this biography, Biliukov cited numerous notes, diaries, correspondence and memoirs of Tolstoy himself and his friends and relatives, as well as archival material in the Russian branch of the British Museum and Tolstoy's birth. Certificates, marriage and funeral certificates, etc. The important value of this biography is not only that its content is informative, but more importantly, that the author received Tolstoy's correction and assistance throughout the writing process. This book also became the best reference for British author Aylmer Maud when he wrote "The Biography of Tolstoy".
In 1924 Biryukov returned to Switzerland and died there in October 1931.
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