Abstract
Tolstoy’s diaries from his final years (1895–1910) offer a comprehensive account of his radical ideas on religion, the state, and nonviolence. These ideas emerged during his spiritual maturation. At the same time, the diaries record the relentless conflict between these ideals and the aristocratic family life at Yasnaya Polyana. Drawing on Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy’s own entries, this study first examines his critique of institutional Christianity and his view of the state as an instrument of coercion. It then turns to his principle of “non-resistance to evil by force.” Finally, it explores the family tragedy arising from his rejection of private property.
1. From Religious Dogma to Universal Conscience: A Critique of the Institutional Church
During the later years of his life, Tolstoy firmly rejected the institutional and dogmatic structures of Christianity. In his diaries from 1895 to 1910, he argues that church rituals, miracles, and the dogma of the Trinity are a form of “deception.” In his view, this deception renders the human mind passive.
- The Role of Religious Education: At first, Tolstoy explains, he blamed the roots of evil in society on wicked individuals or the social order. However, deeper reflection led him to a different conclusion. The fundamental source of evil, he came to believe, lay in the dogmatic religious education given to children. As a result, he argues that teaching children to believe in irrational miracles undermines their capacity for rational thought.
- Universal Morality and Faith: For Tolstoy, authentic religion must be free from rituals, dogmas, and the mediation of clergy. Instead, it requires individuals to follow their consciences and embody the principle of universal love. Eventually, in 1901, the Holy Synod formally excommunicated him from the Russian Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, he did not abandon his faith. In his response, he still described God as the source of moral development and love within human consciousness.
2. The State as “Organized Violence” and Christian Anarchism in Tolstoy’s Diaries
In Tolstoy’s political philosophy, the state is an inherently coercive and oppressive mechanism. It is built on violence, the exploitation of property, and military power.
- The Nature of the State: In his diaries, Tolstoy characterizes the state as an organized structure of control. It keeps the population in check through taxation, courts, compulsory military service, and private landownership. Moreover, he argues that the institutions governing the state, along with those serving its system, legitimize exploitation.
- Refusal to Participate in Political Authority: Accordingly, Tolstoy maintains that a moral and reasonable person cannot take part in state affairs, judicial institutions, or military service. To do so would contradict their own conscience. For the same reason, he considers attempts to reform states from within through elections or political reforms inadequate. After all, states permit only those changes that do not threaten their own existence.
- Christian Anarchism: Finally, Tolstoy distinguishes his position from classical political anarchism. In contrast, his approach applies the principles of Christianity and the Gospels directly to human relationships.
3. “Non-Resistance to Evil by Force” and Passive Disobedience
The central pillar of Tolstoy’s mature philosophy is the principle of “non-resistance to evil by force.”
- Criticism of Revolutionary Violence: Above all, Tolstoy strongly criticizes nihilists and revolutionaries who employ terrorism, bombs, and armed uprisings against the Tsarist regime. In his view, responding to violence with violence only intensifies political repression and provokes further retaliation. Ultimately, it produces little more than a transfer of power.
- Passive Disobedience and Conscientious Objection: According to Tolstoy, the only legitimate and effective way to resist a violent state is to refuse to serve it. This refusal is expressed through one’s thoughts, words, and personal way of life. In practice, it includes refusing military service and following the dictates of conscience. He therefore supported conscientious objectors who rejected compulsory military service, including members of the Doukhobor community. In addition, he devoted considerable attention to their struggles in his diaries.
4. Hell Within the Estate in Tolstoy’s Diaries: The Conflict Between Philosophical Ideals and Family Life
The radical philosophy Tolstoy developed came into relentless conflict with the aristocratic lifestyle maintained at Yasnaya Polyana. It also clashed with his family’s expectations.
| Tolstoy’s Ideals | His Family’s Reality |
|---|---|
| Poverty and simplicity | Aristocratic luxury |
| Rejection of private property and copyright income | Preservation of wealth and income |
| Conscientious objection and pacifism | Military service and participation in state institutions |
| Secret diaries and spiritual solitude | Surveillance and the reading of personal diaries |
A. The Ideal of Simplicity and the Feeling of Being a “Parasite”
Tolstoy was deeply troubled by the severe poverty endured by peasants. As a result, he felt guilty about the comfortable urban and estate lifestyle he and his family maintained. Indeed, in Tolstoy’s diaries, he describes feeling like a “parasite” within this aristocratic system. However, his family resisted his proposals to give away his wealth and live simply, like a peasant.
B. Property, Copyright, and Conflicts over His Will
Tolstoy philosophically rejected private ownership of land and the collection of income from the copyright of his works. He therefore wanted to place the copyright to his writings in the public domain. There were certain exceptions, including the first ten volumes and his primers. On the other hand, his wife, Sofya Andreyevna (Sonya), insisted on retaining copyright income to protect the future of their children and family. Consequently, this dispute led to bitter arguments within the household.
C. His Children’s Lifestyles and the Breakdown of Class Values
Tolstoy’s diaries express profound distress over his sons’ attachment to luxury, gambling, hunting, and military service. He was particularly troubled by the prospect that his children would become landowners employing peasants on their estates. Meanwhile, he himself rejected private property. Thus, this contradiction placed a heavy burden on his conscience.
5. Privacy Crises, the “Secret Diary,” and the Tragic End at Astapovo
From the start of their marriage in 1862, Tolstoy and Sofya had kept a tradition of reading each other’s diaries. Over time, however, this practice developed into a source of intense pressure and surveillance within the household.
- The Destructive Effects of Open Diaries: Sofya sometimes read the words Tolstoy had written in moments of anger and emotional distress. Consequently, their household frequently erupted into bitter arguments. Fearing that she would be remembered as a bad wife, Sofya became deeply troubled by his harsh descriptions of her. For this reason, Tolstoy at times felt compelled to remove particularly severe passages.
- The Secret Diary (1908): Distressed by his wife’s constant scrutiny, Tolstoy began keeping a “Secret Diary” in 1908, intended exclusively for his own use. In an entry dated 2 July 1908, he candidly admits something painful. An outside observer, he writes, might regard him as a “hypocrite” who lives in luxury and hides behind his wife.
- The Will Crisis and His Departure from Home: Vladimir Chertkov was one of Tolstoy’s closest disciples. Under his guidance, the writer prepared secret wills to place his copyright in the public domain. In turn, these arrangements intensified Sofya’s suspicions and anxiety. On the night of 28 October 1910, Tolstoy was 82 years old. At around two in the morning, he heard his wife open his study and search through his locked documents. He then made his final decision to leave, secretly departing with his daughter Sasha and his doctor, Dušan. Soon after, he fell ill during the journey and eventually died at Astapovo railway station on 7 November 1910.
Conclusion: What Tolstoy’s Diaries Reveal
Tolstoy’s diaries from 1895 to 1910 document a seemingly irreconcilable conflict. On one side stood his commitment to the rejection of private property, principled simplicity, and Christian anarchism. On the other stood his family’s desire to preserve its aristocratic privileges. In Tolstoy’s view, the state relied on violence, and institutional religion legitimized that violence. Similarly, the pursuit of family wealth threatened to distance individuals from their consciences.
Ultimately, the diaries suggest that escaping this tragic cycle requires individuals to return to their own consciences and reject both violence and possessiveness. Yet Tolstoy’s personal struggles also reveal how hard it is to live by radical moral principles. Family life and the social structures in which one remains embedded make this reconciliation profoundly difficult. For a related look at how the same moral standard shaped his view of art, see Why Does Tolstoy Criticize Wagner and Beethoven?
References: Passages Directly Cited from Tolstoy’s Diaries
Prefaces and Introductions
- Tolstoy’s Diaries, Volume 2: 1895–1910, edited and translated by R. F. Christian, “Preface to the 2015 Edition” (the structure and development of the diaries).
- “Preface to the 2015 Edition” (the tradition of mutual diary reading between Tolstoy and Sofya from 1862 onward, and the transition to private diary entries in 1910).
- “General Introduction, 1895–1902” (the Doukhobor campaign, Resurrection, What Is Art?, jealousy concerning Taneyev, and family tensions).
- “General Introduction, 1895–1902” (the 1901 excommunication, the journey to Crimea, and Tolstoy’s letter to Tsar Nicholas II).
Diary Entries, 1895–1902
- “Diary Entry, 7 February 1895” (copyright for Master and Man and the bitter conflict with Sofya).
- “Diary Entry, 7 February 1895” (state oppression, criticism of revolutionary terrorism, and resistance through thought and speech).
- “Diary Entries, 15–21 February 1895” (conscience and refusal to participate in state affairs).
- “Diary Entry, 16 February 1895” (Tolstoy’s first funeral testament, his request to relinquish copyright, and the proposed destruction of his diaries).
- “Diary Entry, 6 April 1895” (criticism of urban life and his description of himself as a “parasite”).
- “Diary Entries, 18–20 May 1895” (an argument with his son Andrey and family estrangement).
- “Diary Entry, 17 June 1895” (disputes with Sofya over income and the distribution of property).
- “Diary Entry, 22 September 1895” (the persecution of the Doukhobors and pacifism).
- “Diary Entry, 13 October 1895” (Sofya’s reading of harsh diary passages and Tolstoy’s self-criticism).
- “Notes from 1895” (the background to the crisis surrounding Master and Man).
- “Diary Entries, 12 January and 4 February 1897” (shame over the luxurious household and Sofya’s concerns about reading the diaries).
- “Diary Entry, 17 July 1898” (clarification of misunderstandings concerning God, non-resistance, chastity, and art).
- “Diary Entry, 1 January 1900” (the psychological harm caused by teaching religious dogmas to children).
- “Diary Entries, 19 March and 22 April 1901” (the excommunication, the declaration to the Tsar, and religious education as a source of evil in the world).
- “Diary Entry, 18 August 1901” (the exploitation of the population by capitalists, the state, and the clergy as intermediaries).
- “Diary Entry, 30 November 1902” (the failure of revolutionary violence and the necessity of authentic Christianity).
Diary Entries, 1903–1910
- “General Introduction, 1903–1910” (the Kishinev pogrom, the Russo-Japanese War, Bethink Yourselves!, the disputes over Tolstoy’s will, and his death at Astapovo).
- “Diary Entry, 30 July 1906” (the definition of Christian anarchism and antimilitarism).
- “Diary Entry, 10 October 1907” (non-resistance to evil by force as a universal law of life).
- “Secret Diary for 1908, 2–18 July” (the transition from the open diary to the secret diary, self-criticism, and the desire to leave home).
- “Diary Entry, 24 January 1909” (the proposal to transfer land to peasants and make his works publicly accessible).
- “Diary Entries, 28–31 October 1910” (the night of his departure, Optina Monastery, the train journey, and his final days at Astapovo).
Source Edition
Title: Tolstoy’s Diaries, Volume 2: 1895–1910
Author: Leo Tolstoy (Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy)
Compiled, Edited, and Translated by: R. F. Christian (Reginald Frank Christian)
Foreword by: Rosamund Bartlett
Publisher: Faber & Faber (Faber Finds)
Language: English (selected and translated from the original Russian)
Copyright / Publication Year: 1985 (copyright for the translation and selection: R. F. Christian, 1985; foreword: 2010/2015)
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