Tolstoy, Alexei (1882-1945), was a Russian novelist and playwright. Tolstoy was an excellent storyteller with a vivid, clear style. His most important novel is the three-part Road to Calvary (1921, 1927, 1941). This epic tale describes the tragedies of Russian life during World War I (1914-1918) and deals with the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing Russian civil war (1918-1920). The novel recounts the effects of these events on a group of intellectuals. Tolstoy’s other major work is an unfinished historical novel, Peter the First (begun in 1929). This monumental work is a rich, though somewhat idealized, portrait of the czar who ruled Russia from 1682 to 1725. Based on extremely thorough historical research, it also presents a broad panorama of Russian life at that time. Tolstoy portrayed Czar Ivan IV in two plays called Ivan the Terrible (1942 and 1943).
Alexei Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born on Jan. 10, 1882, in the city of Samara. He was a distant relative of the famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy. He began his literary career as a Symbolist poet but soon turned to prose. He died on Feb. 23, 1945.
