Tolstoy

Tolstoyan movement

by Wikipedia

Tolstoyans (Russian: Толстовцы, Tolstovtsy) identify themselves as Christians, but do not generally belong to an institutional Church. Tolstoy was a harsh critic of the Russian Orthodox Church, leading to his excommunication in 1901.[3] Tolstoyans tend to focus more on following the teachings of Jesus, rather than on his miracles or divinity. They attempt to live an ascetic and simple life, preferring to be vegetarian, non-smoking, teetotal and chaste. Tolstoyans are considered Christian pacifists and advocate nonresistance in all circumstances. Tolstoy's understanding of what it means to be Christian was defined by the Sermon on the Mount and summed up in five simple propositions:

1.Love your enemies
2.Do not be angry
3.Do not fight evil with evil, but return evil with good (an interpretation of turning      the other cheek)
4.Do not lust
5.Do not take oaths.

Tolstoy’s Theory of Nonviolence

by Philosophy Now

The idea of nonviolence entered into the cycle of Russian ethics on the wave of Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika. It struck a chord among society at large. Since that period, the attitude to pacifist ideas has changed considerably. This attitude can now be expressed by two words: doubt and disappointment. I would like to comment on one common opinion, namely that nonviolence can be considered only as a wonderful dream. It has moral attractiveness but there is no compelling force of logic to it. This is a widely held view, but I will attempt to demonstrate its falseness by discussing Leo Tolstoy, who more than anyone else is reproached for having an inclination to utopianism.

Beyond War and Peace: Tolstoy’s Theory of Nonviolence

by Anya Tseitlin 8/7/25 HARVARD UNIVERSITY

The text below is a summary of the author's thesis, for which she was awarded the 2025 Kathryn W. Davis Prize for undergraduate research. The work was presented at our annual Undergraduate Colloquium on Russian and Eurasian Studies, which the Davis Center has hosted since 1996, when Kathryn W. Davis first committed her support to showcase work in the field by students from Harvard, Wellesley, and Wheaton colleges.

Leo Tolstoy: The Greatest Apostle of Non-Violence

by Nathan “Bam” Stanton 28/3/24 Interfaith America

This is the more politically active pacifism outlined by philosophers like Thoreau and others, but the roots of this philosophy may surprise you. In the far reaches of history, it has been brought to us through the figure of Jesus and His words in the Sermon on the Mount:

How to Resist Evil

by Leo Tolstoy 2/2/22 Plough

People are astonished that every year there are sixty thousand cases of suicide in Europe, and those only the recognized and recorded cases – and excluding Russia and Turkey; but one ought rather to be surprised that there are so few. Every person of the present day, if we go deep enough into the contradiction between his conscience and his life, is in a state of despair.

Leo Tolstoy and Nonviolence

by Leo Tolstoy 1828-1910

After serving in the Russian military and experiencing the horror of war, Tolstoy gradually came to a position of nonviolence. He studied the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament Bible, in particular commandments to love one’s enemies and not resist evil. It may seem ironic, but Tolstoy was excommunicated from the church for these views in 1909.

Tolstoy's thoughts on religion and non-violence

by Mahatma Gandhi

It was in 1884 that Count Leo Tolstoy continued his personal confession in "My Religion" - he found in the principle of non-violent resistance (which he called "non-resistance") the key to understand the Gospels, a new understanding of his life and of modern society in his age. Non-violence became the ethical basis for his doctrine of Truth Force which has later been developed by Mahatma Gandhi in his "Satyagraha" philosophy and Dr. Martin Luther King jr. in his concept of Soul-Force.