Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828, in the Tula Province of Russia. He came from an aristocratic family and enjoyed a privileged childhood. However, it was marked by emotional trauma following his parents' early deaths. Tolstoy's most famous works are the novels 'War and Peace' (1869) and 'Anna Karenina' (1877), which are commonly cited as pinnacles of realist fiction. Tolstoy also became known for his complex ideas on nonviolent resistance, which he elaborated in his later works. He influenced the nonviolent resistance movement of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. among others. Tolstoy died on November 20, 1910.