Who is Leo (Lev) Tolstoy from Russian Thinkers and what is their importance?

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is considered one of the all time greatest novelists. He was a wealthy landowner, like many other writers and intellectuals of his generation, but was also racked with guilt over his privileged status. Tolstoy served in the army as a private, and celebrated his first literary success as a writer with the stories he published while serving in Sebastopol. Tolstoy championed the virtues of Russian peasants, and he organized schools on his estate to teach them. He is described as a libertarian, who stressed non-violence, vegetarianism and egalitarianism. His most famous works include War and Peace and Anna Karenina. His most famous short story, The Death of Ivan Illich, details the spiritual reactions of a man facing a death from illness.