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Why did Leo Tolstoy wear a medallion with Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s portrait?
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Leo Tolstoy
Russian writer Leo Tolstoy is widely regarded as one of the world's greatest novelists. His masterpieces are War and Peace (1865–69) and Anna Karenina (1875–77).
Leo Tolstoy wore a medallion featuring the portrait of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in place of a traditional cross during his youth.1
This choice reflected his profound intellectual and personal admiration for Rousseau’s writings, which deeply influenced his interests in literature and ethics during his formative years. While Tolstoy was a student at the University of Kazan, he felt a strong connection to Rousseau’s philosophy, which emphasized emotion, the beauty of nature, and a departure from conventional social and religious constraints. By wearing the medallion, Tolstoy signaled his devotion to these ideals over the traditional religious symbols of his time.12