My Confession

My Confession (Ispoved) is a philosophical and religious work by Leo Tolstoy, written in 1884. Following the completion of his novel Anna Karenina, Tolstoy experienced a profound existential crisis, questioning the meaning of life in the face of death. This led him to explore religion, initially turning to the Russian Orthodox Church but ultimately finding its institutions corrupt and having falsified true Christianity.1

In My Confession, Tolstoy details his struggle with the fear of death and his eventual discovery of what he believed to be Christ's true message. He rejected many traditional religious tenets, including sacraments, miracles, and the Holy Trinity, focusing instead on the ethical teachings of Jesus, particularly the Sermon on the Mount. Tolstoy's philosophy emphasized nonresistance to evil, pacifism, and a rejection of governmental authority, leading to his excommunication from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1901.1