Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, perhaps the most famous Russian writer in the world, entered the history of literature not only as the creator of immortal novels, stories, stories, but also as a philosopher, the creator of his own teaching - Tolstoyism. This edition includes two of the most important religious and philosophical works of L. N. Tolstoy - “Confession” and “On Life”. Having become the result of many years of the writer’s thoughts about the fundamental questions of human existence - about the meaning of life, about death and immortality, about faith, about the existence of God - at one time these works were banned for publication by censorship. Tolstoy's spiritual quest also extended to the area of aesthetics. A stormy public reaction was caused by the appearance in print of the treatise “What is Art?”, in which Tolstoy set the task of defining the criteria of true art, freeing himself from the prevailing cultural tradition and all kinds of stereotypes. In addition to the treatise, the book also contains other works by Tolstoy on the problems of creativity.