Leo Tolstoy: Google Doodle marks War and Peace author's birthday with animation

The Anna Karenina novelist died in 1910 and would have been 186 today

Google Doodle commemorates the life of novelist Leo Tolstoy (Google)

Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy has been wished a happy 186th birthday by today’s Google Doodle.

Tolstoy was born on 9 September 1828 and died from pneumonia at Astapovo train station aged 82 in 1910.

The slideshow doodle begins with an image of a bearded Tolstoy busy writing at his desk by candlelight before presenting scenes from his most famous works, including War and Peace, Anna Karenina and The Death of Ivan Ilyich.

Tolstoy's epic War and Peace is widely regarded as one of the most important works of literature.

It tells of the events surrounding France’s 1812 invasion of Russia and documents life in the Tsarist society of the Napoleonic years through the eyes of five Russian upper class families.

War and Peace features in the Leo Tolstoy Google Doodle (Google)

Tolstoy’s other great novel, Anna Karenina, follows the tragic life of married socialite Anna and her affair with the wealthy Count Vronsky.

Anna grows increasingly paranoid and insecure that Vronsky will prove unfaithful, while issues such as politics, religion, gender and social class are all explored in detail.

A scene from Anna Karenina in the Leo Tolstoy Google Doodle (Google)

Tolstoy’s books are known for being long and complex to read, while the author’s own complicated and extreme moralistic views also proved influential.

He became a passionate Christian anarchist and his idea on nonviolent action had an impact on the likes of Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi.

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