On September 13, 2022, the European Foundation for Slavic Literature and Culture hosted an open thematic lesson on the theme “Tolstoy for Children”, dedicated to the birthday of the outstanding writer and thinker Leo Tolstoy.The event, which was held online, was attended not only by students of Russian language courses from different cities of Slovakia, but also by regular participants in literary and educational events held by the foundation.
The epigraph to the lesson was the words spoken about Leo Tolstoy by the famous French writer Anatoly France: "With his work, he teaches us that beauty arises alive and perfect from the truth." At the beginning of the event, the teachers of the foundation introduced interesting facts from the biography of the writer, told about his childhood and talent. They recalled that Lev Nikolayevich is the author of a large number of stories, novels, as well as stories for children, many of which are included in the "ABC" - a book written by him specifically for the education of peasant children. With particular interest, the participants took the story about their compatriot Dushan Makovitsky.
Dusan Petrovich Makovitsky was a Slovak doctor and writer, for a long time he was the doctor of the Tolstoy family and the Yasnaya Polyana peasants. "Our Soul" - that's what the inhabitants of Yasnaya Polyana called it.During the event, newsreel footage depicting the genius at different moments of his life was viewed. Then those present answered the questions raised regarding the biography of the writer and the titles of his stories for children. And in the end, they themselves read aloud with pleasure one of the wonderful children's works of Lev Nikolayevich - "Filipok". After reading, they shared their thoughts and feelings, took part in the discussion.