Leo Tolstoy then spent much of his time in Moscow, Tula and Saint Petersburg, leading a lax and leisurely lifestyle. He began writing during this period, including his first novel "Childhood", a fictitious account of his own youth, which was published in 1852. In 1851, after running up heavy gambling debts, he went with his older brother to the Caucasus and joined the army. Tolstoy served as a young artillery officer during the Crimean War and was in Sevastopol during the 11-month-long siege of Sevastopol in 1854–55, including the Battle of the Chernaya. During the war he was recognised for his bravery
War and Peace (film series) War and Peace (film series) War and Peace (, trans. Voyna i mir) is a 1966–67 Soviet war drama film written and directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and a film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel "War and Peace". The film, released in four installments throughout 1966 and 1967, starred Bondarchuk in the leading role of Pierre Bezukhov, alongside Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Ludmila Savelyeva, who depicted Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova. The picture was produced by the Mosfilm studios between 1961 and 1967, with considerable support from the Soviet authorities. At a cost of 8.29 million Soviet rubles – equal