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
Sonya (War and Peace) Sonya (War and Peace) Sofya Alexandrovna "Sonya" (; ) is a character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel "War and Peace", and in Sergey Prokofiev's 1955 opera "War and Peace" and Dave Malloy's 2012 musical "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812" based on it. She is the orphaned niece of Count and Countess Rostov. Although sometimes called "Sonya Rostova", it is not clear if that is her surname or not; the novel does not tell. "Alexandrovna" is a patronymic. At the start of the novel, 15-year-old Sonya is in love with her cousin, Nikolai Rostov, who initially reciprocates her