# Leo Tolstoy — The Kingdom of God Is Within You character guide > Leo Tolstoy in The Kingdom of God Is Within You by Leo Tolstoy. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Count Tolstoy, Tolstoy **First appearance:** 0002-the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you ## Snapshot A count who renounced his own class's violence, Tolstoy argues that the state, the church, and the army are one machinery of coercion that true Christianity must refuse. ## Who they are Tolstoy writes as both aristocrat and penitent, mapping humanity's moral history as a slow climb from the savage's self-love through the patriot's glory to a life rooted in God. His tension is personal as much as doctrinal: he indicts the very institutions that educated and protected him, and he knows his readers will recognize their own compromises in the indictment. He matters because the book is his argument with himself and with a world that calls itself Christian while preparing for war. ## Relationships ### [Farrar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/characters/farrar) _professional_ Farrar and Leo Tolstoy are likely fellow writers or thinkers, with Tolstoy referencing Farrar’s works in his own theological writings. ### [Farrar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/characters/farrar) _professional_ Farrar and Leo Tolstoy are likely fellow writers or thinkers, with Tolstoy referencing Farrar’s works in his own theological writings. ## In the story ### [The Kingdom of God Is Within You](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you) Author and expositor of the non-mystical, practical Christianity. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/i) Author who receives correspondence and writings from American Quakers and Garrison's son, and who studies the works of Ballou. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/ii) Author reflecting on the reception of his book and defending Christ's teaching on nonresistance. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/iii) Tolstoy narrates his personal observations, including an incident at Óptin Cloister where a monk refused to give a peasant the Gospel, illustrating the church's suppression of true Christianity. ### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/iv) Author who presents and defends the Christian conception of life, critiquing misunderstandings and emphasizing the internal nature of Christ's teaching. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/v) Author and narrator, exposing the contradictions in the lives of the higher classes and the hypocrisy of Christian nations regarding war. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/vi) Authorial voice critiquing peace congresses, governments, and intellectuals who fail to address the root cause of war. ### [Chapter VII: The Inevitable Contradiction of State Power](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/vii) Author and narrator; presents a radical critique of state power and military service. ### [Chapter VIII: The Inevitable Choice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/viii) The author analyzes the historical and spiritual necessity of accepting Christ's teaching in its true meaning. ### [Chapter IX: Christian Liberation from Human Power](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/ix) Author and narrator, presenting the argument for Christian non-submission to government. ### [The Process of Christianization and the Inevitability of Moral Progress](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/x) Author of the chapter, presenting his argument on the process of Christianization and the inevitable decline of state violence. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/xi) Author and narrator, presenting his analysis of the shift from pagan to Christian public opinion. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/i) Narrator and witness to the events, reflecting on the violence of the state. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/ii) Narrator and observer who confronts the contradiction between Christian teaching and state-sanctioned murder, and who witnesses the recruit levy in Túla. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/iii) Author and narrator, analyzing the moral and psychological state of soldiers and rulers. ### [Chapter IV: The Corrosive Power of Hypocrisy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/iv) Author and narrator; delivers a scathing critique of societal hypocrisy and the failure of external reforms without truth. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/vi) Author of the chapter, writing from Yásnaya Polyána on 14 May 1893, directly addressing the reader with moral exhortation. ### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/endnotes) Author of the endnotes; provides critical commentary on the reception of his work and the interpretation of Christ's teachings. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/characters/leo_tolstoy - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/characters