sharing the heritage of the great age of Russian literature, lacks one quality which distinguished all of the great Russian poets and writers : a sense of moral and social responsibility. His essence is that of a cynic and opportunist.George Orwell branded Tolstoy, along with contemporary Ilya Ehrenburg, as a “literary prostitute” whose freedom of expression was denied by Soviet totalitarianism. But Tolstoy's friend Ilya Ehrenburg reckoned that "like the real artist he was, he was never sure of himself, always dissatisfied, painfully seeking the right form to express what he wanted to say." Selected works Lirika, a poetry collection (1907) Nikita's Childhood (1921) The Road to Calvary, a trilogy (1921–40, Stalin Prize in 1943) Aelita (1923) The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin (aka The Garin Death Ray) (1926) The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Buratino (1936) Peter I (1929–34, Stalin Prize in 1941) A Week in Turenevo (published posthumously, 1958) "Count Cagliostro" (supernatural short story) References Notes Bibliography Ehrenburg, Ilya (1963). Memoirs: 1921–1941. Cleveland, Ohio: World Publishing. External links A.N. Tolstoy at SovLit.net The Marie Antoinette Tapestry, (story), from Such a Simple Thing and Other Stories, FLPH, Moscow, 1959. Biography Works of Aleksei Tolstoy 1883 births 1945 deaths People from Pugachyov People from Nikolayevsky Uyezd (Samara Governorate) Aleksey Nikolayevich Counts of the Russian Empire First convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Russian children's writers Russian science fiction writers Russian historical novelists Russian male novelists Russian dramatists and playwrights Russian male dramatists and playwrights White Russian emigrants to France Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet novelists Soviet male writers Soviet short story writers 20th-century Russian short story writers Russian male short story writers Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology alumni Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Stalin Prize winners Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery