13 ноября 1872 года увидело свет первое издание «Азбуки» Льва Николаевича Толстого

In the midst of 19th century great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy attended to the problem of public education. He decided to write a textbook for small kids. According to the writer himself, he wanted it to be “beautiful, short simple and clear.” However, it was by far not short, as the ABC book was such only with regard to its name. Actually, the edition represented a mini-encyclopedia in 4 volumes. Tolstoy put in a lot of effort. Along with the stories for children that he wrote, the writer had studied a lot of textbooks and made a great part of experiments himself. He invented new definitions of arithmetic, studied physics, was carried away by astronomy and would spend hours observing the sky at night. The process of publication was also not at all easy. Tolstoy had to place drawings and tables skillfully, as well as think about using different fonts. “It is printed from one end and is growing from the other one. This book is capable of providing a job for us for 100 years ahead,” the author would assure his friends.