The Sevastopol Sketches, called in English translations the Sebastopol Sketches (pre-reform Russian: Севастопольскіе разсказы, tr. Sevastópolʹskiye razskázy; post-reform Russian: Севастопольские рассказы, tr. Sevastópolʹskiye rasskázy), also published in English as Sevastopol, are three short stories written by Leo Tolstoy and published in 1855 to record his experiences during the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855). The name originates from Sevastopol, a city in Crimea. The book has also sometimes been entitled Sebastopol Stories. These brief "sketches" formed the basis of many of the episodes in Tolstoy's magnum opus, War and Peace.
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой, tr. Lev Nikoláyevich Tolstóy; 9 September, [O.S. 28 August] 1828 – 20 November, [O.S. 7 November] 1910), usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. He received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909. That he never won is a major controversy.