One of the greatest Russian writers of all time, Tolstoy is best known for his epic novels "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina." His works are characterized by their realistic detail and psychological depth. Tolstoy's later religious and philosophical writings influenced the development of Christian anarchist and pacifist thought. Tolstoy was an acquaintence of Gogol, Dostoevsky and a frienemy of Turgenev. He is known as both a novelist and one of the greatest Russian Philosophers, similar to Dostoevsky.