Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828 ~ 1910)

The text by Tolstoy is Свечка, The Candle.

The literary criticism article (in English) has been written by Professor Robin Milner-Gulland, Research Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Sussex.

The historical background (in English) to the story has been provided by Beryl Williams, Reader in History at the University of Sussex.

A brief biography and some more texts can be found at Great Literature Online or Classic Literature by Great Authors.