The article analyzes the specificity of Leo Tolstoy’s activities in the context of the theatrical life of his period. The author tries to represent Tolstoy as a theatrical figure of his time - in contrast to his usual image of a persecutor of the dramatic art. The article explores the problem of dramatic art and its importance in the writer’s private and social life; there are analyzed the dialectics of Tolstoy’s spectator preferences and his requirements for the art. Leo Tolstoy is shown as a co-author of theatrical image and a direct creator of performance. The author of the article uncovers the most important for Tolstoy angle of view of any art’s aims, including those of the dramatic art, - the ethical one. This context gives the opportunity to eliminate the seeming contradiction of relations between Tolstoy and the theatre. By analyzing the sources, the author explores the peculiarities of Tolstoy’s ethical requirements for the theatre, dramatic art, and director’s interpretations of his plays. It was important for Tolstoy to make the spectators understand the main idea which the dramatist had put into the play. To change the person’s private life and to direct them in their attempts to achieve the Christian ideal was the main idea of Leo Tolstoy.