Tolstoy
This article is about the Tolstoy family; for the famous novelist, see Leo Tolstoy.Tolstoy, or
Tolstoi () is a prominent family of
Russian nobility, descending from one Andrey Kharitonovich Tolstoy (i.e., "the Fat") who served under
Vasily II of Moscow. The "wild Tolstoys" (as they were known in the high society of Imperial Russia) have left a lasting legacy in Russian politics, military history, literature, and fine arts.
According to a much later genealogical fable, Andrey Kharitonovich Tolstoy was in turn a great-grandson of some Indris who was "a man of distinguished ancestory". Indris allegedly came from the
Holy Roman Empire to
Chernigov, accompanied by his sons Litvinos and Zimonten and a force of 3000 men (a derivative of the similar fable utilised by Lithuanian nobles from the 16th century, giving homage to the Tolstoys' Lithuanian ancestry). This is a typical genealogical mystification.
The family first reached prominence in the late
17th century, on account of its connections with the Miloslavsky clan to which
Tsar Alexis' first wife belonged. It was
okolnichi Peter Andreevich Tolstoy who decided the family fortune by casting his lot with the party of
Peter the Great. He gradually gained in Peter's confidence serving first as the Russian ambassador to
Constantinople, then as the head of the secret police. Although detested by contemporaries, Tolstoy was made a
count for his part in securing the throne for
Catherine I. He later clashed with the mighty
Prince Menshikov, was stripped of his titles and exiled to the
Solovki. The titles and estates were restituted to his grandchildren 30 years later.
The most famous of
19th-century Tolstoy politicians was Count
Dmitriy Andreevich (1823–89), successively the Minister of Education, Minister of Interior and President of the Academy of Science. During his term in office, he put into effect a vigorous
Russification program in Poland and Ukraine, for which he is chiefly remembered.
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Count Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy (1770–1857) |
Two members of the family were active during the
Napoleonic wars. Count
Peter Alexandrovich (1761–1844) served under
Suvorov in wars against Poland and Turkey, was made a general-adjutant in 1797, went as an ambassador to
Paris in 1807 and tried to persuade
Alexander I to prepare for the war against France, without much success though. He served as the governor of
St Petersburg and
Kronstadt from 1828 until his death.
Alexander Ivanovich Tolstoy (1770–1857), stemming from a collateral branch of the family, inherited the comital title and estates of
his childless uncle, the last of the
Ostermanns. He first distinguished himself in the battle of Charnova (1807) where his regiment held out for 15 hours against the whole army commanded by
Napoleon. One of the most admired generals of the anti-Napoleonic coalition, he was rewarded for his courage in the battles at
Pultusk and
Eylau. At Guttstadt he was wounded so seriously that they feared for his life. In the great
battle of Borodino he brilliantly commanded the key positions until he was shell-shocked and taken away from the battlefield. Ostermann-Tolstoy was once again wounded in the
battle of Bautzen (1813) but didn't give up command of his force. His crowning achievement was the
victory at Kulm (
August 30, 1813), which cost him amputation of the left arm. When the war was over, he quarrelled with the Emperor, resigned and spent the rest of his life living in Europe.
Count
Feodor Petrovich Tolstoy (1783–1873), sympathetically mentioned by
Pushkin in
Eugene Onegin, was one of the most fashionable Russian drawers and painters of the 1820s. Although he prepared fine illustrations for
Bogdanovich's
Dushenka, his genuine vocation was
wax modeling and design of
medals. As he gradually went blind, he had to give up drawing and started writing
ballets and librettos for operas. He was appointed Vice-President of the Academy of Arts in 1828. Many of his works may be seen in the
Russian Museum,
St Petersburg.
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Feodor Tolstoy's watercolour of his house in Moscow |
Count
Feodor Ivanovich Tolstoy (1782–1846) was a notorious drunkard, gastronome, and duellist. It is said that he killed 11 people in
duels. In 1803 he participated in the first Russian
circumnavigation of the Earth. After he had his body tattooed at the
Marquesas and debauched all the crew, captain
Krusenstern had to maroon him on the
Aleutian Islands near
Kamchatka. Upon his return to St Petersburg, Count Fedor was nicknamed
Amerikanets ("the American"). He fought bravely in the
Patriotic War of 1812 but scandalized his family again by marrying a Gypsy singer in 1821.
Alexander Griboyedov satirized him in
Woe from Wit, and his cousin
Leo Tolstoy â€" who called him an "extraordinary, criminal, and attractive man" â€" fictionalized him in
War and Peace.
Many of the Tolstoys devoted their spare time to literary pursuits. For instance, Count
Alexei Konstantinovich (1817–75) was a courtier but also one of the most popular Russian poets of his time. He wrote admirable
ballads, a historical novel, some licentious verse, and
satires published under the penname of
Kozma Prutkov. His lasting contribution to the Russian literature was a trilogy of historical dramas, modelled after
Pushkin's
Boris Godunov.
Count
Lev Nikolaevich (1828–1910), more widely known abroad as
Leo Tolstoy is cited as one of the greatest Russian novelists of 19th century. After he started his career in the military, he was first drawn to writing books when he served in
Chechenya, and already his first novel,
Kazaky, was something quite unlike anything written before him. It was in his family estate
Yasnaya Polyana near
Tula that he created two novels,
War and Peace and
Anna Karenina, that are widely acclaimed as among the best novels ever written. Later he developed a
a kind of non-traditional Christian philosophy, described in his work
The Kingdom of God is Within You, that shares some similarities with
Buddhism, and which inspired
Rainer Maria Rilke and a young Indian lawyer named
Mohandas Gandhi whose influence extended out to
Martin Luther King. The non violent philosophy of Tolstoy transends more movements than many people may be accustomed to think.
Of Lev's thirteen children, most spent their life either promoting his teachings or denouncing them. His youngest daughter and secretary,
Alexandra Lvovna (1884–1979), had a particularly troubled life. Although she shared with her father the doctrine of
non-violence, she felt it was her duty to take part in the events of
World War I. For her courage she was rewarded with three
St George medals and the rank of colonel. The
Bolsheviks imprisoned her in 1920, but she was installed as the director of the Tolstoy museum in
Yasnaya Polyana the next year. Upon leaving Russia in 1929, she settled in the USA and founded the
Tolstoy Fund. She helped many Russian intellectuals (notably
Vladimir Nabokov and
Sergei Rachmaninoff) to escape Nazi persecution and to settle in America.
Count
Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1883–1945) belonged to a different branch of the family. His early short stories, published in 1910s, were panned by critics for excessive
naturalism and wanton eroticism. After the
Revolution he briefly emigrated to Germany, but then changed his political views and returned to the
Soviet Union. His science fiction novels
Aelita (1923), about a journey to the Mars, and
Engineer Garin's Death Ray (1927) were popular with teenager public. In his later years he published two lengthy novels on historical subjects,
Peter the First (1929–45) and
The Road to Calvary (1922–41). As a staunch supporter of
Stalin, he was acknowledged to be a classic of the
Soviet literature. His reputation declined with that of
Socialist Realism in general.
His granddaughter
Tatiana Tolstaya (born in 1951) is one of the foremost Russian short story writers. Another living member of the family is
Nikolai Tolstoy-Miloslavsky (born in 1935), a controversial British historian.
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Genealogy tree for Tolstoys Family by Nikolay Tolstoy. Enlarge to see details |
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Selivestr Ivanovich Tolstoy (? –1612), officer
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Grigory Ivanovich Tolstoy (? –1636), officer
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Vasili Ivanovich Tolstoy (? –1649), officer
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Andrey Vasiliyevich Tolstoy (? –1690), officer
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Ivan Andreyevich Tolstoy (
1644 –
1713), officer
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Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy (
1645–
1729), statesman
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Matvei Andreyevich Tolstoy (? –1763), general-en-chef
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Ivan Matveyevich Tolstoy (1746–1808), general-podporuchik
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Dmitry Aleksandrovich Tolstoy (1754–1832), governor of
Mogilev*
Fyodor Andreyevich Tolstoy (
1758–
1849),
bibliophile and
collector*
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tolstoy (1761–1816), grand master of court ceremonies
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Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy (
1769–
1844), military commander and diplomat
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Aleksander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy (1770–1857), full general of infantry
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Matvei Feodorovich Tolstoy (1772–1815), senator
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Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy (
1783–
1873), artist
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Pavel Matveyevich Golenischev-Kutuzov-Tolstoy (1800–1883), grandson and heir of
Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov*
Yegor Petrovich Tolstoy (1802–1874), lieutenant-general, governor of
Taganrog and
Kaluga, senator
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Nikolai Matveyevich Tolstoy (1802–1879), full general of infantry, grandfather of
Anna Vyrubova*
Ivan Matveyevich Tolstoy (1806–1867), grand master of court ceremonies and minister of post service
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Feofil Matveyevich Tolstoy (
1809–
1881), music critic and composer
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Mikhail Vladimirovich Tolstoy (
1812–
1896), writer
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Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (
1817–
1885), poet
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Dmitry Andreyevich Tolstoy (
1823–
1889), statesman
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Yuri Vasiliyevich Tolstoy (
1824–
1878), statesman and historian
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Leo (Lev) Nikolayevich Tolstoy (
1828–
1910), writer and philosopher
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Lev Lvovich Tolstoy (
1871–
1945), sculptor
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Ivan Ivanovich Tolstoy (
1880–
1954), philologist and
academician*
Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoi (
1883–
1945), writer
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Nikita Ilyich Tolstoy (
1923–
1996),
philologist*
Nikolai Tolstoy (b.
1935), historian
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Tatiana Nikitishna Tolstaya (b.
1951), writer
Several places in Russia are named to commemorate Leo Tolstoy, e.g., Tolstoy-Yurt, village in
Chechnya.
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Official site of Leo Tolstoy's family and museum*
Genealogy of Tolstoy and related families*
Tolstoy's Legacy for Mankind: A Manifesto for Nonviolence, Part 1 *
Tolstoy's Legacy for Mankind: A Manifesto for Nonviolence, Part 2 *
Russian Army during the Napoleonic Wars
