Marya Tolstoy, born Princess Marya Volkonskaya, was a descendent of the founder of the Russian Empire. With the death of her father, she inherited the isolated but well-endowed estate of Yasnaya Polyana.

Marya Tolstoy was a well-educated woman She spoke four languages—French, German, English, and Italian, besides her native tongue, Russian. She was also a talented pianist and had a gift for making up delightful stories. Yet Marya was so shy that when she was asked to entertain others with her stories during social gatherings, she would only do so in a dark room where she could not be seen. Despite her shyness in public, she was known to be hot-tempered, a characteristic which she managed to control.

Marya married Count Nicholas Tolstoy when she was in her thirties. During the evenings at the family estate in Yasnaya Polyana, she would read aloud to her mother-in-law. She chose works such as Rousseau's Emile, as well as popular romances. Her husband had a large library of French classics, histories, and scientific works. He was often away, and even when he was home, she did not see very much of him.

Marya Tolstoy fell ill and died after the birth of a fifth child, Marya, her only daughter. Leo tried in vain to remember his mother as he grew up. There was no portrait of her in the house, only a silhouette of her when she was ten or twelve, cut out of black paper. Throughout his life he idealized her as the essence of saintliness and goodness.

Father: Count Nicholas Tolstoy

Count Nicholas Tolstoy was the son of the influential land owner who had been appointed by the Czar to be the Governor of Kazan. His father had squandered much of his vast estate, making it necessary for Nicholas to marry someone wealthier in order to lead the life of wealth and privilege that was expected for a man of his social standing. He married the wealthy Princess Marya Volkonsky, who was older than him by five years and who was not considered very attractive. Although it was a marriage without love, it proved harmonious and happy.

Relieved of financial anxieties by his marriage, his chief occupation was in managing the great estate and legal matters connected with his father's affairs. Despite the wealth he had acquired through marriage, Nicholas Tolstoy was not very effective in his business dealings. He was sometimes harsh in his treatment of his laborers, having them whipped if they challenged him or did not perform well.

Tolstoy held himself aloof from government officials, "never humbling himself before any one." Although he had never had any interest in agriculture, as the squire of a vast country estate, he spent much of his time out in the fields chatting with the serfs and advising them on when to plant and harvest. Count Tolstoy was also an avid reader with an extensive library. In order for his sons to receive a better education, Count Nicholas moved his family to Moscow in 1837. He died suddenly in the same year, on a trip to Yasnaya Polyana to take care of some legal matters.

A peasant worker owned by a master, not able to own property of his or her own.

Second Cousin: Tatyana Ergolskaya

Tatyana Ergolskaya, nicknamed Aunt Toinette, was a distant cousin of Tolstoy's father who was raised in the Tolstoy family as an orphan. Count Nicholas once fell in love with her but rejected her in favor Princess Marya, whom he married for her money. The love of Count Nicholas Tolstoy for the beautiful, vivacious Tatyana parallels the love of the character Nikolai Ilyitch and his cousin in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.

After Nicholas's marriage to Princess Marya, he allowed Tatyana to live at the family estate in Yasnaya Polyana. After Marya Tolstoy's death, Nicholas asked his beloved cousin to marry him, but she rejected the proposal on the grounds that she did not want to spoil the "pure relations" he had with his children. She continued to live with the Tolstoys at Yasnaya Polyana and Moscow, where they later moved, loving and caring for the Count's children as though they were her own.

Tatyana was separated from the Tolstoy children when they moved to Kazan after the unexpected death of their father, Nicholas Tolstoy. Later, while Leo was attending the University of Kazan, he spent the summers with Tatyana at the family estate at Yasnaya Polyana. Leo described her as an important influence in his youth, who taught him that "life was not a game but a serious matter." While he was away, she wrote him frequently and kept an eye on his estate, making sure that his interests were always safeguarded. When his home was being raided by police during a government crackdown on revolutionaries, she hid any books that could be considered incriminating, as well as his letters from political reformers. Her supportive role in Tolstoy's life changed when he married, but Tatyana continued to live at Yasnaya Polyana until her death in 1874.

Brother: Nicholas Tolstoy

Tolstoy described his brother Nicholas as a "remarkable boy and later a remarkable man." As the oldest of the Tolstoy brothers, he had an inexhaustible imagination and a strong sense of justice. These qualities made him a popular figure in the Tolstoy family. It was Nicholas who created the story of the "Ant Brothers," whose mission was to find the mysterious green stick hidden in the woods that would destroy all evil on earth and bring happiness and joy to all men. Just as Nicholas had led the way through their childhood games, Tolstoy often counted on him for leadership and guidance in later life. He gladly agreed when Nicholas suggested that he accompany him to the Caucasus Mountains, where Leo joined the army and became involved in the first of many military actions. His resulting experiences formed the basis of his early writings.

According to Tolstoy’s friend Turgenev, Nicholas actually lived the simple, saintly life that he and Leo dreamed about. He lived in slums, always ready to share whatever he had with the poor. His family, Turgenev noted, "loved and respected him more than anyone on earth." The poet, Fet, another friend of Tolstoy, said that Nicholas was worshipped by all who knew him. He was known for his wit and satirical humor. His imagination was so vivid that others would listen intently for hours as he related his various tales. Tolstoy claimed that Nicholas could have been a great writer but lacked the chief quality, ambitiousness.

Two days before his death in southern France from tuberculosis, Nicholas shared with Tolstoy the only article he had ever completed, "Memoirs of a Sportsman," which was published in Sovremennik.

Brother: Sergey Tolstoy

During Tolstoy's early teens, he tried to imitate his brother Sergey. After they left Kazan and went their separate ways, Sergey was only occasionally seen during family visits. His family never fully accepted his relationship with a gypsy woman. During a visit to Yasnaya Polyana, he fell in love with seventeen-year-old Tanya Behrs, Sonya Tolstoy's younger sister, and the two almost married. Sergey found that he could not end his relationship with the gypsy, Marya Shishkina, so he called off the wedding. Sergey finally married Shishkina instead. After the deaths of Dmitri and Nicholas, Sergey was Tolstoy's only surviving brother until his death in 1904.

Brother: Dmitri Tolstoy

Tolstoy had difficulty identifying with his brother Dmitri's aims in life. During his school years in Kazan, Dimitri became absorbed in living a strictly religious life. He abstained from tobacco and alcohol, avoided relationships with women, and observed the practices of the Orthodox faith. Dimitri inherited the family estate in Kursk, believed in serfdom, and was convinced that he had a responsibility to watch over the morals of his subjects. Consequently, he treated his serfs to a severe system of punishments to keep them on the right track.

In his mid-twenties, Dmitri made friends with a man who had a corrupting influence over him. Suddenly he began to drink, smoke, and gamble. He squandered his money and lived with a woman whom he regarded as his wife. His drinking and smoking seriously affected his health, and soon he contracted tuberculosis. Tolstoy visited him as he lay on his death bed. The author later used his brother’s shocking death as the basis for a scene in the novel Anna Karenina.

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/abstained

abstain, verb

To consciously avoid consuming a food, beverage or drug, or to avoid a certain behavior.

/serfdom

serfdom, noun

The practice of owning or managing peasant workers who cannot own property of their own but must serve a master.

/squander

squander, verb

To spend lavishly or wastefully.

Crosslink novel to Anna Karenina in works section.

Sister: Marya Tolstoy

Marya Tolstoy was born in 1830, when her brother Leo was 15 months old. She shared his fate of growing up without any memory of her mother. As a talented pianist, Marya often entertained her brothers with her musical performances. She married her cousin Valerian Tolstoy, who she considered an honest but boring person. Outgoing, and intelligent, she became close friends with her brother’s writer friend Turgenev and frequently visited him at his nearby country estate. She went to stay with him at Spasskoye in August 1857. Turgenev dedicated his story, "Faust," to Marya. Some have speculated that he based the character Vera on her.

Marya visited Tolstoy frequently at Yasnaya Polyana. In 1860, she traveled with him to Germany to visit their brother Nicholas, who was fighting tuberculosis. She and Tolstoy accompanied Nicholas to the south of France, where he died soon afterward. Marya was present during the police raid of Yasnaya Polayna in 1862. She eventually left her husband for a Swedish nobleman, but later turned to the life of a nun. She finally went to live at the convent of Shamordin, founded by Tolstoy's friend Father Abrosy.

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Cousin: Alexandra Tolstoy

Tolstoy's cousin Alexandra, who was affectionately called Aunt Alexandra, was a woman of charm, tact, and intelligence whose position as a Maid of Honor in the court of Czar Nicholas I made her a powerful ally. Tolstoy corresponded with her constantly. He respected her not so much for her social position, but for her wisdom and intellectual abilities. There were times, however, when her position in court became an asset for Tolstoy. After his home was raided by the police, he bitterly complained to Alexandra about the incident. The Czar issued an apology to Tolstoy, clearing him of any wrong-doing. During the reign of Alexander III, she personally appealed to the Czar to reverse a decision to throw Tolstoy in prison.

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Wife: Sonya Behrs Tolstoy

Tolstoy's frequent visits in 1862 to the home of Dr. Andrey Behrs in Moscow caused quite a stir in the household. The physician's daughters, Sonya, and Lisa, were considered beautiful, vivacious, and available. A younger sister, Tanya, also lent a mischievous magic to a family that later served as the model for the Rostovs in Tolstoy's War and Peace. Although Lisa was the oldest, Tolstoy felt more attracted to the quietly alluring Sonya. After a short engagement, they married and she moved to Yasnaya Polyana.

For the first year of her marriage to Tolstoy, Sonya struggled to find happiness and fulfillment. This changed, however, when he began writing War and Peace. She had a deep respect for his writing and wanted to see him use his talents. She enthusiastically labored to transcribe his sometimes difficult handwriting and to protect him from outside intrusions. She also managed the household affairs, even when burdened by constant pregnancies.

Sonya felt closest to Tolstoy when he was working on his great novels, but she felt less supportive of his philosophical pursuits, which she saw as a waste of his talent. She usually enjoyed reading his unfinished novels, but was angered by Tolstoy's negative portrayal of her in his tale of the Kreutzer Sonata. She retaliated by writing her own novel, Who Is To Blame?, based on the same theme. Despite her anger at Tolstoy for this work, when the government declared a ban on Kreutzer Sonata, she appealed directly to the Czar to have the prohibition removed.

Tolstoy's involvement in religious and philosophical matters along, with the rift over the Kreutzer Sonata, caused Sonya to feel increasingly alienated from her husband. She opposed Tolstoy's desire to give his estate over to the peasants. It outraged her when he granted anyone the right to publish, without payment, the works he had written since his "rebirth" in 1881. The only people to benefit from this action, she argued, would be the publishers. Meanwhile, she and Leo had a house full of children to support. Tolstoy had outrageous arguments with her and threatened to leave her many times, even when she was nine months pregnant with their last child. He did eventually spend his time away from her, dying not in the company of his wife but his most loyal daughter.

Despite the fact that she is sometimes unfairly blamed for the problems in their marriage, Sonya Tolstoy had a significant influence on Tolstoy as a writer. One might well wonder if there would have ever been a War and Peace or an Anna Karenina if she hadn't believed in his talents, protected him from outside intrusions.

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Tolstoy’s Children

Leo and Sonya Tolstoy had thirteen children between the years of 1863 and 1888. Of these, three died as young children. The early deaths of Alexei in 1886 and Ivan in1895 were particularly hard for the family to bear. An adult daughter, Marya, died of pneumonia in 1906. Masha, as she was nicknamed, had tried to live in accordance with her father’s teachings. Despite her closeness to her father and his philosophy, Tolstoy experienced little grief over her death, for by this time he had come to see death as a continuation of life.

One son, Sergey Tolstoy, remained in the Soviet Union after the fall of the Czar. He and a younger sister, Tanya, contributed to the research and publication of their father’s works. Sergey Tolstoy died in 1947. Tanya served as director of the Moscow’s Tolstoy Museum from 1923 to 1925. She emigrated to France, then Italy, where she died in 1950.

Ilya was described by his father as a gifted child. He started writing short stories when he was very young and served as a correspondent during World War I. He traveled widely, reporting his impressions of America during a lecture tour. Ilya translated some of his father’s work and acted as a consultant for the first Hollywood production of Anna Karenina. He also worked on a film production of Tolstoy's Resurrection. He died in the United States in 1933.

Leo, born in 1869, had the curse of living under the shadow of his father's famous name. He struggled to establish himself as a writer but was harshly criticized and called "the Lion son of the Lion" because of his inability to accomplish anything significant compared to his father's work. He died in 1945. Another son, Andrei, died in World War I. Mikhail, a younger son, died during 1944.

Alexandra, born in 1884, was the sole beneficiary of Tolstoy's much fought-over will. She sat at his deathbed when he died. Alexandra carried out her father's desire to give the estate of Yasnaya Polyana to the peasants freely, by taking the proceeds from his book royalties and buying out the family’s share of ownership in the land. After the Russian Revolution, Alexandra was allowed to stay on at Yasnaya Polyana and start a school. She came into conflict with authorities who wanted to present a Soviet slant on Tolstoy's teachings, omitting his religious views in order to support their revolutionary propoganda. Alexandra eventually went to Japan to study educational methods and soon defected to the United States. She served as president of the Tolstoy Foundation and continued to write about her father's work until her death in 1979.

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/beneficiary

beneficiary, noun

One who inherits the property or money of the deceased.