House of Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana.

Tolstoy's grave

Yasnaya Polyana (Russian: Ясная Поляна, literally: "Clear Glade") was the home of Leo Tolstoy, located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southwest of Tula, Russia. The writer was born, lived and was buried there.

Immediately after Tolstoy's death, the estate was designated his memorial museum. It was at first run by Alexandra Tolstaya, the writer's daughter. The current director of the museum is also one of Tolstoy's descendants. The museum contains Tolstoy's personal effects and movables, as well as his library of 22,000 volumes. It was there that Tolstoy wrote his celebrated novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina.

The museum contains the writer's mansion, the school he founded for peasant children, and a park with Tolstoy's unadorned grave. During World War II the estate was occupied by the Germans,^[1] but the most precious items had been evacuated by the Soviet government prior to that. Contrary to Soviet propaganda the German soldiers did not destroy the museum, although they did use it as a military hospital.^[2]

Following the war the estate and mansion were restored to exactly how they were when Tolstoy lived there, and Yasnaya Polyana remains a hugely popular tourist attraction within Russia.

Dining room in Yasnaya Polyana.

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[edit] References

• Official website of Yasnaya Polyana Museum

Coordinates: 54°04′34″N 37°31′34″E / 54.07611°N 37.52611°E / 54.07611; 37.52611