Iasnaia Poliana

the State Estate-Museum of L. N. Tolstoy in Shchekino Raion, Tula Oblast, RSFSR, 14 km from Tula. Opened in 1921, the museum complex includes the house-museum, the wing that housed a school for peasant children and the editorial office of the magazine lasnaia Poliana, outbuildings, the surrounding woods, a park, and Tolstoy’s grave in what is known as Staryi Zakaz, 500 m from the house.

Tolstoy was born at lasnaia Poliana and spent a total of 60 years there. It was here that he created War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Power of Darkness, The Fruits of Enlightenment, The Living Corpse, and many other works. Even during his lifetime it was a unique center of Russian and world culture, visited by many writers, artists, actors, and musicians. Tolstoy said, “Without my lasnaia Poliana it is difficult for me to imagine Russia and my relationship toward her” (Poln. sobr. soch., vol. 5, 1931, p. 262).

The house-museum contains the original furniture, Tolstoy’s library, with 22,000 volumes, Tolstoy’s personal belongings, and portraits of the writer and those close to him. The wing houses a literary exhibit. During the Great Patriotic War (1941–45), lasnaia Poliana was seized by the fascist occupiers, who inflicted extensive damage to it. By May 1942, the estate was restored and opened to the public; in 1945 all the valuables, which had been evacuated, were returned.

The museum was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1978.

a pedagogical journal published and edited by L. N. Tolstoy in 1862. A total of 12 issues were published. The journal was devoted to elucidating the teaching experiences of the lasnaia Poliana School and other public schools. It published many pedagogical articles by Tolstoy, including “On Public Education” and “On Methods of Teaching Reading and Writing,” which discussed ways of disseminating knowledge among the masses and theoretical problems of pedagogy. The lasnaia Poliana Notebooks, published under the auspices of the journal, printed short stories, novellas, fairytales, riddles, and works by pupils of the lasnaia Poliana School for the general public.