In 1882, L. Tolstoy bought for his large family, where ten children grew up, a wooden house with a garden on the outskirts of Moscow, in the Khamovniki working area, to spend the winter months in the capital.
Sloboda Khamovniki
This area in the southwest received its name because it has been here since the 16th century. Tver weavers settled, who worked on linen, turning it into a canvas. It was called a "boor" and was delivered to the royal court. The center in the settlement was the Church of St. Nicholas, which has survived to this day. And now, driving along Komsomolsky Avenue, you can see this church. And behind it is the subject of our conversation - the Tolstoy Museum in Khamovniki.
What influenced the choice of home
When the future owners examined the wooden house, which at all looked like a noble estate, then there was no electricity, sewage, water supply in it, and the seller expressed doubts that his house would suit the count's family, because there was practically nothing to show. But L. Tolstoy was interested in a large neglected garden. Tolstoy did not go past the house with the garden, which was then a rarity. A few days later he bought it for twenty-seven thousand rubles. Payment was made in installments. No one then, of course, thought that this house would turn into a Tolstoy museum. In Khamovniki, nothing like this had happened before …
Home repairs
Overhaul was quick both outside and inside. It took only three months after the purchase of the estate (which happened in July) for the whole family to move from Yasnaya Polyana to the estate in October to spend the first winter in Moscow. On the ground floor there were rooms of elder sons, a nursery for younger children, a maiden, a dining room, and a lobby. On the second floor there was the office of Lev Nikolaevich, a hall, a living room, a bedroom, rooms of two daughters and a housekeeper, a footman. In the kitchen there lived a cook who cooked for the family, and a cook who served the servants. In this unchanged form, the house has survived to the present day, and it turned into the Tolstoy Museum in Khamovniki in 1921. There was a gatehouse at the gate. The coachman and janitors lived in it.
In addition, there was a warehouse in the courtyard, which was arranged by Sofya Andreevna from the publications of Lev Nikolaevich, which she sold. There, in the center, there was a room for carriages, as well as horses and a cow.
Where does the museum visitor first go?
First you have to go through the old park, which was very fond of Lev Nikolaevich. This is an integral part of the museum on the street. Lev Tolstoy. The park has a free English layout with winding paths. One of them leads to apples and cherries, the other to a linden alley. Some of the old apple trees had to be replaced by young ones, but the garden is still beautiful. In spring, crocuses and snowdrops bloom under the trees, which were planted by Sofya Andreevna. Under the lindens, Lev Nikolayevich walked on the water, since there was a well near the wall. On the cart in a large barrel, which contained 10 buckets, the writer himself brought water for the kitchen and toilets. In winter, he used sledding. In the garden there is a wonderful arbor in which they drank tea, and Lev Nikolaevich worked. In winter, an ice rink was pouring in front of the house. Lev Nikolaevich and his wife often took part in this fun.
We enter the house
The memorial museum-estate of Leo Tolstoy “Khamovniki” is a historical and everyday monument, where the efforts of members of the family of Lev Nikolayevich preserved genuine things that the writer himself and his household touched.
They are arranged as it was during the life of the classic. The Tolstoy Museum in Khamovniki accurately reproduces the spirit that reigned in the family. Lev Nikolaevich did not like pretentiousness, so everything is simple and functional in the house. There are 16 rooms in the museum.
Ground floor
Down below were children with nannies and governesses. Here are their bedrooms, children's rooms with drawings of children, with their toys made including by the hands of Sofia Andreevna. The horse and doll of the youngest Vanya, who died at the age of 13, are very touching.
There are also classrooms for children, a maid’s maid’s room and a black staircase. On it, Tolstoy went up to his office in the morning, and in the evening went down for a night's rest.
Canteen
Lunch was an obligatory ritual, followed by the whole family at 18 o’clock. Sofya Andreevna sat at the head of the table. She poured the soup into plates, and the servants served them. Lev Nikolayevich was sitting next to him, three daughters to his left, and sons on the contrary. A cuckoo clock is hanging on one wall, and on the other a portrait of Tolstoy’s daughter Maria, who was written by her sister.
Corner room
From the dining room you can immediately go to the corner room, in which the owners periodically changed. Here, the sounds of music that adults enjoyed while children played billiards were often heard.
Bedroom
The bed made of walnut wood is tucked in with a blanket, which Sofia Andreyevna knitted and embroidered. It is covered by a screen, behind which there is a sofa and a table with armchairs, as well as a bureau, where in the evenings Sofya Andreyevna rewrote drafts and read proofs. A window for a needlework table is located.
Cabinet of Lev Nikolaevich
The writer got up at six in the morning and went up into a small office with low ceilings. Its walls are painted in light green, the floor is covered with soldiers' cloth.
On the second floor there is a famous carved table with balusters, to which the writer himself sawed his legs. It was behind him that about a hundred works were written, including such as The Resurrection and Hadji Murat. Here Ilya Repin painted a portrait of Tolstoy at his desk. On it now lie pens from a cherry branch, a writing device from malachite, a folder. There is a desk where Tolstoy continued to work when he was tired of sitting. He worked eight to nine hours a day. Lev Nikolaevich was resting on a large sofa.
Work room
Next to the office, Tolstoy arranged for himself a room in which he was engaged in shoe-making. Here are the boots sewn by him, his shoe tools, a work blouse, a white fur coat, a cap, linen. The bicycle and dumbbells used by the writer are immediately placed there.
Hall
A main staircase leads to the hall on the second floor. Sophia Andreevna gathered the color of the then intelligentsia: Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Chekhov, Repin, Vasnetsov and many other famous writers, musicians, actors, sculptors … Almost all left memories of these evenings. From the hall you can get into the exotic "eastern living room". In general, the house has no frills and looks ascetic.
Room daughter Tatyana
In a bright, comfortable, tastefully furnished room, everything attracts attention: numerous photographs, paintings. The most lively interest is caused by the tablecloth on which all members of the Tolstoy family, as well as their guests, signed. Tatyana embroidered each signature with multi-colored threads. There are about seventy of them.
This concludes our virtual visit to the museum. There are many unsaid, but this is easy to fix by visiting the museum.
Where to find a museum
Now it is located in the center of Moscow. Nearby, about ten minutes from the Culture Park, is the Tolstoy Museum in Khamovniki. The address is simple to remember: st. Leo Tolstoy, d. 21.
Museum Hours
He can be visited on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Tuesday and Thursday from noon to eight in the evening. Here is a Tolstoy museum in Khamovniki working hours. The excitement of the schedule does not imply. Excursion groups pass without interfering with each other.
