Museum-Estate of Leo Tolstoy in Khamovniki

The historical Moscow district of Khamovniki emerged in the 17th century and was considered the outskirts of the capital until the 1917 Revolution. Nowadays, eclecticism reigns here, with ancient temples, Art Nouveau style buildings, Soviet constructivism and modern structures. Picturesque green oases and quiet streets, rare for a metropolis, have survived. One of them, today bearing the name of Leo Tolstoy, houses the house museum of the writer in a two-story wooden 19th century building behind a carved fence.
Tolstoy did not like the bustle of the capital and secular idleness, but in 1882 he bought the estate in Khamovniki so that he could work in the archives and communicate with publishers, and so that his children could receive a university education. The Tolstoy family lived here for 19 winters, spending the summer season on the estate in Yasnaya Polyana.
You can see thousands of genuine artefacts in its historical interior, from children's toys and bedspreads knitted by the writer's wife to the writer's working tools, and he not only wrote but also made boots. As the museum was organized shortly after Tolstoy’s death, with the direct involvement of his widow Sofia, it became possible to preserve a highly authentic atmosphere here.

Moscow
Moscow, 21 Lev Tolstoy Street
Web site: tolstoymuseum.ru