How responsible to be a direct descendant of the glorious kind? Well, when your most inner circle consists mainly of family?
Bitterly we should recognize that in our country almost lost the concept of race, we don't know the history of their families, do not show an interest in the genealogy of their ancestors. Fortunately, the descendants of L. N. Thick ones are not. Fate has scattered them around the world, but they maintain the integrity of the family and traditions of the clan. All this we told the great-great-granddaughter of the writer, known for Thale - and the radio journalist Fyokla Tolstaya.
Thekla, when you realized that the name that you wear, very famous?
TF: as a child, I had not specifically told that we have a famous surname, but, of course, hung on the walls of some of the Yasnaya Polyana photos, portraits of Leo Tolstoy and my grandfather, and I heard dad said something about them of guests. A genuine interest in ancestral history had come in a more conscious age. And it was connected with the visits of Paris, grandson of Leo Tolstoy, Sergei Mikhailovich Tolstoy, who was the center of Tolstoy's life, a collector of family and family stories, and the author of two books "fat and Thick" and "Children of Tolstoy". I loved to communicate with him, learn some family details. Also, I just love to have in my head everything was neatly Packed, so I understand cause and effect. After all, and always in history and in the history of the family including, has its own reasons. Knowing them, you can understand a huge family tree (Tolstoy 13 children and several dozen grandchildren), to understand why some were in Italy, others in Sweden.
Belonging to the oldest kind — the good or is it still troublesome?
FT: I think that is good. The older I get, the more I realize that almost to a person physiologically as well as psychologically it is important to feel under the feet of solid ground, to understand what sort-tribe belongs, to know what was behind you. All of this is called roots.
Did you name loud in a television career?
TF: Probably, all the same helped, because everyone's wondering what's behind a loud name. But this is only the first impression: Yes — full Yes — I wonder what's next? We will talk about the descendants of Tolstoy, that's how it always will start, and to resist it is pointless. It is important that talked about you not only as a granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy, but also knew in some cases.
Whether your family memorial things of the writer?
FT: No, the vast majority of them in museums. Home archives preserved some prints of the photos, but it just prints those that are in museums. In fact, the very museums and at Yasnaya Polyana and Khamovniki created family. The family has donated their personal belongings to the state, it became a Museum. So we have virtually nothing. But it's unique museums, because there is not a single great man, after which have lasted this number of authentic personal belongings.
In Soviet times, the Director of the Yasnaya Polyana Museum threw some memorabilia as your grandfather picked them up...
FT: the Museum at Yasnaya Polyana, at first, appeared only in part of the house, because there still lived people. After the revolution, almost the whole house was given to the visitors. except for one wing, where lived the eldest son of the writer Sergey Lvovich. He was born in Yasnaya Polyana, and all life lived there, since his estate was burned down in 1918. When in 1947 he died, some things from his wing unreasonable Director just threw in the trash. Then Yasnaya Polyana Museum workers called my grandfather and asked him to pick them up. So we have a few chairs, a bookcase, some stuff. Who could have expected that in one part of the home, this bookcase will stand under a glass cover and it will blow off motes, and another, exactly the same, will be thrown out in the trash? Maybe the Director and threw it away because in Tolstoy's houses were always very simple things.
The Tolstoy family is huge. How many descendants of the writer now in the world?
FT: I think, 300 people. If you count Leo Nikolaevich the number one on the family tree, we are born now kids will soon have four hundredth room! However, we must remember that none of the Tolstoy children and grandchildren are no longer alive, and the older generation we have now — great-grandchildren. Fortunately, they are also sufficient.
They are already rather old people?
FT: No, not all. For example, one of my uncle, born in 1922, lives in Florida, and another, 1974, in Sweden. But they are not native. It is known that the last child Tolstoy was born when his first granddaughter was born.
Thick scattered worldwide: in USA, Canada, Sweden, Italy, France, Czech Republic and even in Uruguay and Brazil. How do you manage to maintain the integrity of the family?
FT: I Think the main role was played by family gatherings, invented by Vladimir Ilyich Tolstoy. Since 2000 they regularly every two years are held in Yasnaya Polyana. And if first came the Thick foreign warily — to see what, where, how, now, a huge"! the experiences, memories and General Affairs. And now foreign Fat often stop someone from relatives. So do I, if you travel to Italy, can't imagine that not coming to their Roman relatives, and visiting America, be sure to call in to American aunts.
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Not all children speak Russian...
FT: we Used to try to communicate in two languages — Russian and English, but then waved his hand and started to speak English. Sometimes I'm with someone speaking French. In General, different. For example, Thick American — Russian on 100%, Russian Orthodox, they have a wonderful Russian language. When they were in post-war America, their life was hard and poor, and, of course, they tried to keep together, to somehow make ends meet. But the Swedes another story.
The Swedish branch of the descendants — the most extensive?
CFT: Yes. The writer's son Lev Lvovich married a Swede, and their children were half Swedish, half Russian and lived in St. Petersburg, Sweden. But when after the revolution they went to Sweden, where Lev Lvovich broke up with his wife and children were absolutely in the Swedish environment and rapidly transformed into Swedes. Now Swedish Thick — perfect foreigners. But a lot of them, they have their own community, they have their own Swedish Tolstoy's congresses. It really is the most important and prolific branch. Thick and surname in Sweden at the hearing. Among them was my aunt — a green activist, businessmen and artists, scientists and even jazz singer Victoria Tolstoy.
There are some family traits inherent in all Fat?
FT: I asked this question when doing a film about Thick. It seems to me that it is primarily simplicity, we talked about, Recalling the way of life of the Yasnaya Polyana house. Thick always eschewed any kind of pretentiousness and pomposity. And they were always characterised by emotionality. Vladimir Ilyich, when we absurdas of it, very rightly remarked: "I don't know flabby Fat". Yes, I myself very emotional.
The point where all the family threads — Yasnaya Polyana. What for you personally is this place?
TF: as a child, I've never been to Yasnaya Polyana and Khamovniki first time was when I was 20. Everything changed in the mid-90s, when the Director of the Yasnaya Polyana Museum stasis Vladimir Ilyich. We started to come to visit him, and gradually there was a feeling that all of this is native. Now I know very well Yasnaya Polyana, there are so many isogene, isolano. And skiing we skied and in the pond swam, so many interesting events in which I myself participated...
You've shot documentaries, worked at the radio station “Silver rain”, led transmission on the satellite channel. Now head up the development of the Museum L. N. Tolstoy. Did You decide to leave journalism?
TF: I continue to practice journalism, and Museum work part-time at the invitation of my brother, Vladimir Ilyich Tolstoy. Many things here seem to me very interesting and promising. To engage in the development of the Museum, attract visitors, make it more open — here is a great funds — this is a very ambitious goal.
