Literature museum in Yasnaya Polyana School after L

Literature museum in Yasnaya Polyana School after L. Tolstoy

Our school literature museum was opened in 1979, on the 20 th of October. It’s devoted to Leo Nickolaevich Tolstoy, but this museum is like no other one in Moscow, Yasnaya Polyana and Astapovo. It has its own features and traditions. The museum has the information of Tolstoy’s life which isn’t known somewhere else. Photo : Galina Pirogova (1917 – 2003) The founder of the school literature museum.

Our school literature museum Nowadays, the expositions of the museum are the following: Leo Tolstoy and Yasnaya Polyana, Makovitsky, Tolstoy’s friend and sympathizer; Lyapunov, the peasant poet; the exposition, devoted to the first excursion of Tula worker’s children to Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana in 1907; Alexandra Tolstaya, the founder and the first director of our school; the changeable exposition; the gifts and souvenirs, given to the museum; painter Rossinsky; Tatyana Albertini, the favourite granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy.

The school museum is connected with the state museums of our country and sends them exhibits. For example, about 50 exhibits are sent to the State museum of Tolstoy in Moscow, about 700 ones are sent to the museum of Yasnaya Polyana, and 1120 exhibits have been sent to Tula Regional Archives. The museum has more than 1500 original exhibits. In 1989 our museum got the certificate “An Outstanding School Museum”.

Tolstoy and the peasants of Yasnaya Polyana The opening exposition tells about the connection of L. Tolstoy and the peasants of Yasnaya Polyana. The descendants of the peasants who knew and saw L. Tolstoy study at our school till modern days: Makarov, Zyabrev, Vlasov, Lyapunov.

Makovitsky This shop window illustrates the pictures which prove the great friendship between Leo Tolstoy and the doctor Makovitsky was a Slovakian by nationality. He was a personal doctor of Tolstoy family. He was a very kind person and when the peasants from Yasnaya Polyana asked him for help he cured them. This care was free of charge. For his help the peasants called him lovely “Our Soul”. In this picture you can see his wife and daughter. This is his niece.

10 years after Tolstoy’s death Makovitsky left Yasnaya Polyana for Chechoslovakia. He lived in the town of Rozhemberok and died there. This is the picture of his tomb. The delegations from our school visited this place many times. In 1973 the members of the museum wrote letters to the nephew of Makovitsky and met with him. They found two volumes of the book “ The Foundation of the XIX -th century” written by Charles Huston published in Munich in 1907 in a German language. There were many notes made by Leo Tolstoy & Dushan Makovitsky. In 1974 at the holiday ceremony devoted to Tolstoy’s birthday these two books were given back to the State Museum of Yasnaya Polyana. Now they take their place in the bookcase No 3 in the House of Tolstoy.

Vyatcheslav Lyapunov This exposition tells about the peasant poet Vyatcheslav Lyapunov.

Vyatcheslav Lyapunov This is his self portrait painted about 100 years ago. Leo Tolstoy helped him to publish his poems. In these pictures you can see the wife of Lyapunov, their house in the village of Yasnaya Polyana, their relatives, many of whom studied at our school.

Ariy Davydovich Rotnitskiy This explosition is devoted to the excursion of Tula workers’ children to Leo Tolstoy. The children called Leo Tolstoy “Our grandfather”. This excursion took place on the 26 -th of June 1907. It was the first children excursion to Tolstoy. It was organized by an outstanding person of that time Ariy Davydovich Rotnitskiy who loved children greatly.

Ariy Davydovich Rotnitskiy Here you can see his photo. It was given to our museum by the wife of Rotnitskiy. This journey has become an unforgettable event in the life of nearly 1000 children.

A. L. Tolstoy This display contains much information about the youngest daughter of Leo Tolstoy Alexander Tolstaya. A. L. Tolstaya has built a new school for Yasnaya Polyana children in 1928. The grand ceremony of the school opening took place on the 12 th of September 1928 and it was devoted to the 100 th anniversary of her father’s birthday. This school has become a monument to the great Russian writer L. Tolstoy.

A. L. Tolstoy А. L. Tolstay was the first director of this school. In this display you see the photos of A. L. Tolstay: with her family, in the front of the 1 World War, where she was a nurse and was awarded three Georgian Orders. The second display tells about Alexandra Lvovna Tolstay’s activity as a leader of the State Museum of L. Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana and as a director of our school.

A. L. Tolstoy We are very proud of these two shop-windows because all the exhibits are original and they are collected by the founder of this museum Galina Pirogova and her pupils. All of them are sent by A. L. Tolstaya from the USA. In 1929 A. L. Tolstaya went to Japan to give lectures about her father. But due to some circumstances she has never returned to Russia again.

A. L. Tolstoy After lecturing she emigrated to America and organized the Tolstoy Foundation there. In 1975 Galina Pirogova decided to contact with A. L. Tolstaya and to write the first letter to her. They told her about the school and the pupils, about the life in Yasnaya Polyana and asked her some questions concerning school. On the 15 th of February 1976 they received the letter from A. L. Tolstaya.

This book is written by A. L. Tolstaya. It is taken from the Tolstoy Foundation and sent to our museum. It’s personally signed by Alexandra Tolstaya.

V. I. Rossinsky In 1970 the active members of the literary museum began to collect materials about the painter V. I. Rossinsky, who was acquainted with T. L. Tolstaya, the daughter of Leo Tolstoy. He was a creator of the album “Tolstoy’s Leaving Home and His Death”. This work has been lasting for nearly 30 years.

V. I. Rossinsky The result of this research work was the following. All the materials were sent to the Scientific. Research Institute of the Fine Arts Theory and History. Later we were Informed that this valuable information was published in the dictionary “The Painters of the USSR”.

V. I. Rossinsky The result of this research work was the following. All the materials were sent to the Scientific-Research Institute of the Fine Arts Theory and History. Later we were informed that this valuable information was published in the dictionary “The Painters of the USSR”.

T. M. Albertiny This stand is about T. M. Albertiny – she was the most favorite grandaughter of the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy called her Tanya or Tanechka. In her youth T. Albertiny left Russia for Italy. She married a famous Italian lawyer. Being a citizen of Italy T. Albertiny has never forgotten about her motherland.

T. M. Albertiny The mail between T. Albertiny and the pupils of our school has been lasting for twenty years. On the twenty fifth of June nineteen seventy nine T. Albertiny visited our school, examined our school exposition and approved it. That’s why T. Albertiny is considered to be the god mother of our literature museum.

Questions Was our excursion interesting for you? Have you got to know anything interesting for yourselves? Are there any schools in your country, named after your great writers? Are Tolstoy’s works learnt by schoolchildren in your country nowadays? Are there any such school museums like our one in your country? Telephone for information (7 -487 -51) 76 -4 -36 , 76 -4 - 40 Svetlana Perepetchina is the leader of the school literature museum nowadays. Address: Yasen 69@mail. ru