In Tolstoy's footsteps: Modern photos of the writer's favorite places

Tolstoy found it difficult to reconcile the urban poverty he witnessed with his family's own luxurious lives. As a result, a lot of the writing he produced in the gloomy upstairs study was political or philosophical.

A giant statue of the writer sits at the end of the road in Maiden's Field (Devichye Polye) in Moscow. This is where Pierre sees his French captors executing prisoners in "War and Peace."

There are lots of other Moscow corners with Tolstoy connections, including this carriage house. This building used to be the school where his children studied.

Borodino, where you can still wander across the deserted battlefield, just as Tolstoy did…


Just down the road is Tolstoy’s local church, the beautiful St. Nicholas of the Weavers, a mid-17th century parish church, painted red, white and green.

Tolstoy's house in Yasnaya Polyana (125 miles south of Moscow), where the writer was born, lived most of his 82 years, and was buried.

One of the frequently encountered rural scenes at Yasnaya Polyana. The estate-museum is still home to horses and other animals, just like in Tolstoy's times.

Prince Sergei Volkonsky, Tolstoy’s maternal grandfather, bought the land in 1763 and built this elegant manor at the top of the hill, the oldest building on the estate.

On one side of the estate, by a pine forest, with views across rolling countryside, there is a replica of Tolstoy’s favorite bench made of slender silver birch branches.

Tolstoy was later buried in a ravine on the estate.