Yasnaya Polyana

Introducing Yasnaya Polyana

Located 14km south of central Tula and around 240km from Moscow, Yasnaya Polyana is the estate (238 6710, 517 6081; www.yasnayapolyana.ru; admission R100; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun May-Oct, 9.30am-3.30pm Tue-Sun Nov-Apr) where the great Russian writer Count Leo Tolstoy was born and buried.

Tolstoy spent much of his life in this house, which is a simple place filled with many of his possessions. Of Yasnaya Polyana, he wrote: 'All [my grandfather] had built here was not only solid and comfortable, but also very elegant. The same is true about the park he laid out near the house.' Tolstoy's nearby grave is unmarked except for bouquets of flowers left by newlyweds.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009