One of the legendary landmarks of St. Petersburg is the income house of Count Tolstoy, popularly known as the Tolstoy House. This huge six-story building was skillfully fitted by the builders onto a small plot by the Fontanka Embankment. The house, designed in the Northern Art Nouveau style, is distinguished by its unique facade architecture and stunning internal layout.

This house (1910-1912) is the largest and most outstanding creation of the brilliant master of Northern Art Nouveau, architect Fyodor Lidval. The client and its first owner (from 1910 to 1913) was Major General Count Mikhail Pavlovich Tolstoy, a representative of a glorious family that gave Russia outstanding statesmen, diplomats, historians, artists, military leaders, travelers, poets, and, of course, writers. He was a true count from the sixth generation of the noble branch of the extensive Tolstoy family, which included both untitled and titled nobility. The first count in the Tolstoy family was the well-known associate of the founder of our city, Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy (1645-1729). After the death of Count Mikhail Pavlovich, the owner of the house from 1913 was his widow, Countess Olga Alexandrovna Tolstaya, née Princess Vasilchikova. The countess was the second and last private owner of the house. In 1918, the house was nationalized.

Count Mikhail Pavlovich was a descendant of the son of Pyotr Andreyevich — Colonel Count Pyotr Petrovich Tolstoy and his wife Ulyana Ivanovna (daughter of Hetman Skoropadsky). Their son, Major Count Alexander Petrovich Tolstoy (1719-1792), was married to Evdokia Lvovna Izmailova (1731-1794) and had sons — Privy Councillor Count Dmitry Alexandrovich (1754-1832) and Governor-General of St. Petersburg Count Pyotr Alexandrovich, a hero of the 1812 war. Mikhail Pavlovich Tolstoy was the grandson of Count Dmitry Alexandrovich Tolstoy and his wife Ekaterina Alexandrovna (née Princess Vyazemskaya). Thus, Mikhail Pavlovich Tolstoy was a descendant of Rurik on the maternal line, since the Vyazemsky princes were direct descendants of Rurik. Mikhail Pavlovich’s father was Privy Councillor Count Pavel Dmitrievich Tolstoy (1797-1875), and his mother was Sofya Yegorovna, née Baroness Aretin.

If you look at the Tolstoy counts’ family tree, you can see that Count Mikhail Pavlovich and Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy were fifth cousins. He was also a fifth cousin of the writer and poet Count Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy. Meanwhile, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy and Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy were third cousins. Mikhail Pavlovich was a fourth cousin nephew of the famous artist and medalist Count Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy and a third cousin grandson of the senator and renowned bibliophile whose collection of early printed books and ancient manuscripts forms the basis of the Russian National (Public) Library, Count Fyodor Andreyevich Tolstoy. Mikhail Pavlovich was a fourth cousin nephew of the famous traveler, adventurer, duelist, and card player, friend of Pushkin, Count Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy-American.

Count Mikhail Pavlovich Tolstoy (1845-1913) was educated at the Page Corps. He served in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment, was promoted to aide-de-camp in 1868, commanded a squadron and then a division from 1870 to 1875, and temporarily commanded the regiment. From 1875, he was a colonel and in charge of the regiment’s administration.

In 1877, Count Mikhail Pavlovich was sent to the active army and appointed commander first of the 3rd, then the 1st brigade of the Bulgarian militia. For courage shown while commanding the forward position during the defense of the Shipka Pass, Mikhail Pavlovich was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class. Later, for distinctions at Shipka and Eski-Zagra, he was awarded a gold weapon inscribed "For Bravery" and the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class with swords and bow.

The Tolstoy couple lived for long periods in Trubetchino and were able not only to preserve but also to increase the income from the exemplary estate farm created by the efforts and care of the previous owners — ancestors and relatives of Olga Alexandrovna. The estate brought in very decent income, allowing the Tolstoy family to maintain a luxurious apartment in the empire’s capital — St. Petersburg. Even after Lidval had built the famous Tolstoy House, the Tolstoy family did not live there. They continued to live on Mokhovaya Street, house No. 27-29. This house is now well known from the film "Heart of a Dog" as the home of Professor Preobrazhensky. In reality, it was an income house of the insurance company "Russia," whose main and left wings were built in 1897-1900 by Fyodor Lidval’s teacher — Leonty Nikolaevich Benois, in whose workshop the future creator of the Tolstoy House studied from 1894 to 1896. It is quite possible that Benois’s opinion played a certain role in choosing the architect for designing and constructing Count Tolstoy’s income house. Especially since Benois was then one of the most authoritative specialists and an architect of the Imperial Court.

In 1913, Count Mikhail Pavlovich Tolstoy died, and the famous Tolstoy House passed by inheritance to his widow, Olga Alexandrovna Tolstaya. Therefore, before the October Revolution, the house was sometimes called the house of General’s wife Tolstoy.

The residential complex can be entered from two sides — from Rubinstein Street and the Fontanka Embankment. Both entrances are beautiful three-arched gateways in the Renaissance style.

Construction of the Tolstoy House began in 1910. Architect Lidval designed original courtyards connected by a small street harmoniously "flowing" into Rubinstein Street. The street turned out so unusual and European-looking that in the 20th century it became a favorite spot for filmmakers. It can be seen, for example, in the films "You Wouldn’t Even Dream," "The Adventures of Prince Florizel," and "The Woman in White." The interiors of the Tolstoy House were used in the films "Winter Cherry" — where the main heroines lived, "Born of the Revolution," and the TV series "Bandit Petersburg."

The courtyards of the house were used to film the final part of the trilogy about Holmes’s confrontation with Moriarty’s gang — "The Hunt for the Tiger." Watson goes to Ronald Adair’s house, hoping to warn him or prevent the murder.

The decoration of the courtyard facades of the Tolstoy House is richer and more expressive than the external facades — a unique phenomenon in St. Petersburg architecture. The main facades are distinguished by strictness and conciseness; the builders used the simplest materials for decoration — plaster, brick, limestone. The courtyard facades are adorned with stucco, carved balconies, bas-reliefs, and lanterns. Oval windows are set in beautiful relief panels, and under each window is a niche for flower vases.

Walking through the building’s courtyards, pedestrians pass under huge arches reaching the third floor. In the middle courtyard, the architect placed a fountain, which unfortunately has not survived to the present day. Native Petersburgers sometimes call the courtyards of the Tolstoy House "Lidval Street."

The layout of the building’s interior spaces was developed according to its purpose — renting housing to representatives of different strata of the city public. The builders installed plumbing and elevators immediately after finishing the interior work. In Count Tolstoy’s income house, one could rent both a room and a huge apartment.

But for numerous tourists, the house is primarily interesting because of its residents. Since its opening, an incredible number of famous people have lived in the building.

From 1912 until the revolution, Sergey Varun-Sekret lived in apartment No. 157. At the same time, Prince Mikhail Andronikov, known as an adventurer and swindler, lived in apartment No. 359; his frequent guest was Grigory Rasputin. One of the failed assassination attempts on Rasputin took place in Andronikov’s apartment. According to city legend, Felix Dzerzhinsky also visited the prince. Andronikov often brought noisy companies at night, disturbing other residents. In 1916, the prince was evicted from the house at the request of the landlady, Countess Olga Tolstaya.

From 1913 to 1918, the satirical writer Averkhenko lived in the Tolstoy House. Poets such as Blok, Kaverin, and Zoshchenko visited the apartment of Alyansky, head of the "Alkonost" publishing house, which published books by symbolist poets. The writer Kuprin trained at the "Sanitas" sports club located in one of the first-floor rooms. Poet Rein invited Brodsky, Kushner, and Dovlatov to his apartment. Until 2012, the artist Khil lived in the Tolstoy House.

During the Soviet era, the elite of the country lived in the Tolstoy House, and accordingly, NKVD officers often visited. During Stalin’s purges, people disappeared from apartments monthly. For example, in October 1937, an employee of the Leningrad Museum and consultant to the Red Army on the Far East disappeared without a trace. In the 1990s, it was revealed that he had been shot by the NKVD. The Tolstoy House is shrouded in legends and mysteries. One of the most famous myths about the building concerns apartment No. 60 on the sixth floor. It is considered, by analogy with Bulgakov’s, an unlucky apartment. Since the building’s construction, a person moving into apartment 60 would begin to change: they became angry, aggressive, and nervous. Eventually, the unfortunate resident invariably turned into a so-called "city madman."

Today, apartments in the Tolstoy House are considered some of the most expensive in St. Petersburg. The courtyard is crowded with luxury cars. The surrounding area is fenced and guarded: tourists can only access "Lidval Street" during daytime hours.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Толстовский_дом

https://www.citywalls.ru/house4087.html

https://mos-holidays.ru/spb/dostoprimechatelnosti/tolstovskij-dom/

https://peterburg.guide/dohodnye-doma/grafa-m-p-tolstogo/

https://www.221b.ru/geoPart2.htm