June 23, 2019

Cycling with the Count


Cycling with the Count
Leo Tolstoy and his wife Sofia (and bike).

In his day, Leo Tolstoy was known as a trendsetter, always interested in the latest European novelties. So, when bicycles were becoming massively popular following the introduction of pneumatic tires in the late 1880s, Tolstoy jumped on the bandwagon (bandcycle?), ordering an English-made Rover bicycle in 1895, a few months after he and his wife Sophia lost their youngest son Ivan.

Tolstoy learned to ride the bicycle (actually called бицикл rather than велосипед in the early years of its appearance in Russia) at the age of 67, likely made easier thanks to his extensive horse-riding experience.

In many diaries from 1895, Tolstoy wrote that cycling was one of few things that he enjoyed, though he felt guilty engaging in something that he felt was socially improper for a man of his standing.

"I continue to be idle and bad. I have neither thoughts nor feeling. A spiritual hibernation. When I have feelings, they are the most base and egotistical: bicycling, freedom from family life, etc. Am I tired from things I lived through recently, or have I gone to another age category, entering the clear, elderly age which I have dreamt of for so long?"        – 14 April, 1895

"I began to learn how to ride the bicycle at the [Moscow] Manege. It's very strange that I am attracted to this. Yevgeny Ivanovich has advised me against it and was upset that I ride, but I don't feel ashamed. On the contrary, I feel that this is a form of natural idiocy, that I don't care what people think, that it is sinless and fun in a childlike way."                               – 25 April, 1895

At the time, in 1894, once the Moscow government allowed bicycles on city streets, it was required that each cycle have a license plate. Riders needed a permit to operate them, and had to pay a special tax for the privilege. In fact, at first bicycling was an elite activity, and many early competitors hailed from upper-class or wealthy merchant families. Tolstoy received permit No. 2300 from the Moscow authorities after demonstrating that he could ride safely.

Tolstoy's Permit
Tolstoy's bicycling license, displayed at Tula's Machine Tool Museum.

The author's daughter Tatyana, in her memoirs, wrote that, even though the count was a fast learner, he nevertheless had a few comical incidents while making his first strides on his Rover at the Manege in Moscow:

"I am experiencing an interesting phenomenon," he told her. "If I imagine an obstacle, I feel an insurmountable pull toward it, until a collision happens. This is especially true regarding one fat woman, who is, like me, learning to ride the bike. She has a hat with feathers, and as soon as I look at them trembling in the wind, I feel my bike being pulled toward her. The woman yelps and tries to flee, but there is no use. If I don't dismount from the bicycle in time, I end up hitting her. This happened several times. Now I try to visit the Manege when I hope she is not there."

Though Tolstoy learned to ride in Moscow, he also had a bicycle at Yasnaya Polyana, and made cycling trips to Tula, about 18 kilometers away. Tula, as it happens, is considered one of the cradles of Russian cycling, as the first cycling track was built there as early as 1896, and Tolstoy made an appearance there at least once. The cycling track, commissioned by the local bicycling association, remained Russia's only such sports facility until 1924, when a dirt track was built in Moscow. The Tula track even held the national cycling championship competition in 1909.

Tula Cycling Track
Soviet bicycling enthusiasts at the Tula cycling track in 1929 (tulainpast.ru)

Today the cycling track still exists, having gone through four restorations, and is located near Tula's football stadium Arsenal, just outside the city center. 

As for Tolstoy, he is said to have enjoyed his hobby just briefly, also passing on the cycling excitement to two of his daughters, who had to have bikes custom retrofitted with a female frame. Today, cycling tours are one of the options for tourists visiting his Yasnaya Polyana estate.

Tolstoy Estate
A couple near a spring on the large grounds of the Tolstoy estate

The museum's guide Igor takes groups on small or larger loops around the sprawling grounds, telling them about places where Tolstoy went horseback riding, where he kept bees, or where he swam in the local river. 

Yasnaya Polyana
Tourists in front of Leo Tolstoy's house in Yasnaya Polyana

If you happen to pass by Yasnaya Polyana Museum, phone Igor and ask for a tour: +8-953-438-03-07

 

You Might Also Like

Tolstoy's Art
  • August 01, 1998

Tolstoy's Art

One of the great novelists of Russia and of the world was born 170 years ago. We explore his art and life, and the impact he made on Russian literature.
Tolstoy's Message
  • August 01, 1998

Tolstoy's Message

In the second half of his life, Tolstoy foresook his "frivolous" literary pursuits and sought The Truth about Life. We asked a renowned Tolstoyan to explain why this turned the world against Lev Tolstoy.
A Prophet and His Country
  • November 01, 1997

A Prophet and His Country

Thirty-five years ago this month, a little book was published that changed Russia forever. On the anniversary of the publication of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, we asked two esteemed observers to offer their views on the great writer's legacy.
Looking for Tolstoy
  • November 01, 2018

Looking for Tolstoy

An American writer consumed by Anna Karenina goes in search of the great writer’s little-known refuge beyond the Volga, near Samara.
Leo Tolstoy
  • June 15, 2007

Leo Tolstoy

Learn about the varied life of this Russian writer, born to nobility and author of "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina".
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955