Tolstoj's 9,000 Apple Trees: A Russian Literary Orchard Restored

The estate of Leo Tolstoy at Yasnaya Polyana, 200 km south of Moscow, houses over 9,000 apple trees of historical and genetic significance. The orchard, originally planted by Tolstoy's mother and later expanded with his wife Sofia, includes varieties from Russia, France, Germany, and Italy (Trentino's Val di Non). Tolstoy's favorite was the Arkade apple. After a period of neglect, the UNESCO World Heritage site has been restored by Italian agronomist Isabella Dalla Ragione with the Tolstoy House Museum team. The orchard now reopens for guided tours from May to October, featuring a catalog of species and an apiary with over 50 hives that Tolstoy himself maintained. The estate also includes birch trees planted with his daughter Tatiana, a library with botanical catalogs, and Tolstoy's grave covered in grass. Here, Tolstoy wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and developed his ecological and pacifist philosophy, viewing nature as an ideal for humanity.