On September 9, 2025, Yasnaya Polyana will celebrate the 197th anniversary of the birth of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Entry to the estate grounds will be free from 9:00 to 17:00.
At 11:00, in the Volkonsky House, as part of the XIV International Academic Conference “Leo Tolstoy and World Literature”, there will be a presentation of the Yasnaya Polyana Collection—the oldest scholarly publication of the museum-estate. The collection publishes the works of Russian and foreign researchers examining the writer’s legacy in the context of Russian and European literature, philosophy, religion, and art. This year’s issue will be a jubilee one—the 70th edition.
At 12:00, on the grounds near the Writer’s House, the traditional “Word about Tolstoy” will begin. Speakers will include museum staff, students of the Yasnaya Polyana educational center, as well as Russian and foreign researchers of Tolstoy’s work: Igor Evlampiev (St. Petersburg State University, Russia), Maryam Samari (Iran), and Jin Meilin (China). Afterwards, flowers will be laid at the writer’s grave in the Old Zakaz forest.
From 13:00 to 15:00, visitors will be offered free 10-minute tours of Leo Tolstoy’s House. Tour groups will be formed at the entrance to the house.
Also on September 9, Yasnaya Polyana will host a stage of the Leo Tolstoy Chess Cup. On this day, a simultaneous exhibition for schoolchildren on 40 boards will take place, conducted by renowned Russian grandmasters. Start time: 13:00.
The Leo Tolstoy Chess Cup is organized by the Yasnaya Polyana Museum-Estate, the Russian Chess Federation, and the Tula Chess Salon, with the support of the Government of the Tula Region. The main stage of the competition—a rapid chess tournament for children—will take place on the eve of Tolstoy’s birthday, September 7–8, in Yasnaya Polyana.
At 11:00, in the Volkonsky House, as part of the XIV International Academic Conference “Leo Tolstoy and World Literature”, there will be a presentation of the Yasnaya Polyana Collection—the oldest scholarly publication of the museum-estate. The collection publishes the works of Russian and foreign researchers examining the writer’s legacy in the context of Russian and European literature, philosophy, religion, and art. This year’s issue will be a jubilee one—the 70th edition.
At 12:00, on the grounds near the Writer’s House, the traditional “Word about Tolstoy” will begin. Speakers will include museum staff, students of the Yasnaya Polyana educational center, as well as Russian and foreign researchers of Tolstoy’s work: Igor Evlampiev (St. Petersburg State University, Russia), Maryam Samari (Iran), and Jin Meilin (China). Afterwards, flowers will be laid at the writer’s grave in the Old Zakaz forest.
From 13:00 to 15:00, visitors will be offered free 10-minute tours of Leo Tolstoy’s House. Tour groups will be formed at the entrance to the house.
Also on September 9, Yasnaya Polyana will host a stage of the Leo Tolstoy Chess Cup. On this day, a simultaneous exhibition for schoolchildren on 40 boards will take place, conducted by renowned Russian grandmasters. Start time: 13:00.
The Leo Tolstoy Chess Cup is organized by the Yasnaya Polyana Museum-Estate, the Russian Chess Federation, and the Tula Chess Salon, with the support of the Government of the Tula Region. The main stage of the competition—a rapid chess tournament for children—will take place on the eve of Tolstoy’s birthday, September 7–8, in Yasnaya Polyana.