In the Footsteps of Leo Tolstoy

Several times in the 1880's Leo Tolstoy walked from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana. In June 2011, Sara Winter joined Michael A. Denner (Stetson University) and Thomas Newlin (Oberlin College) in following the footsteps of Tolstoy along a route that Michael reconstructed through study of Tolstoy's letters and notes. Tom and Michael designed the walk for 2010, in honor of the centenary of Tolstoy's death, but weeks of excessive heat resulting in peat bog fires around Moscow led them to postpone the walk until 2011.

Starting out on June 3, with a schedule of 20 miles per day, the Tolstoy re-enactors stopped for the night in Chekhov, Serpukhov, at the Bolotov museum in Dvoryanino and in Tula, arriving in Yasnaya Polyana to attend a conference on Tolstoy and the journal Современник (The Contemporary).

A close up look at the countryside, a generous lift across the Oka, and many memorable encounters outweighed the very tired feet. Plans are in the works for another Tolstoy walk. Please get in touch if you are interested.