The surname Tolstoy is very common in Russian history. But few people can find the name Alexander Petrovich in their memory. Meanwhile, Count Alexander Petrovich and his wife were the closest people to Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. The article presents a brief biography of this famous personality in his time.
Ancestral roots
Father of Alexander Petrovich, Count Peter Alexandrovich, was a hereditary military man and made an outstanding career in this field. Already at the age of 32, having tried himself as commander-in-chief in St. Petersburg, he distinguished himself during the Napoleonic wars, having served the rank of general from infantry. The list of military relatives includes the Izmailovs, the Golitsyns, and the S altykovs.
Princess Golitsyna Maria Alexandrovna became his wife, and on February 9, 1801 gave the count a son who became the full namesake of his paternal grandfather.
Young years
The biography of Alexander Tolstoy begins traditionally. Of course, a military career was also planned for the young heir. Before reaching the age of seven, the younger Tolstoy becameJunker of the Life Guards Artillery Brigade. In 1819, Alexander Tolstoy was already a horse artilleryman, and two years later - a cavalry guard of the Life Guards. Being on a military expedition exploring the Caspian Sea from 1824 to 1826, he showed himself to be a brave and resourceful officer and received awards.
After completing this military-geographic mission, Alexander Tolstoy moves to the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and is sent as a freelancer to the Russian representation in Paris. The count performs various secret assignments, including in Constantinople. The beginning of the Russian-Turkish war in 1828 prompted the young count to return to his native Cavalier Guard regiment. Alexander Tolstoy fought in the Balkans under the command of General Dibich.
Before the signing of the peace treaty, Alexander Petrovich was assigned to the imperial retinue. At the end of the winter of 1830, the count was released from military service, having been given the title of chamberlain of his majesty. To serve in the Russian embassy in Greece, Tolstoy Alexander Petrovich preferred the appointment of the head of economic affairs of the Ministry of the Interior. In 1833, the count married Princess Anna Georgievna Gruzinskaya.
Government activity
Two and a half years of conscientious service were crowned with the rank of State Councilor. Soon Alexander Petrovich took the post of civil governor of Tver and stayed in it until moving at the end of 1837 to Odessa to the post of military governor. However, the affairs of the management of the civilian population were also in his jurisdiction. By this time, Alexander Petrovich Tolstoy was already a major general. A clash with his father's comrade-in-arms, a hero of the Napoleonic and Russian-Turkish wars, the most influential dignitary, the governor-general of Novorossiysk and Bessarabia Territory M. S. Vorontsov, forced Alexander Petrovich Tolstoy in early 1840 to resign and go abroad.
Only in the spring of 1855, Major General led the Nizhny Novgorod militia, called to defend the Motherland in another war, this time in the Crimea. Tolstoy became lieutenant general already being the chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod.
Chief Prosecutor
This position arose in connection with the religious reform of Peter I. Having abolished the institution of the patriarchate and made the management of the church collective, Peter finally came to the decision to establish an intermediary position between himself and the Holy Synod. The newly appeared chief prosecutor of the Synod had great powers:
- Transferred to the churchmen all the wishes and orders of the king.
- Accepted petitions from the Synod to the Tsar.
- Knew all church affairs.
- Participated in decision-making on all religious matters.
The leaders of the church were pleased with the activities of Alexander Petrovich, seeing in him a gentle and sensitive person in matters of faith. The count made acquaintance with the famous Orthodox elders, read a lot of spiritual literature and joined the church rites.
After leaving office in 1862, Alexander Petrovich Tolstoy joined the State Council.
Friendship with Gogol
Almostall the years spent by Alexander Petrovich out of work were brightened up by close friendship with the great writer. Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol found in the graph a kindred spirit and similar interests. Of course, like any educated person, Alexander Petrovich was quite familiar with literature and communicated with modern writers and cultural figures. Indeed, at that time, writers were accepted even at the court of the emperor.
Soviet researchers of Gogol's work accused Alexander Petrovich of having a detrimental effect on the writer's worldview. It was argued that the religiosity and mysticism of Nikolai Vasilyevich originate from the time of his acquaintance with Tolstoy. But contemporaries testify that Gogol had a firm and independent character. There was even a psychiatrist who joined the discussion of the personality and causes of the writer's death, caused by his sudden death at 42, and said that Gogol had delusions of grandeur. In addition, there were letters from Alexander Petrovich addressed to Nikolai Vasilyevich, in which he asks for guidance in spiritual reading and fasting. Gogol's letters are full of advice and teachings. In this spirit, he wrote to other acquaintances.
But the writer's attitude towards the Tolstoy family was especially warm and trusting. A letter from their correspondence, dated as early as 1939, has been preserved. Religious issues were discussed most often. It can even be assumed that the author of Selected passages from correspondence with friends paved the way for Alexander Petrovich to the position of chief prosecutor. Gogol stayed many times with the Tolstoys in Paris, in Moscow on Nikitskyboulevard. Based on the fact that the writer collected information about the Lyskovo fair, it is possible that the estate of Anna Georgievna's father there also provided shelter for the great contemporary.
The writer died in the Tolstoy mansion in Moscow. Therefore, a monument to Gogol was erected in the courtyard.
Tolstoy Alexander Petrovich (1801-1873) died in Geneva; buried in the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow.
