Nikolai Tolstoy
FRSL | |
---|---|
Head of the House of Tolstoy | |
Preceded by | Count Dmitri Tolstoy |
Chancellor of the IML | |
Assumed office 1987 | |
Preceded by | Kenneth McLennan Hay |
Personal details | |
Born | Adèle Mellen Prize (2009) | 23 June 1935
Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky
Early life
Born in England in 1935, Tolstoy is of part Russian descent. The son of Count Dimitri Tolstoy and Mary Wicksteed, he is a member of the noble Tolstoy family. He grew up as the stepson of author Patrick O'Brian, whom his mother married after his parents divorced. On his upbringing he has written:
Like thousands of Russians in the present century, I was born and brought up in another country and was only able to enter the land of my ancestors as a visitor in later years. It was nevertheless a very Russian upbringing, one which impressed on me the unusual nature of my inheritance. I was baptised in the Russian Orthodox Church and I worshipped in it. I prayed at night the familiar words Oche nash, attended parties where little Russian boys and girls spoke a mixture of languages, and felt myself by manner and temperament to be different than my English friends. I think I was the most affected by those melancholy and evocative Russian homes where my elders, for the most part people of great charm and eccentricity, lived surrounded by the relics – ikons, Easter eggs, portraits of Tsar and Tsaritsa, family photographs, and émigré newspapers – of that mysterious, far-off land of wolves, boyars, and snow-forests of Ivan Bilibin's famous illustrations to Russian fairy-tales. Somewhere there was a real Russian land to which we all belonged, but it was shut away over distant seas and space of years.[1][2]
Tolstoy holds dual British and Russian citizenship. He was educated at Wellington College, Sandhurst, and Trinity College Dublin.
Literary career
Tolstoy has written a number of books about Celtic mythology. In The Quest for Merlin he has explored the character of Merlin, and his Arthurian novel The Coming of the King builds on his research into ancient British history and Welsh mythology. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1979.[3]
He has also researched and written about World War II and has alleged that British war crimes took place during its immediate aftermath. In 1977, he wrote the book Victims of Yalta,[4][a] which exposed and criticised Britain's role in Operation Keelhaul, a forced repatriation of anti-communist political refugees to Joseph Stalin's NKVD in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions.[5][6] In 1986 he wrote The Minister and the Massacres which similar documented and denounced the British Army's forced repatriation of alleged collaborationists to Josip Broz Tito's Soviet-backed Yugoslav Partisans. It received much critical praise, as well as criticism by Macmillan's authorised biographer.[7][8]
Controversy
Tolstoy has written of the forced repatriation of Soviet citizens and others during and after World War II. As a result, he was called by the defence as an expert witness at the 1986-88 trial of
In 1989,
According to historian Bob Moore, although the repatriations did occur, Tolstoy's intention was to minimize the culpability of the Cossacks for having sided with the Nazis, and in doing so he had undertaken manipulation of the sources and made "outrageous claims" that were exposed during the trial.[13]
Tolstoy delayed payment by appealing to fifteen courts in Britain and Europe, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the size of the penalty violated his right to freedom of expression.[14] Documents subsequently obtained from the Ministry of Defence suggested that, under Government instructions, files that could have had a bearing on the defence case might have been withdrawn from the Public Record Office and retained by the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office throughout the run-up to the trial and the trial itself.[15]
Tolstoy sought to appeal on the basis of new evidence which he claimed proved Aldington had perjured himself over the date of his departure from Austria in May 1945. This was ruled inadmissible at a hearing in the High Courts of Justice, from which the press and public were barred, and his application for an appeal was rejected.[16]
In July 1995, the
"In its judgment yesterday in the case of Count Nikolai Tolstoy, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Britain in important respects, finding that the award of £1.5 million levelled against the Count by a jury in 1989 amounted to a violation of his freedom of expression. Parliament will find the implications of this decision difficult to ignore."[citation needed]
Tolstoy refused to pay any libel damages while Lord Aldington was alive. It was not until 9 December 2000, two days after Aldington's death, that Tolstoy, under court order, was forced to pay £57,000 to Aldington's estate.[17]
Political activity
A committed monarchist, Tolstoy is Chancellor of the
Tolstoy was a founding committee member (January 1989) of the now established War and Peace Ball, held annually in London, which raises funds for White Russian charities.[19] A member of the Royal Stuart Society since 1954, he is presently one of the vice-presidents.[20]
In October 1987, he was presented with the International Freedom Award by the United States Industrial Council Educational Foundation: "for his courageous search for the truth about the victims of totalitarianism and deceit.", the first British political delegation to observe that conflict.
Conservative MPs
On 13 October the group held a Press Conference at the Hotel Intercontinental in Zagreb, which apart from the media, was also attended by delegates from the French government. A report on the conflict was agreed and handed in to 10 Downing Street by Andrew Hunter.[citation needed]
Tolstoy has stood unsuccessfully for the
Family
Tolstoy is the head of the senior branch of the Tolstoy family, being descended from Ivan Andreyevich Tolstoy (1644–1713). He is a distant cousin to the author
Tolstoy himself is married and has four children:
- Alexandra (born 1973),[27] a broadcaster, equine adventurer, and former socialite.[28][29]
- Anastasia (born 1975),[27] married with two children.[30]
- Dmitri (born 1978),[27]
- Xenia, Lady Buckhurst (born 1980)[27] married since 2010 to the elder son and heir of the Earl De La Warr,[30] William Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, with whom she has two children[31][32]
Works
- The Founding of Evil Hold School, London, 1968, ISBN 0-491-00371-4
- Night of the Long Knives, New York, 1972, ISBN 0-345-02787-6, concerning the Nazi purge of 1934
- ISBN 0-684-15635-0.
- The Half-Mad Lord: ISBN 0-224-01664-4
- Stalin's Secret War, London, 1981, ISBN 0-224-01665-2
- The Tolstoys – 24 Generations of Russian History, 1353–1983 by Nikolai Tolstoy, London, 1983, ISBN 0-241-10979-5
- The Quest for Merlin, 1985, ISBN 0-241-11356-3
- ISBN 0-09-164010-5
- ISBN 0-593-01312-3
- Patrick O'Brian: The Making of the Novelist, London 2004, Aubrey-Maturin seriesof historical novels.
- 'The Application of International Law to Forced Repatriation from Austria in 1945', in Stefan Karner, Erich Reiter, and Gerald Schöpfer (ed.), Kalter Krieg: Beiträge zur Ost-West-Konfrontation 1945 bis 1990 (Graz, 2002), ISBN 3-7011-7432-6.
- 'The Mysterious Fate of the Cossack Atamans’, in Harald Stadler, Rolf Steininger, and Karl C. Berger (ed.), Die Kosaken im Ersten und Zweiten Weltkrieg (Innsbruck, 2008), ISBN 978-3-7065-4623-2.
- ‘Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Merlin Legend’, in Arthurian Literature XXV (Cambridge, 2008), ISBN 978-1-84384-171-5.
- ‘When and where was Armes Prydein Composed?’, Studia Celtica (Cardiff, 2008), xlii, pp. 145–49.
- ‘Cadell and the Cadelling of Powys’, Studia Celtica (Cardiff, 2012), xlvi, pp. 59–83.
- The Oldest British Prose Literature: The Compilation of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi (New York, 2009), Adèle Mellen Prize, and was runner-up for the Wales Book of the Year Prize in 2010.
- Victims of Yalta: The Secret Betrayal of the Allies, 1944–1947 (2nd ed.), Open Road Media (2013), ISBN 978-1-45324-936-9. Reprint of Victims of Yalta with new preface describing the Aldington trial and its aftermath.
- Patrick O'Brian: A Very Private Life, London 2019, ISBN 978-0-00835-058-1The second volume of biography of his stepfather.
- Stalin's Vengeance: The Final Truth About the Forced Return of Russians After World War II (Academica Press, September 2021, ISBN 978-1680538809
Tolstoy has also contributed chapters to the new History of the Twentieth Century published in Moscow, which is a prescribed text for all Russian high schools.
Notes
- ^ See Worsthorne, Peregrine (June 1980). "Victims of Yalta by Nikolai Tolstoy". Encounter (book review): 89–92.
More than enough has now emerged about the Russian deportations to stir the national conscience, and the matter cannot be left as it is. If a new war crime on this scale had suddenly come to light in Germany, Britain would be the first to agitate for an inquiry; indeed for much more than that... if honour, at this late stage, can never be redeemed, at least dishonour can be squarely faced.
References
- ^ Nikolai Tolstoy, The Tolstoys; Twenty-Four Generations of Russian History 1333–1983, page 8.
- ISBN 978-5-8411-0277-9
- ^ a b "Academic Author: Tolstoy, Nikolai". mellenpress.com. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ISBN 9781453249369.
- ^ Tolstoy, Victims of Yalta (2nd ed.), p. 309.
- ^ Karner, Erich Reiter; Schöpfer, Gerald, eds. (2002). "The Application of International Law to Forced Repatriation from Austria in 1945". Kalter Krieg: Beiträge zur Ost-West-Konfrontation 1945 bis 1990. Graz.
- ISSN 0028-0038.
- .
- ISBN 0-915597-79-9
- ISBN 1-86207-486-0.
- ^ Nikolai Tolstoy "Close Designs and Crooked Purposes: Forced Repatriations of Cossacks and Yugoslav Nationals in 1945", London 2012, p15
- ^ Nigel Nicolson, "The final verdict on Lord Aldington". The Telegraph, 10 December 2000.
- ISBN 978-0-19-257680-4.
- ^ "Lord Aldington". The Guardian. London. 9 December 2000. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- The Sunday Times, 7 April 1996
- ^ The Guardian, 28 May 1992, p.19, and 8 June 1992, p.4
- ^ Alleyne, Richard (9 December 2000). "Tolstoy pays £57,000 to Aldington's estate". The Telegraph.
- ^ BBC Archive (12 October 2019). #OnThisDay 1978: The Eldon League celebrated the 82nd anniversary of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia's visit to Oxford Railway station buffet.. Via Facebook.
- ^ Blundy, Anna (19 February 1995). "Tolstoy with minders at the War and Peace Ball". The Independent. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "About the RSS — Royal Stuart Society". www.royalstuartsociety.com. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ See The Times, 15 November 1996, for a major interview with Tolstoy on p.18
- ^ "Wielding a sabre for the freedom of England." The Times, London, 15 November 1996: pg 18.
- ^ "Guardian Politics – Barnsley East". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ a b c "Guardian Politics – Wantage". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ "Guardian Politics – Witney". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ "No. 37734". The London Gazette. 20 September 1946. p. 4757.
- ^ a b c d Carson, Douglas (1990). Darwin, Kenneth (ed.). "The Fat Family and the Ridge of the Cow". Familia: Ulster Genealogical Review. 2 (6): 77.
- ^ Silver, Clara (21 February 2016). "Three kids, no cash, and a billionaire boyfriend on the run from Putin". The Sunday Times. London, UK. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. (subscription required)
- ^ Richard Eden. "Alexandra Tolstoy, the oligarch Sergei Pugachev and a 'juicy' story" The Telegraph, 26 September 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ a b Tim Walker. "Jeweller Xenia Tolstoy receives her gem from Lord Buckhurst", The Telegraph, 24 September 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ Buckhurst, Xenia. "Births: Sackville". The Telegraph (Announcements). London, UK. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ Buckhurst, William (9 June 2016). "Births: Buckhurst". The Daily Telegraph (Announcements). London, UK. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016.
- Daily Express, 24 September 1992
- Weekend Telegraph, 25 September 1992, book review
- The Times, 15 November 1996, major interview with Tolstoy on p. 18