Fyodor Tolstoy (adventurer)

Possessed of an unusual temper, he became famous for his gambling, his passion for duels, and his supposed voyage to North America, from which he earned his nickname.

[1] Despite their high rank, the Tolstoys were at that time relatively poor, the result of a conflict with the authorities in the eighteenth century in which several members of the family were exiled or deprived of property.

While still a boy Tolstoy possessed, according to the memoirs of his contemporaries,[2] an uncommon physical strength, endurance, and dexterity, which fulfilled the necessary prerequisites for a successful military career.

Upon finishing school Tolstoy went into service not in the navy, but in the elite Preobrazhensky regiment, perhaps owing to the assistance of influential relatives.

His comrades at that time, among others, the future literary critic Faddei Bulgarin,[3] described Tolstoy as an excellent shooter and a brave fighter.

His "wild" character, along with his taste for women and card games, gave him frequent cause for arguments with his comrades and higher officers that often ended in a violation of discipline.

Among the nobility of early nineteenth-century Russia, excessive bravery and a deliberate search for dangerous adventures was widespread and highly valued, not only on the front, but also in daily life.

There are also no reliable witnesses as to Tolstoy's punishment; several memoirs allege that he was demoted to the rank of a soldier, but other sources contradict this information.

[2] In 1803 Tolstoy went on a circumnavigation of the world as a member of the sloop Nadezhda ("Hope"), captained by Adam Johann von Krusenstern.

After visiting Japan, Nadezhda and Neva set off towards Sitka, Alaska, sailed past China and Macao on the Indian Ocean, then rounded Africa and came back across the Baltic Sea to Kronstadt.

The afore-mentioned orangutan, which was left on land with Tolstoy and whose later fate is unknown, gave rise to a great deal of gossip in aristocratic circles.

According to his accounts, a merchant ship picked him up in Alaska and dropped him off at Petropavlovsk, from where Tolstoy wound his way overland to Petersburg on carts, on sleighs, and partly on foot.

Vigel, who traveled around Russia at the beginning of the nineteenth century to study Russian daily life, met Tolstoy in Udmurtia and described this episode in the following way: "At one of the stations we were surprised to see an officer approach us in a uniform of the Preobrazhensky Corps.

Thanks to his adventures, which gave rise to much gossip in high society, the count acquired an almost legendary celebrity, as well as the lifelong nickname "the American", referring his stay in Russian America.

Philippe Vigel wrote regarding this onerous period for Tolstoy: "the punishment was severe for the brave man, who had never seen battle, especially during a time when all Europe, from west to east, had broken out in war.

"[5] Only Tolstoy's friendship with the commander Mikhail Dolgorukov helped the count in the end to get a post as an aide-de-camp on the front during the recently begun Finnish War.

These feats, which facilitated Russia's rapid victory, rehabilitated Tolstoy in the eyes of the command, and from 31 October 1808 he was allowed to serve in the Preobrazhensky Regiment as a lieutenant.

"[6] Partly owing to his cheating, Tolstoy often won large sums of money, which he in general spent rapidly and capriciously on society life.

Marya Kamenskaya's memoirs explain the reason for this marriage: Once, having lost a large sum in the English Club, he was going to have his name on the black board (a list of shirkers) for not having paid his loss in time.

Tolstoy and Tugayeva's eldest daughter, Sarra, possessed of a poetic gift, but unhealthy both physically and mentally, died at the age of 17 of consumption.

Hearing about this false rumor, the temperamental and sensitive Pushkin was so offended that he swore to challenge Tolstoy to a duel upon his return from exile.

Moreover, the poet answered Tolstoy with the epigram "В жизни мрачной и презренной…" ("In a gloomy and despicable life...") and harsh verses in a message "To Chaadayev":[7][8] "Or a philosopher, who in his early years / Amazed the world with his depravity, / But, becoming enlightened, made amends for his disgrace: / He quit drinking wine and became a cardsharp?"

Tolstoy was possibly also interested in reconciliation, as he knew that killing Pushkin would probably cut off his relations with many famous poets whose friendship he valued.

One glance at the old man's appearance, at his brow, covered with gray curls, at his sparkling eyes and athletic build, showed how much energy and strength nature had given to him.

Owing to his notorious past and to his close acquaintance with many authors, Tolstoy became the prototype for some of the characters in their books, the most famous of whom was Aleksandr Pushkin.

Pushkin depicts Zaretsky/Tolstoy in the following way: Five versts or so from Krasnogórie, Lensky's estate, there lives and still thrives to this moment, in a station of philosophic isolation, Zarétsky, sometime king of brawls and hetman of the gambling-halls, arch-rake, pothouse tribune-persona, but now grown plain and kind in stead, paterfamilias (unwed), unswerving friend, correct landowner, and even honourable man: so, if we want to change, we can!

Further on in the story, Pushkin displays his friendship with Tolstoy: He was no fool; appreciated by my Eugene, not for his heart, but for the effect that he created of sense and judgement.

For his part his converse gave Onegin pleasure... [10] Juri Lotman agrees that fundamentally Zaretsky was based on Tolstoy, but concludes that Pushkin subjected this real prototype to a significant reworking.

In his comedy Woe from Wit the character Repetilov refers to Tolstoy in a monologue, calling him a "nighttime robber and duellist" with "unclean hands", who was "exiled to Kamchatka and came back as an Aleutian".

At one of the first performances of Woe from Wit, Tolstoy, who was seated in the audience, stood up after Repetilov's speech and shouted, "I never took bribes, because I never served [in the government]!