You can still enjoy your subscription until the end of your current billing period. The pinnacle of Tolstoys new fashion life was dressing for Prince Albert of Monacos wedding in July 2011, an occasion which called for two new couture dresses: a yellow Fifties-style Princess Grace look dress by Giambattista Valli for the day ceremony, followed by Valentino for the evening. A set of 12 hand-coloured engravings of botanical specimens, 19th century. Alexandra Tolstoy is leading a riding trip through Kyrgyzstan in June; from 3,598pp, full-board (ampersandtravel.com). FILTER Showing 20 products Cashmere Folk Fair Isle Jumper $789 $475 She died in 1979, at age 96, and was laid to rest in the Russian cemetery of Spring Valley, New York, USA. [1] [2] [3] Biography [ edit] Speaking of their relationship in a documentary that aired this year, Alexandra said: 'When I met Sergei it was electric. The Italian models of buildings in Pisa worked in perfect harmony amongst the photos on this table. I led them, with Shamil, from Bukhara to Samarkand, and it was a success. There are many treasured items that I sourced and selected over the years with the expert guidance of decorators at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. Other pieces currently available on the site include an Oscar de la Renta scallop-edged dress (200), a tweed Celine mini dress (390) and Alaa wool dress (450). It was a therapeutic process. The Russians then accused him of profiting from vast sums of taxpayers' money given to Mezhprombank by the Russian central bank at the height of the 2008 economic crisis. Image courtesy of Christies, Tolstoys happy working relationship with Slowik dates back more than a decade. Among Alexandra's favourite pieces are a pair of white upholstered sofas by Katherine Pooley, which are expected to fetch between4,000-6,000, and two pairs of 20th century Indian palace paintings which are expected to fetch1,000-2,000 a pair. But I will never go to France. I obviously didnt have a very big budget, but when I lived in Russia, there was this amazing flea market on the outskirts of Moscow and I used to go at the weekend and hunt for antiques. ", "The pair of white sofas with cushions. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. Pugachev has cut off Alexandra and their children financially, she claims, and she is now auctioning her possessions with Christie's to mark the 'start of a new chapter'. It was on that trip that I met my former husband, Shamil Galimzyanov, an Uzbek horseman. Energetic all her life, with a remarkable calmness of spirit, Alexandra Tolstoy lived at the TF Center in Valley Cottage, New York. I felt it was quite symbolic, it was out of Russia that this crazy life had happened and now I was giving something back which felt good., But shes honest that its as much for her own familys welfare that shes doing it, too. She pairs this with other traditional Russian symbols such as matryoshkas, or Russian dolls, which represent motherhood and. ", The house, though small, was designed to work well for entertaining, but also as a space where Alexandra's children could play and be comfortable. The interior and collection speaks not only of her love of the traditional English country house, but also of her Russian family heritage, innate personal sense of style and a strong desire to create a special home for her children. The book details the difficulties she faced living in Russia during and after the revolution. When I was with Sergei, I stopped reading so much of that 19th-century literature which Im so passionate about With the life I live now, emotionally and mentally I can romantically dream and escape whereas then, it was so stultifying., I wonder if, like her fashion sense, her interior design interests were affected during her time with Sergei, as one might imagine they would be, but she says that they werent: Weirdly, the interior decorating never changed I could afford more things, but [Sergei] didnt really give me the opportunity to do very much the taste never changed there at all. Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, an aristocratic English woman, had her own fairy tale come true when she fell in love with the man of her dreams in 2008, an oligarch and one of Russia's richest. I commissioned these white sofas to be a base for the many layered cushions that I love and spent many happy hours on them - the perfect spot to retire with friends after a dinner party. Alexandra worked closely with the London-based interior designers and decorators Emma Burns and Daniel Slowik of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler Interiors from 2008 onwards to create her family home, where she lived for 12 years. My brother is called Dmitri and I wouldnt pronounce his name because I was so embarrassed. She was given permission to leave the Soviet Union in 1929 and went to Japan in the same year. Were still in touch now. Later, while living and working in Moscow, she met Sergei Pugachev, with whom she would have three children. Alexandra Tolstoy: An Interior by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler selling online at Christie's from 4 25 November, The comments below have not been moderated, By I met the father of my three children, Sergei Pugachev, a banker formerly in Putins inner circle, in 2009. They were symbols of a bad time so it doesnt matter.. Those Monaco wedding couture commissions and a tweed Chanel cardigan (they did a Scottish collection which is the kind of thing I love because its all about the countryside, so Ive kept that). Enjoy browsing and do email us if you have any questions! Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. Reading Russian literature gave me a greater understanding of the Russian character. I gave 20% of what I made to a charity in St Petersburg for children with autism. It was amazing. It was one of the first pieces that I bought and I bought it for practical reasons as well as aesthetic - its great storage! In Once Long Ago, Jenny Robinson invites us to Sonnet for Foxe by Anna Cowan and Ruth Port, Backstage interview: the creatives behind Bare, Oxford, the 15-Minute City, and the Birth of a Lie, NUS referendum voting underway as campaigning intensifies, A varsity society match like no other; an ACS affair. This week, the contents of the latter are on sale at Christie's as she moves out into a new home (the progress of which we've been avidly following on Instagram). Being in that landscape makes your senses alert. This house is a family home, says Alexandra Tolstoy of the beautiful six-bedroom Chelsea residence she converted from two adjacent artists studios. Enjoy browsing and do email us if you have any questions! Shortly before her birth, Leo had almost stopped writing novels . In the autumn, she held a sale at her house and gave proceeds to a charity which supports underprivileged children and adults with autism living in St. Petersburg, who she says are completely unsupported by the state. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. She grew up in Oxfordshire before going to Edinburgh University to study philosophy. How Alexandra Tolstoy made a rental house her own | House & Garden House & Garden 176K subscribers Subscribe 12K Share 617K views 1 year ago Behind the neat red-brick faade of a classic. 'I thought I'd just sell a few things but it went quite viral. She organises adventurous horse riding holidays in Kyrgyzstan, and runs The Tolstoy Edit, a curated shop of her favourite interiors discoveries. Simon Brown 3/8 Throughout my life, all the bad things that have happened have spurred me on. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. ", "The long Italian table - elegant and non-obtrusive, it was a fantastic background for photographs and pieces of Russian enamel that I had collected. [9][10], In 1974, at the age of ninety, Tolstaya received birthday greetings from President of the United States Richard Nixon, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and others, and was interviewed by The New York Times. Student journalism does not come cheap. When I came back, I switched my university course from philosophy to Russian at Edinburgh. Tolstoy is alluding to the discomfort which these indulgences eventually came to signify for her, leading her away from her instinctive style and appreciation for tradition towards a struggle to fit in and conform to being the sort of woman Pugachev and his circle expected. I went into this whole other world. In Nice, he was visited by the DIA who demanded repayment of the billion dollar loan and threatened his family, saying they could 'cut off his son's finger and send it back to him.'. I started the Preloved business originally with the idea of cleansing my own wardrobe, she explains. Obviously theres her Russian heritage, so we loved the idea of pattern and colour.. Estimate: 2,000-3,000. Privacy Policy, Three North European decorated and painted lidded jars, mid-19th century, Alexandra Tolstoy: An Interior by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, A set of 12 hand-coloured engravings of botanical specimens, 19th century, now offering some of its contents for sale at Christies, George Smart, A pair of Regency cut-felt collage pictures of, a trio of decorated and painted lidded jars, a mid-20th-century English oak and brass desk, A Russian painted pine model of the Trinity Monastry of St. Sergius, c. 1900. We became addicted to travelling in this way. State creditors in Moscow pursued him in the British courts, claiming he embezzled hundreds of millions. But its absurd Putin just wouldnt care about that. Having once enjoyed an intensely close friendship, even spending many holidays together, by the time Alexandra met Sergei, he had only seen Putin once, in all those years., Alexandra asks if Ive watched Dirty John on Netflix, and compares theirs to the romance underpinned by the manipulation of the sociopathic significant other: I just find the psychology of being a sociopath or narcissism so fascinating; this creating of narratives that are literally just complete lies, but I think they end up half-believing them She later asks if Ive read And Quiet Flows the Don, saying that the relationship at the beginning is very, very similar; it just feels so full of danger and its very raw, and often angry, but then very passionate to me, it felt really like I was so in love. Reflecting on their marriage, and his moments of physical violence and control over her, she says that there were signs there, but she just didnt know how to read or understand them., I think the real truth was that, yes, he wasnt bowing down to Putin, but he also had a business partner who he was very close to for years, and that business partner left [and it was at this point that Sergei began having business difficulties]; Sergei himself was no kind of businessman. Alexandra Tolstoy Travel The Russian Orthodox cross is a staple of Ms Tolstoy's apparel. Offered in Alexandra Tolstoy: An Interior by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, 4-25 November, Online, One of her favourite pieces to be offered at Christies is a 20th-century North American rag rug. In 2008 Alexandra met Sergei, then one of Russias most influential men, who had bankrolled the Russian government; but, following Putins eradication of the oligarchy, and the disappearance of a $1 billion loan from the State to his bank which went under a year later, Sergei had to flee Russia in fear of his life, allegedly receiving death threats to himself and their children. I wandered in and fell totally in love with all these amazing antiques.. Nicknamed Putins Banker, Pugachev owned a coal mine, shipyards, designer brands and one of Russias largest private banks before a catastrophic fall from favour placed him at number 3 on the Kremlin hit list. ", "The paintings of Indian palaces. Of course, Id never even set foot in a Chanel shop before, so it was exciting. Back in Russia after that Paris sojourn, we went to the opera in St Petersburg, it was all these oligarchs and their wives. Her travel business leading expeditions through the former Russian empire is on hold at the moment because of coronavirus and she has no help from Pugachev. Shes a pin-up for authentic prairie chic. Since then Tolstoy has launched a number of projects, among them an online pre-loved fashion business and The Tolstoy Edit, an online platform where she shares her style secrets for the worlds of fashion, interiors and travel. During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. They will say I am old fashioned, but I am afraid for this country, because of lack of religion among the young ones, drugs, immorality and the shamelessness of youth.[4], For her present-day distant cousin of the same name, see, Last edited on 31 December 2022, at 00:52, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Alexandra Tolstoy, at 90, Is Honored for Lifetime of Helping Others, "What Today's Youth Can Learn From the Great Russian Writer Leo Tolstoy", Oral history interview with Alexandra Tolstoy 1966, Picture of Alexandra Tolstoy in Valley Cottage, Saint Sergius Learning Center founded in association with Tolstoy Foundation in Valley Cottage, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexandra_Tolstaya&oldid=1130601922, This page was last edited on 31 December 2022, at 00:52. I very much hope that these pieces will find a new home and be equally enjoyed.'. I just had to pack my suitcase and I could go.'. Alexandra Tolstaya Countess Alexandra ( Sasha) Lvovna Tolstaya ( Russian: ; 18 June 1884 - 26 September 1979), often anglicized to Tolstoy, was the youngest daughter and secretary of the noted Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. We had unusual hanging space in Glebe Place - the huge windows meant there wasnt much wall space but what we did have was a big open wall and needed something on a similar scale. Scroll down to see Alexandra's favourite lots. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. Once old enough to do his bidding, she served as the right hand of her father, adoring him and making the logistics of his life work. Offered in Alexandra Tolstoy: An Interior by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, 4-25 November, Online, Their bedroom was like a little world of its own, full of imagination and toys and pictures and books, she says. . Her 1999 trek along the Silk Road by horse and camel is perhaps the most documented. Just that morning, shed been contacted by a friend who was a yacht broker, who was sad to see the couples old yacht on the charter market, but Alexandra felt no loss: I thought to myself its amazing I literally miss nothing about that lifestyle planes, boats, trains, automobiles, houses: nothing.. Its so original and different. She changed my life. Everything was paid for and clothes were delivered at home. It was lecturing about this trip at the Royal Geographical Society in London that first got me into leading tours. Together, in 1939 they founded the Tolstoy Foundation.[4]. She sent a cheque for 5,500 from her last clear out. 10:55 EST 03 Nov 2020 With Sergei, I lived in this new Russian way but I hated it. She says that every day is difficult, and I often dont sleep at night its that philosophy of dust yourself down, and carry on trying I dont ever stop putting myself out there and trying., In the past year, Alexandras rebuilt her travel company, which she founded before the marriage, built a fashion business, which Im told is going well, and been writing for lots of magazines; shes even made amicable progress with the Russian state, and has since returned without threat But it seems to me that her greatest solace in the idyll shes struggled to provide for her children: theyve got this big pond, and a rowing boat, and a little caravan, and a wigwam, and is rescued by the stillness of the country. Anne-Jessica Faure, a lawyer for Mr Pugachev, said there has been no court decision establishing financial wrongdoing by him. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the Settings & Account section. I went quite street. Many of them met at the "Aunt Sasha" 90th anniversary in 1974. 2023 Getty Images. Their relationship ended in 2015. The tycoon is in another legal battle with Russia in The Hague where he is suing the Federation for 11billion. Some people dont care about aesthetics, but for me, to be creative is really part of my DNA. Alexandra tells me how her appreciation for books and visual arts were completely crushed: I couldnt do anything; the luxury afforded to her nevertheless impeded her fundamental desire to be productive and freedom to explore creatively. Back then, people heard about the trips by word of mouth. I slightly lost myself thinking [the Pugachev-era clothes] were beautiful and actually its extraordinary how your vision can get warped and distorted. I felt like Bridget Jones, so awkward. Since the breakdown of her relationship with Sergei Pugachev, who was accused of fraud by the Kremlin in 2015, she has rediscovered her sense of style, favouring pieces that celebrate homegrown traditions and fashions, as evidenced on her popular Instagram account, @alexandratolstoy, where she often documents her wardrobe choices. I think its difficult for anybody in those circumstances to be creative; how can you be original? For her almost 50,000 Instagram followers (@alexandratolstoy), these memories of oligarch-style trophy buys will be impossible to conflate with the idyllic look she now encapsulates. As the partner of a Russian oligarch, Countess Alexandra Tolstoy had an envy-inducing wardrobe, as she dressed the part in haute couture gowns accessorised with diamonds and designer handbags. 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