Tolstoy and sport

[Andrew Jameson]

There is a book called Tolstoy's Bicycle which makes a great
gift for older people who sometimes think they're "past it" and
can't learn new skills. T learnt to ride a bike at an advanced age.
Also he used to swim regularly in a particular pool in the little
river on his estate at Yasnaya Polyana.
Andrew Jameson
Chair, Russian Committee, ALL
Languages and Professional Development
1 Brook Street, Lancaster LA1 1SL UK
Tel: 01524 32371  (+44 1524 32371)

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From: O.F. Boele <O.F.Boele at let.rug.nl>
To: SEELANGS at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Tolstoy and sport
Date: 01 December 1999 10:29

Dear Seelangers,

A student of mine is writing a thesis on Tolstoy -- a project we ve
provisionally called  Tolstoy  and Sport . Obviously,  sport  should be
understood in the widest possible sense, meaning any form of physical
activity (or exercise) that s considered to be beneficial to one s health
(including hunting and fishing). In Tolstoy s case weight lifting, horse
riding and cycling should definitely be considered. I guess that a more
explicit definition of the subject for this thesis could be:  models of
physical (and simultaneously spiritual) well-being in Tolstoy . At this
early stage we do not distinguish between his fiction and his diaries, or
the memoirs of other people.

Of course, browsing  Anna Karenina,  the diaries of Sof ya Tolstaya
and Dushan Makovitsky, we ve found quite a few references to sport
and physical exercise.  Yet since there s so much material on Tolstoy and
our interest in him is very specific, we would welcome any suggestions
or references from anyone. Where -- apart from  Anna Karenina   -- does
Tolstoy treat the theme of sport, if only in passing? Are there any
scholarly studies that address the questions outlined above? Did
Tolstoy at any stage have any contacts with Russia s budding sport
movement? Any help would be highly appreciated.

Cheers.

Otto Boele
University of Groningen
The Netherlands
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