On pilgrimage to Tolstoy’s grave, with author and presenter Barnaby Rogerson

Where would you go?
To the grass-covered grave, a lovely bump in the ground, where Tolstoy is buried in the woods of his old family estate at Yasnaya Polyana, in Russia. We would drink toasts of vodka, read, recite, lay flowers and sit around discussing his influence on the world, including his letters to the young Gandhi.

Would you make any special stops?
It is a dream pilgrimage, so no maps have yet been spread or train timetables consulted, but we might also aspire to follow his footsteps in 1881, when he went on his own pilgrimage to consult the starets – peasant mystics – in their hermitages scattered around the Orthodox monastery of Optina Pustyn. If this is too difficult, we would follow his last journey, running away from the discord of his home to die at Astapovo railway station. 

Whom would you take?
A vital part of this pilgrimage would be the presence of AN Wilson, who has written a biography of Tolstoy, and my wife, Rose Baring, who speaks and reads Russian. I have never been to the grave of Tolstoy, but they both have, and speak so lovingly about this place, which is why I now want to go.

You can transplant your favourite pub, bar or restaurant onto the route. What is it?
This is difficult. I have dozens and dozens of favourite bars and restaurants scattered all over the world, but right at the moment, the memory of a late summer lunch is the winner. I have been advised to do more “listening” by my daughters, so took one of them off to an outside table at a tiny, family-run restaurant overlooking an old canal that threads its way through north London; no reservations, no hurry, with a throng of beggars, joggers, prams and bicyclers all adding to the animated backdrop of coots, moorhens, swans and old canal boats. It is closed down over the four winter months.

Would you camp under the stars or find a church hall to sleep in?
Always look up to the stars, even if you need to lie in a gutter. I am also empowered by my father, who was trained, from age ten, in the Royal Navy, and was of that last generation trained as a traditional navigator, so he had a fabulous, intimate knowledge of the stars. He also encouraged us at an early age to go on night walks, so that we would feel at home in the dark. 

Which books would you take with you?
I have just read Tolstoy’s Confession, which is a fascinating but melancholic ramble through faith, philosophy and religion. I think the pilgrimage would need to engage with this book, plus his Critique of Dogmatic Theology, The Four Gospels Harmonised and What I Believe.

What spiritual text would you ponder as you walked?
AN Wilson is a walking library of recondite knowledge and spiritual quests, so we would listen as we walked. But as a back-up, I would travel with the Gospel of Thomas, and Tarif Khalidi’s The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature, so our very discordant group – my wife is a psychotherapist trained in the Freudian tradition – could draw parallels.

What’s your go-to prayer?
The Hail Mary. I watched my father die, as my mother – Scots Protestant by birth, but in all practical matters a pagan – held him in her arms while my sister chanted, “Hail Mary, full of grace…” throughout the night. 

What’s the singalong to keep everyone’s spirits up?
I am almost tone deaf and have always felt isolated by communal singing, so will leave this entirely up to my companions, who, based on the experience of a previous holiday in Cornwall, have powerful, tuneful voices and astonishing memories. 

You’re allowed one luxury – what is it?
Vodka, fur hats and layers and layers of coats are a necessity in Russia, not a luxury, but a cunningly designed backpack that contains a samovar for the impromptu brewing of tea would be most welcome.

What would you miss most about ordinary life?
I am very fond of a slow start, and even if a hotel be so luxurious, I have never yet found one that can give you as good a breakfast as you can make at home.

Barnaby Rogerson’s latest book is The House Divided: Sunni, Shia and the Making of the Middle East (2024, Profile Books, £12.99)

The post On pilgrimage to Tolstoy’s grave, with author and presenter Barnaby Rogerson first appeared on Catholic Herald.

The post On pilgrimage to Tolstoy’s grave, with author and presenter Barnaby Rogerson appeared first on Catholic Herald.