The idea of establishing the Tolstoy Museum originated in 1908, while the writer was still alive, during celebrations for his 80th birthday. However, it was not until 1910 that this idea was realized. The Tolstoy Society and the All-Russian Writers’ Congress, held in the summer of 1908, were instrumental in the establishment of the museum. Before the work on the museum commenced, the Exhibition for the Design of the Tolstoy Museum was held.

The exhibition was inaugurated in March 1911 at the premises of a theater club located on Liteyny Prospect in St. Petersburg and was a great success. On March 27 of the same year, the St. Petersburg Tolstoy Museum was officially opened. The collection was assembled through donations and gifts. The location of the museum changed several times. From 1912, it occupied the premises at 6/13, Bolshoy Prospekt on Vasilyevsky Island. Following the Russian Revolution, in 1919, the museum became part of the system of organizations affiliated with the Academy of Sciences, while the Tolstoy Museum Society was dissolved. The museum, which was founded with private money, became a state institution. This decision made it possible to preserve the collection.

However, following the celebration of Tolstoy’s centenary, the Leningrad museum dedicated to the writer was closed. A decision was made to merge the Leningrad Tolstoy Museum with the Pushkin House, and as a result, the museum’s collection was divided. While a collection of portraits, photographs, personal items, and documents related to Tolstoy remained in Leningrad, his manuscripts were relocated to Moscow. This decision to split the collection was made by the party and the government that wanted Leningrad to become the center of study of Pushkin and his works, whereas Moscow — to focus on Tolstoy and his legacy.

It is well-known that Leo Tolstoy was not fond of St. Petersburg. However, when the young Tolstoy first arrived in the capital, he expressed his intention to remain there permanently. “Dear Seryozha, I am writing this letter to you from St. Petersburg, where I plan to establish a permanent residence, ” — this is how Tolstoy began his letter to his brother Sergey on February 13, 1849. He explained his decision by the fact that he had made more acquaintances in St. Petersburg than in Moscow and those acquaintances were of a higher social standing. However, a few months later, Tolstoy became disenchanted with the city on the Neva. “…I did not write anything significant there, but rather spent a significant amount of money and incurred debts. It was foolish,” he wrote.