Childhood and youth
Peter Tolstoy comes from the oldest family of Russian aristocrats. He is a descendant of the great classic Leo Tolstoy and is the great-great-grandson of the writer through his father Oleg Vladimirovich Tolstoy.
Peter Tolstoy - descendant of Leo Tolstoy
On the side of his mother Olga Tomar, Peter Tolstoy also has famous ancestors with a rich family history. The five-time great-grandfather of the TV presenter Stepan Vasilyevich Tomara was a deputy of the nobility of the Pereyaslav district and a collegiate adviser, the richest man of his time, who owned the Kovrai estate, which was called the pearl of the Pereyaslav region.
Peter's great-grandfather Mikhail Lvovich Tomara is an orientalist. Together with his wife Olga Mamontova, he lived most of his life in Sukhumi.
Peter Tolstoy in his youth
TV presenter Fekla Tolstaya is Peter Tolstoy’s second cousin, and the popular writer Tatyana Tolstaya, together with her son, the famous Russian blogger, designer and businessman Artemy Lebedev, are distant relatives of the TV star.
However, the biography of Peter Tolstoy is not only the glorious history of his ancient family and a luxurious family tree with names that the whole country knows. Pyotr Olegovich himself achieved a lot, glorifying his big name.
Fekla, Peter and Tatyana Tolstoy are relatives
Peter Tolstoy dreamed of becoming a journalist since childhood. Having received a secondary school certificate, he entered the international department of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University named after M. Lomonosov. Teachers remembered Tolstoy as a diligent student with great career ambitions. The young man served in the army in a military unit of a construction battalion - his height (180 cm) and build allowed him to do so.
Family and children of Peter Tolstoy
The family and children of Peter Tolstoy are quite ordinary, but the man calls them exactly what is worth living and working for, as well as building a happy future in our Fatherland.
Peter's family is quite ancient and very famous, since the author of War and Peace is his direct descendant on his father's side. The politician and public figure is the great-great-grandson of Lev Nikolaevich.
Relatives on the maternal side are wealthy nobles, members of the Assembly of Nobility, collegiate advisers, as well as famous orientalists and philologists. By the way, members of Peter’s family are the writer Tanya Tolstaya and the famous blogger Artemy Lebedev.
The man has few children, namely, his beloved and only daughter; he spares no time and money for her development. He tries to spend as much time as possible with the girl, since she is his main and most beloved project. Peter Tolstoy managed to combine a scandalous job with a quiet family haven, where his wife and children mean a lot.
A television
Pyotr Olegovich Tolstoy took his first steps to the heights of the journalistic Olympus in the French newspaper Le Monde, in its Moscow editorial office. Peter worked and at the same time learned French in practice, and after 2 years he got the opportunity to work at the Moscow bureau of France Presse. While in France, Tolstoy improved his professional qualifications at the Higher School of Journalism Training, which is located in Paris.
Journalist Peter Tolstoy
Peter Tolstoy soon applied the experience of his foreign colleagues in the field of Russian journalism. In 1996, the 27-year-old journalist became deputy editor-in-chief of a progressive Russian television station at that time. Tolstoy headed the information service, produced the program “Scandals of the Week” and at the same time hosted the program “In the World of People” on the TV-6 channel, the TV presenter of which was Vlad Listyev before him.
In 2002, the head of the Moscow Channel Three, Andrei Pisarev, invited Tolstoy to host the information and analytical program “Conclusions,” and after 2 years the ambitious journalist himself took the place of general director of Treshka.
Pyotr Tolstoy in the “Sunday Time” program
In 2005, Konstantin Ernst personally invited Pyotr Olegovich to Channel One. The journalist took with him the entire team of the “Conclusions” program to support him. “Sunday Time” became its continuation, only on the “first button”. However, Tolstoy’s former management was not offended by the employee. After moving to Channel One, Peter continued to work at Channel Three as deputy general director.
“Sunday Time” soon made Peter Tolstoy famous throughout the country. In 2007, for his work as the host of a popular project, the journalist received TEFI, the main television award in Russia, which can be called the journalistic Oscar.
Pyotr Tolstoy - TEFI laureate
Since 2007, Pyotr Tolstoy has been a member of the Academy of Russian Television, as well as a winner of the Golden Pen Award in the field of journalism.
On July 8, 2012, “Sunday Time” aired for the last time. From April 2013 to June 2016, Pyotr Tolstoy, first together with Alexander Gordon, and then alone, hosted the socio-political talk show “Politics” on Channel One.
Pyotr Tolstoy and Ekaterina Strizhenova hosted the talk show “Time will tell”
From September 2014 to July 2020, together with Ekaterina Strizhenova, he was the host of the popular talk show “Time will tell.” In addition, a well-known journalist on the same Channel One led a project with a name that seemed to hint at the relationship of the presenter with the great writer - “Tolstoy. Sunday".
Politics and scandals
After being elected as a State Duma deputy in the fall of 2020, Pyotr Tolstoy was forced to leave television and concentrate his efforts on working in the legislative body.
Pyotr Tolstoy became a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation in September 2016, when he won a landslide victory in the Lublin single-mandate constituency of the capital. In October, at the first plenary meeting of the State Duma, Tolstoy was elected deputy chairman of the country's highest legislative body.
Peter Tolstoy went into politics
In January 2020, Pyotr Tolstoy headed the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Let us note that the love of TV viewers for presenter Peter Tolstoy cannot be called nationwide. There are critics who accuse him of partiality, distortion and outright propaganda in favor of the current Russian government. But the journalist, it seems, never tried to please everyone and expressed himself very harshly when characterizing the opposition. Fans of the reporter and politician call him a true patriot of Russia, who is not afraid to voice out loud what many are thinking.
For example, from a report on Vladimir Putin’s performance after the fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Jeff Monson, “Sunday Time” cut out the booing of the public. Commenting on the plot, Pyotr Tolstoy rather harshly stated that it was the defeated American opponent of the Russian bear who was booed, and not the Russian Prime Minister, as many thought.
The statements of Peter Tolstoy are accompanied by scandals
Another scandal regarding the presenter’s statements erupted after the participation of the actress and head of the Gift of Life charity foundation, Chulpan Khamatova, in Vladimir Putin’s election campaign. It was rumored that the actress did this without much enthusiasm, but Khamatova herself did not comment on the rumors. But Tolstoy commented on them, calling one of the authors of such assumptions a scoundrel and unequivocally hinting that such individuals call for revolutions that have never brought anything good to Russia.
Pyotr Tolstoy is banned from entering Ukraine because of his statements regarding the annexation of Crimea to Russia and military operations in eastern Ukraine.
TV presenter Peter Tolstoy
In February 2020, attackers set fire to the country house of a famous TV presenter in the Volgograd region. It was not just a house, but an entire estate, which the descendant of Lev Tolstov spent 10 years organizing. According to the investigation, the arsonist turned out to be the former driver of the TV star, who thus took revenge on Peter for his dismissal. The estate caught fire like a match and burned to the ground. Losses from the fire were estimated at several million rubles.
In January 2020, Tolstoy, commenting on the transfer of St. Isaac's Cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church, said that, observing the protests around the transfer of the temple, he could not help but notice a paradoxical fact: the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of “those who destroyed Orthodox churches, jumping out from behind the Pale of Settlement with revolver in 17,” continue the work of their ancestors. These words caused a protest from the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia and accusations of anti-Semitism against Peter Tolstoy.
Peter Tolstoy
Opposition deputies of the St. Petersburg parliament Maxim Reznik and Boris Vishnevsky joined the voices condemning Pyotr Tolstoy, accusing him of inciting ethnic hatred. And Borukh Gorin, a representative of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, regarded Tolstoy’s phrase about Jews as Judeophobic and considered his words “open anti-Semitism.”
Policy
After being elected as a deputy of the State Duma in the fall of 2020, Pyotr Tolstoy was forced to leave television and concentrate his efforts on working in the legislative body.
Peter Tolstoy went into politics
Petr Tolstoy was elected as a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation in September 2020, having won a landslide victory in the Lublin single-mandate constituency of the capital. In October, at the first plenary meeting of the State Duma, Tolstoy was elected deputy chairman of the country's highest legislative body.
In January 2020, Pyotr Tolstoy headed the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Personal life
The journalist’s personal life for 24 years was connected with Daria Evgenievna Evenko. The future spouses met in their youth. The couple got married as soon as Peter received his higher education diploma, in October 1992. The union turned out to be strong, his wife gave Tolstoy three children, of whom his daughter Alexandra, born in 2000, became famous.
Peter Tolstoy with his wife
During her stay in the USA, where Sasha received her education, she spoke unflatteringly about Russian educational institutions. The remark was picked up by Internet users who expressed dissatisfaction with the girl’s position. Her father Pyotr Olegovich, in an interview with the radio station “Moscow Speaks,” refused to discuss his daughter’s words, as he believes that this opinion relates only to Alexandra’s private life.
In 2020, Peter Tolstoy separated from his wife. The journalist did not advertise the divorce; it also became known from an interview with his daughter Alexandra, which she gave in 2020. According to the girl, little has changed in family relations - relatives still go out with tents to the Volga every summer. The politician prefers active recreation, this allows him to maintain normal health. Peter Olegovich's weight does not exceed 90 kg.
Peter Tolstoy with his wife and daughter
In 2020, a joyful event occurred in the family of Peter Tolstoy - Alexandra married a young man whom she had been dating for many years. His name is Philip Rajput and he is Indian. The newlyweds got married in an Orthodox church, after which they continued the celebration at a country club near Moscow. Rare photos from the celebration hit the media. The bride's dress was provided by designer Alexander Terekhov.
Alexandra’s family life did not become an obstacle to continuing her studies - she entered MGIMO, the Faculty of International Journalism.
Peter Tolstoy's wife - Daria Evenko
The future spouses met during their student years. The relationship developed rapidly. After graduating from university, a young man proposes marriage to his chosen one. She accepts him favorably.
Pyotr Tolstoy's wife, Daria Evenko, studied at the Faculty of Foreign Languages. The woman is fluent in English, German, French, as well as Spanish and Italian. At the family council, it was decided that the young wife would improve the apartment and raise a daughter, who was born a few years after the marriage was registered.
Dasha is a rare guest at social events. The woman has been doing translations lately. She collaborates with several metropolitan publishing houses.
Peter Tolstoy now
Now, in addition to political activities, Pyotr Olegovich continues to work as a television journalist. Channel One still airs the politician’s original project “Tolstoy. Sunday". The latest topics touched upon by the reporter on air included a discussion of Vladimir Putin's press conference, comments on the change of the name of the canonical church in Ukraine and other current topics.
Tolstoy covers his political life in detail on the social networks Twitter and Instagram. During the year, the deputy attended the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Union of Journalists, a meeting dedicated to the renovation of Russia's housing stock, a forum of young legislators and experts, and other events.
Peter Tolstoy in 2019
At the beginning of 2020, Pyotr Olegovich erroneously commented on the PACE requirements for the Russian delegation, which, in his opinion, indicated the mandatory presence of representatives of “six genders” at the winter session. The TV journalist's remark was picked up and disseminated by leading Russian media. A response came from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which pointed out the standard content of the letter and the requirement to represent an equal number of men and women in the delegation. There was no talk of any “six genders”.
