So, Ed. What do you know about this? Tolstoy's history, what do you know about him? Tolstoy wasn't just one person, you know. They were a whole family of Russian nobility. The Tolstoy's have left a lasting legacy in Russian politics, military history, literature, and fine arts. They got around a bit then! Sounds like they did everything, but let's start with the politics. It says here that Peter Andreevich Tolstoy was a member of Peter the Great's party. Yes, he gradually gained Peter's confidence serving first as the Russian Ambassador to Constantinople, then as the head of the secret police. OK, so what about the military Tolstoy's? I've heard of one called Alexander Ivanovich Tolstoy. He was in the Battle of Charnova in 1807 where his regiment held out for 15 hours against the whole army commanded by Napoleon. It sounds like you know plenty about him already. Let's go on to the literary Tolstoy's, shall we?