ABSTRACT
KAZAN, in 1840, was the social capital of the Russia of the Kama and the Volga; and as grandsons of one of its late governors, the young Tolstoys were soon numbered amongst the élite of the town. Mme. Yushkov was a generous hostess, and as her husband, who had once been a colonel in a crack regiment of the Guards, was also an amiable man, fond of music, company and cards, there were frequent parties to distract the boys from their studies. With balls, charades and concerts, their adolescence passed in an easy, frivolous atmosphere of provincial social supremacy. Each boy had his own personal servant (a serf from Yasnaya Polyana); everyone save those in their own circle was considered of small consequence, and they grew up with but little knowledge of life outside their immediate environment.
