MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- A bronze bust of Leo Tolstoy by Iranian sculptor Ali Qasrodashti has been donated to the Yasnaya Polyana Museum, the Russian writer’s historic estate south of Moscow, becoming the first work by an Iranian artist to enter the museum’s collection, according to Iranian cultural officials.
The sculpture was presented by Abdolreza Rashed, Iran’s cultural counsellor in Russia, during a ceremony at the museum. Rashed described the donation as “a symbol of mutual respect and cultural friendship” between Iran and Russia.
The bust was received by Ekaterina Tolstaya, director of the Yasnaya Polyana Museum and a member of the Tolstoy family by marriage.
According to the Iranian Cultural Center in Moscow, Qasrodashti began work on the sculpture during Iranian Cultural Week in Moscow in July 2023, an event inaugurated by the culture ministers of Iran and Russia.
During the ceremony, Rashed highlighted the literary traditions shared by the two countries, referring to Iran’s classical poets—including Ferdowsi, Saadi and Hafez—and praised the museum’s stewardship of Tolstoy’s legacy, describing it as “a heritage that belongs to all humanity.”
The Yasnaya Polyana Museum, established at Tolstoy’s family estate in Russia’s Tula region, preserves the house where the author wrote major works including War and Peace and Anna Karenina and remains one of the world’s foremost literary museums.