SHOTLIST:

ISTANBUL, TÜRKİYE (OCT. 16, 2025) (ANADOLU – ACCESS ALL)

1. COUNT NIKOLAI TOLSTOY AND FATIH MAYOR MEHMET ERGUN TURAN POSING FOR CAMERAS IN FRONT OF YEDIKULE FORTRESS

2. VARIOUS OF COUNT TOLSTOY AND HIS WIFE GEORGINA TOURING YEDIKULE FORTRESS WITH MAYOR TURAN’S GUIDANCE

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) COUNT TOLSTOY SPEAKING TO PRESS AT SITE, SAYING:

“I think in 1708 my ancestor, Peter Tolstoy was ambassador to the sultan. And when Peter the Great and the Sultan went to war. [...]

[REPORTER: And, how did you feel when you saw the construction?]

This prison? Rather emotional, because I always imagined my ancestor and I think he was two years imprisoned here until peace was made between the sultan and the emperor.

I know he was held here. And also, it was extraordinary when one looks around the walls. He was able to smuggle messages to the emperor and Moscow. So, I think they had Cossacks on the frontier waiting. All the letters have survived. How did he get the letters out of here? It must be one of the strongest prisons in the world.

[...]

It’s a strange feeling to think after. Is it three centuries? Yes, to be back here. And I feel his spirit is still here. I’m very happy to be here. But I'm afraid, my ancestors, my great great grandfather was fighting the Turks in 1877. And Leo Tolstoy was in Sebastopol. So, we were always fighting the Turks but never again. The Turks were too kind.

[...]

Well, I would like to see everything because I write books about ancient history. I would like to see the Ephesus and Troy. Because we were all brought up, of course, to read the Iliad. But it's magical how much is preserved here. And the great walls which stop the Huns, I think about 450 A.D. I’m a historian so I feel there's history everywhere here. So, what a wonderful country. [...]

4. VARIOUS OF COUNT TOLSTOY AND MAYOR TURAN TOURING HISTORICAL SITE ISTANBUL, TÜRKİYE - OCT. 16: Count Nikolai Tolstoy, the great-nephew of renowned Russian writer and philosopher Lev Tolstoy, visited the historic Yedikule Fortress in Istanbul on Thursday, Oct. 16, accompanied by his wife Georgina.

During the tour hosted by local officials, including Fatih Municipality Mayor Mehmet Ergun Turan, Tolstoy learned about the historic site, which once served as a prison for his ancestor, Count Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy, during his tenure as the Russian Empire’s ambassador to the Ottoman court.

He expressed a deep emotional connection to the site, reflecting on his family’s historical ties to the Ottoman Empire and the legacy they share.

As a historian and author, Count Tolstoy praised Türkiye’s remarkably preserved heritage and underscored the value of fostering cross-cultural understanding through historical memory.