Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy's parents, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy and Princess Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya, got married in 1822. They had four sons and a daughter: Nikolai, Sergei, Dmitry, Lev and Maria. The writer's relatives became the prototypes of many of the heroes of the novel "War and Peace": father - Nikolai Rostov, mother - Princess Marya Bolkonskaya, paternal grandfather Ilya Andreevich Tolstoy - the old Count Rostov, maternal grandfather Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky - the old Prince Bolkonsky. L.N. Tolstoy had no cousins, since his parents were the only children in their families.

According to his father, L. N. Tolstoy was related to the artist F. P. Tolstoy, F. I. Tolstoy (“American”), the poets A. K. Tolstoy, F. I. Tyutchev and N. A. Nekrasov, the philosopher P. . Y. Chaadaev, Chancellor of the Russian Empire A. M. Gorchakov.

The Tolstoy family was elevated by Peter Andreevich Tolstoy (1645-1729), an associate of Peter I, who received the title of count. From his grandson, Andrei Ivanovich Tolstoy (1721-1803), nicknamed the “Big Nest” for his numerous offspring, many famous Tolstoys descended. A.I. Tolstoy was the grandfather of F.I. Tolstoy and F.P. Tolstoy, the great-grandfather of L.N. Tolstoy and A.K. Tolstoy. L.N. Tolstoy and the poet Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy were each other’s second cousins. The artist Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy and Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy the American were cousins ​​of Lev Nikolaevich. The sister of F. I. Tolstoy the American, Maria Ivanovna Tolstaya-Lopukhina (i.e., L. N. Tolstoy’s cousin) is known from the “Portrait of M. I. Lopukhina” by the artist V. L. Borovikovsky. The poet Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev was the sixth cousin of Lev Nikolaevich (Tyutchev’s mother, Ekaterina Lvovna, was from the Tolstoy family). The sister of Andrei Ivanovich Tolstoy (great-grandfather of L.N. Tolstoy) - Maria - married P.V. Chaadaev. Her grandson, the philosopher Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev, therefore, was Lev Nikolaevich’s second cousin.

There is information that the great-great-grandfather (father of the great-grandfather) of the poet Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov was Ivan Petrovich Tolstoy (1685-1728), who was also the great-great-grandfather of Lev Nikolaevich. If this is really so, then it turns out that N.A. Nekrasov and L.N. Tolstoy are fourth cousins. L. N. Tolstoy's second cousin was the Chancellor of the Russian Empire, Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov. The writer's paternal grandmother, Pelageya Nikolaevna, was from the Gorchakov family.

L.N. Tolstoy’s great-grandfather, A.I. Tolstoy, had a younger brother Fyodor, whose descendant was the writer Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy, who depicted his ancestor Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy in the novel “Peter I”. A. N. Tolstoy’s grandfather, Alexander Petrovich Tolstoy, was Lev Nikolaevich’s fourth cousin. Consequently, A. N. Tolstoy, nicknamed the “red count,” was the fourth great-nephew of Lev Nikolaevich. The granddaughter of A. N. Tolstoy is the writer Tatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya.

On his mother's side, L.N. Tolstoy was related to A.S. Pushkin, the Decembrists, S.P. Trubetskoy, A.I. Odoevsky.

A. S. Pushkin was the fourth cousin of L. N. Tolstoy. Lev Nikolaevich’s mother was the poet’s second cousin. Their common ancestor was admiral, associate of Peter I, Ivan Mikhailovich Golovin. In 1868, L. N. Tolstoy met his fifth cousin Maria Alexandrovna Pushkina-Hartung, some of whose features he later gave to the appearance of Anna Karenina. The Decembrist, Prince Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky was the writer’s second cousin. Lev Nikolaevich's great-grandfather, Prince Dmitry Yuryevich Trubetskoy, married Princess Varvara Ivanovna Odoevskaya. Their daughter, Ekaterina Dmitrievna Trubetskaya, married Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky. D. Yu. Trubetskoy’s brother, Field Marshal Nikita Yuryevich Trubetskoy, was the great-grandfather of the Decembrist Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy, who, therefore, was Lev Nikolaevich’s second cousin. The brother of V.I. Odoevskaya-Trubetskoy, Alexander Ivanovich Odoevsky, was the grandfather of the Decembrist poet Alexander Ivanovich Odoevsky, who, it turns out, was L.N. Tolstoy’s second cousin.

In 1862, L. N. Tolstoy married Sofya Andreevna Bers. They had 9 sons and 4 daughters (of 13 children, 5 died in childhood): Sergei, Tatyana, Ilya, Lev, Maria, Peter, Nikolai, Varvara, Andrey, Mikhail, Alexey, Alexandra, Ivan. The granddaughter of L.N. Tolstoy, Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya, became the last wife of the poet Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin. The great-great-grandchildren of Lev Nikolaevich (the great-grandchildren of his son, Ilya Lvovich) are TV presenters Pyotr Tolstoy and Fekla Tolstaya.

L.N. Tolstoy's wife, Sofya Andreevna, was the daughter of the doctor Andrei Evstafievich Bers, who in his youth served with Varvara Petrovna Turgeneva, the mother of the writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. A.E. Bers and V.P. Turgeneva had an affair, which resulted in the appearance of an illegitimate daughter, Varvara. Thus, S. A. Bers-Tolstaya and I. S. Turgenev had a common sister.

Religion and science do not approve of marriages between relatives. This is because the risk of having sick offspring is too high.

Meanwhile, history knows many facts of related marriages. They were not always concluded out of love. There were financial and geopolitical reasons for this.

In the medical encyclopedia, related (otherwise inbred) is a union between a man and a woman who have at least one common ancestor.

There is another term - “incest”, which means the entry into sexual relations of close relatives, incest.

The Bible and Koran condemn incest. History mentions tribes in which In an effort to preserve the purity of the family, it was customary to marry relatives. Almost all of them are extinct or on the verge of degeneration.

Until now, in most civilized countries of the world, marriages between blood relatives to a certain degree of kinship are not just condemned by the public, but:

• Prohibited by law;
• Equal to a criminal offense.

The veto is explained not only by physiological, but also by moral considerations.

In Russia Art. 14 of the Family Code does not allow between citizens who are related in a direct ascending/descending line:

• Parents, children;
• Grandfather, grandmother and grandchildren.

The same article prohibits weddings between:

• Brothers and sisters (full/half-blood);
• Adoptive parents and adopted children.

In this case, documentary confirmation or refutation of family ties in the registry office is not required.

In the latter case, the prohibition is unambiguous, but creation between a relative of the adoptive parent and the adopted child is allowed.

Meanwhile, the law in our country does not prevent the creation of a family between:

• Uncle and niece;
• Aunt and nephew;
• Cousins.

Although this is accepted and condemned by society, it is not formally prohibited, and therefore possible.

Conditions and reasons for strengthening ties between relatives

At the insistence of genetic scientists, in many progressive countries of the modern world, marriage between blood relatives is prohibited at the legislative level.

The Family Code of the Russian Federation also does not allow consanguineous people to join a family union. relatives under no circumstances. In this case, even a possible woman is not a basis for officially registering a relationship.

In fact, marriages between relatives can be registered. When submitting to the registry office, the law does not establish the obligation of newlyweds to confirm or deny existing kinship. If they are silent about the presence of family ties, the marriage will be registered, but later it may be recognized.

Official registration of marital relations between the adoptive parent and the adopted child is possible only if the adoption is cancelled.

Features of marriage

In Russia, legal significance is attached only to an officially registered marriage.

The Family Code defines conditions that prevent marriage. One of them is the close family ties of the bride and groom.

The law prohibits registry office employees from officially registering relationships between siblings, parents, grandparents and children. However, marriages, for example, between first and second cousins ​​are not prohibited. The process of filing an application by future spouses and legitimizing relations in such a situation is no different from traditional actions when registering a marriage.

In our country there is another unofficial form of marriage -. It is not prohibited by law, it is alternative and acceptable among couples who are closely related.

Why is marriage between relatives considered undesirable?

The opinion that the closer the parents are in blood relationship, the mentally and physically weaker their offspring, has existed for more than a decade. This fact is explained by the fact that the probability of encountering the same pathological genes is too high.

We are talking about very serious defects: hemophilia, Down syndrome, dementia and other pathologies of the nervous system.

If, in an ordinary marriage, the likelihood of having a child with serious disabilities is:

• Genetic (congenital) defects;
• Mental retardation

is no more than 4%, then in a closely related marriage the risk increases 5 times.

Despite the fact that cousins ​​are not blood relatives, it is also undesirable for them to start a family.

According to geneticist I. Gershkovich, in such a marriage the following increases compared to unrelated ones:

• 24% risk of stillbirth or intrauterine fetal death;
• 34% risk of baby death at an early age;
• There is a 48% risk of developing fetal deformities.

Another geneticist, Vladimir Pavlovich Efroimson, identified a stable pattern in the frequency of diseases, congenital deformities, mental and physical disabilities in children born as a result of consanguineous marriages. It is worth noting that his point of view on this issue is shared by specialists in many countries.

When studying hereditary diseases, great importance is given to consanguineous marriages, when parents have at least one common ancestor. The role of incest is especially significant in the study of rare hereditary diseases.

From our detailed information you can find out how to divide a car during a divorce.

Interesting facts about consanguineous marriages in different countries and cultures

Science has proven that marital relationships between relatives lead to:

• Genetic mutations;
• Degeneration of offspring.

Our ancestors knew about this, prohibiting marriages between siblings, taking as wives girls from afar, from other settlements. It was not for nothing that the peoples of Africa or the North living in an isolated space had a custom: a stranger was obliged to conceive a child to a chosen woman.

It was believed that such children turned out healthy and beautiful: after all, there were no common relatives in their family.

Meanwhile, in history there are many examples of related marriages:

In the 19th century, the famous English lord and poet Byron could not resist the intelligence, charm and beauty of his sister Augusta. From this relationship a daughter was born. Society did not approve of such a union. The girl was sent to a monastery, where she died at the age of 5.

The Egyptian queen Cleopatra is the daughter of two brothers and sisters. At the same time, the beauty herself also married blood relatives several times. The traditions of Egypt did not prohibit this; on the contrary, they welcomed the absence of “foreign blood” in the royal families.

The English naturalist Charles Darwin was married to his cousin Emma Wedgwood. Their marriage produced 10 children, many of whom were sickly and weak in childhood. Three died at an early age. It is known that Darwin's children achieved success in social activities.

Historical fact: the royal dynasties of all Europe were closely related. Monarchs preferred to create families without going beyond “their circle.” This happened because people of famous families did not want to mix royal blood with any other. There is an assumption that one of the reasons for the disappearance of some famous families (Bourbons, Habsburgs) was precisely incest.

In India (Andhra Pradesh) there are castes where a niece and uncle can marry. The situation is similar in Japan. In a number of states in this country, marriages between first cousins ​​account for up to 10% of the total.

According to research by American geneticist Kurt Stern, the frequency of marriages between brothers and sisters in the USA, Brazil, Sweden, and the Netherlands is low and amounts to only 0.05%.

The problem of marriages between cousins ​​is brewing in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

If previously this phenomenon was typical for small settlements, now it is also observed in cities. Parents often seek to marry their daughter to a relative in order to protect her from abuse. As a result, thousands of hemophilia patients live in Azerbaijan.

Starting a family is one of the important stages in a person’s life. In all civilized countries, marriage between relatives is considered illegal. Russia is no exception. A direct prohibition on registering a marriage between closely related people is indicated in Art. 14 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, there are no legal obstacles to the creation of families by brothers and sisters who do not have common parents: first cousins, second cousins.

The Orthodox religion and modern science do not approve of marriages between relatives, the reason is the high probability of the appearance of sick or suffering from hereditary diseases offspring. One example is the decline of the Habsburg royal family. Philip II was married to a cousin in his first marriage, and a niece in his second; his son Philip III is based on his cousin, Philip IV is based on his niece. It is known that the descendants of these kings were pronounced oligophrenics.

1

In his first marriage, Philip P was married to his cousin Maria of Portugal; she gave birth to the heir to the throne, Don Carlos, who, however, was physically and mentally ill. In his second marriage, Philip II married the niece of Mary Tudor, also known as Bloody Mary.

2

American President. Roosevelt's wife in 1905 was his relative (fifth degree of relationship), teacher, niece of American President Theodore Roosevelt - Eleanor Roosevelt. She bore Franklin a daughter and five sons.

3

The famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach was married to his second cousin Maria Barbara Bach, but, unfortunately, after 13 years of marriage, she died. Bach, having grieved a little, married a second time in 1722.

4

H.G. Wells is a British writer and publicist. Author of famous science fiction novels, for example, “The Time Machine”. Herbert was married to Mary's cousin Isabel Wells; after three years of marriage, their marriage broke up.

American President Thomas Jefferson was in power for 8 years and was the third President of America. He married Martha Wells Skelton Jefferson, his second cousin, when he was 29, and she bore him six children. Martha died after eleven years of marriage, and Thomas Jefferson never remarried.

6

Albert Einstein was a brilliant scientist, but many people don't know that he was an extremely unfaithful husband and cheated on his wives and girlfriends. After his first marriage, he married a second time to his second cousin Elsa. She died 17 years later. After her death, Einstein had relationships with numerous women.

7

Charles Darwin author of the theory of evolution and natural selection. He was married to his cousin and they had ten children.

8

Edgar Allan Poe is a world famous American poet. After his mother's death, he moved in with relatives because his father abandoned him. When he was 20 years old, he fell in love with his 7-year-old cousin. After waiting until she was 13 years old, Poe married her.

9

American singer, one of the leading rock and roll performers of the 1950s. Jerry Lee Lewis married his cousin when he was 13 in 1957. This event created a lot of controversy and the singer lost respect among his fans. Jerry has two children and is now 76 years old.

10

American politician, mayor of New York from 1994-2001. Rudolph Giuliani married a woman who is his second cousin.

Modern science and Christianity do not approve of marriages between relatives, since there is a high probability of giving birth to sick children or children with mental disabilities. If in the modern world marriages between relatives are rare, then in the Middle Ages such unions were very common. Suffice it to recall the Habsburg royal family, in which it was customary to marry a relative. All this led to the extinction of the Habsburg family.

Philip II of Habsburg

The first time Philip married Maria of Portugal, who was his cousin. The girl gave him an heir, but the boy was born with physical and mental disabilities. For the second time, Philip chose his niece Mary Tudor, Queen of England, as his wife.

Franklin Roosevelt

Former President of the United States. In 1905, Franklin married a blood relative, Eleanor Roosevelt. The woman bore him five sons and an only daughter.

Johann Sebastian Bach

The legendary composer married his second cousin Maria Bach, but 13 years after marriage the girl died. Bach did not grieve for long, and a year later he married a second time.

H.G. Wells

The English writer H.G. Wells wrote many science fiction novels, the most famous of which was The Time Machine. The writer married his cousin, but their marriage was not destined to last long. A year after divorcing his first wife, Herbert married Amy Robbins.

Thomas Jefferson

Another American president who has held this post for 8 years. The politician was married to his second cousin Martha Wells Jefferson, who bore him six children. After 11 years of marriage, Martha died, and Thomas remained a widower until the end of his days.

Albert Einstein

A brilliant scientist, but at the same time a ladies' man, deceiving his girlfriends and wives. Albert's first marriage quickly fell apart, but he soon chose another wife - his second cousin Elsa. 17 years after marriage, Elsa died, and Albert began to change women like gloves.

Charles Darwin

Everyone knows the author of the theory of evolution, but few know about his personal life. Charles's wife was his cousin, with whom he had ten children.

Edgar Allan Poe

American poet, famous throughout the world. At a young age, Edgar was forced to go live with relatives after the death of his mother, as his father refused to raise him. He fell in love with his relatives' cousin, who was only 7 years old at that time. When the girl was 13 years old, Edgar married her.

Jerry Lee Lewis

Famous American singer, rock and roll star of the 50s. In 1957, the performer married a 13-year-old relative, which provoked a lot of controversy, and as a result, Jerry lost most of his fans. After a while, the marriage broke up, and Jerry married six more times.

Rudolph Giuliani

The ex-mayor of New York also married his blood relative. His first wife was his second cousin Regina, with whom Rudolph separated after 14 years.