The Tolstoy Foundation is a non-profit charitable and philanthropic organization. It was established on April 26, 1939, by

Alexandra Tolstaya Countess Alexandra (Sasha) Lvovna Tolstaya (russian: Александра Львовна Толстая; 18 June 1884 – 26 September 1979), often anglicized to Tolstoy, was the youngest daughter and secretary of the noted Russian novelist Leo ...

, the youngest daughter of the Russian writer

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, and her friend Tatiana Schaufuss. Its headquarters are in

Valley Cottage, New York Valley Cottage is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, New York, United States. It is located northeast of West Nyack, northwest of Central Nyack east of Bardonia, south of Congers, northwest of Nyack, and west of ...

Activities

Its original purpose was to help

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n refugees from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Later, the foundation played an important role in helping Soviet

displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

dissidents A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...

and former Soviet citizens to settle in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. Presently among its goals the foundation lists education and training programs worldwide. Tolstoy Foundation has many branches of humanitarian

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

s: it has

elderly care Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs and requirements of senior citizens. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often call ...

homes, homes for

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed children, free cultural institutes and

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

institutes. *Church of Saint Sergius of Radonezh - Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia - consecrated in 1940"Rockland County Patch"
/ref>

Officials

;President *

1939-1976 *

Tatiana Schaufuss Tatiana (or Tatianna, also Romanization, romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Variations * be, Тацця́на, Tatsiana * bg, Татяна, T ...

1976-1986 * Teymuraz K. Bagration 1986-1992 * Andrew Kotchoubey, PhD 1992-1996 The position of President was eliminated in 1996 ;Chairman * Plato Malozemoff *

Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff (June 28, 1930 – December 26, 2011) was an American born Georgian aristocrat and the New York City highway commissioner during the administrations of John V. Lindsay. Early life Constantine was born in New York City ...

* Eugenia Jahnke * Boris Vanadzin, MD 1992-2009

References

Sources

Tolstoy Foundation homepage

Orthodox organisations of America

External links

Saint Sergius Learning Center founded in association with Tolstoy Foundation in Valley Cottage
Non-profit organizations based in New York (state) Charities based in New York (state) Organizations established in 1939 Foundations based in the United States Russian communities in the United States Churches of Russian America Russian Orthodox church buildings in the United States {{edu-org-stub