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{{Infobox Politician
| name        = Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky
| image       = Nikolai & Prince Kyrill.jpg
| caption     = Count Nikolai Tolstoy, left, and [[Kyrill, Prince of Preslav]] right, at Brasenose College, Oxford, 1996
| party       = [[United Kingdom Independence Party]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1935|06|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[England]]
| occupation  = [[Author]]<br>[[Historian]]
| alma_mater  = [[Trinity College, Dublin]]
| nationality = [[British]]
}}
'''Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky''' ({{lang-ru|Николай Дмитриевич Толстой-Милославский}}; born 23 June 1935) is an [[English people|Anglo]]-[[Russia]]n [[historian]] and author, a member of the prominent [[Tolstoy family|Tolstoy]] family, who writes under the name '''Nikolai Tolstoy'''. He has been a [[parliamentary candidate]] for the [[United Kingdom Independence Party]].

==Life==
Tolstoy was educated at [[Wellington College, Berkshire|Wellington College]], [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst|Sandhurst]] and [[Trinity College, Dublin|Trinity College]], [[Dublin]]. On his upbringing he has written:

: ''Like thousands of Russians in the present century, I was born and brought up in another country and was only able to enter the land of my ancestors as a visitor in later years. It was nevertheless a very Russian upbringing, one which impressed on me the unusual nature of my inheritance. I was baptised in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] and I worshipped in it. I prayed at night the familiar words ''[[Our Father|Oche nash]]'', attended parties where little Russian boys and girls spoke a mixture of languages, and felt myself by manner and temperament to be different than my English friends. I think I was the most affected by those melancholy and evocative Russian homes where my elders, for the most part people of great charm and eccentricity, lived surrounded by the relics - ikons, Easter eggs, portraits of Tsar and Tsaritsa, family photographs, and émigré newspapers - of that mysterious, far-off land of wolves, [[boyar]]s, and snow-forests of [[Ivan Bilibin]]'s famous illustrations to Russian fairy-tales. Somewhere there was a real Russian land to which we all belonged, but it was shut away over distant seas and space of years.<ref>Nikolai Tolstoy, ''The Tolstoys; Twenty-Four Generations of Russian History 1333-1983'', page 8</ref>''

===Literary career===
Tolstoy has written a number of books about [[Celtic mythology]]. In ''The Quest for Merlin'' he has explored the character of [[Merlin]], and his [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] novel ''[[The Coming of the King]]'' builds on his research into ancient British history. He was elected a Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Literature]] in 1979, and is an Honorary Associate Member of St. Antony's College, Oxford.

He has also written about [[World War II]] and its immediate aftermath, his books including ''Victims Of [[Yalta]]'' and ''The Minister and the Massacres'', which criticised [[Operation Keelhaul|the British forced handover of Soviet citizens to Stalin]] in direct violation of the [[Geneva Conventions]],<ref>‘The Application of International Law to Forced Repatriation from Austria in 1945’, in Stefan Karner, Erich Reiter, and Gerald Schöpfer (ed.), "Kalter Krieg: Beiträge zur Ost-West-Konfrontation 1945 bis 1990" (Graz, 2002)</ref> a book which was the target of strong criticism.<ref>In an article about the Aldington ''v.'' Tolstoy libel case, the British historian and friend of [[Harold Macmillan]] [[Alistair Horne]] wrote that 
: ''"Trying to weave a way through the tangled cobweb of truths, half-truths, and downright inaccuracies woven by Tolstoy proved to be one of the longest and most arduous tasks I have ever undertaken as a writer [...] his writing came increasingly to reveal a fanatical obsessiveness that was more Slav than Anglo-Saxon. Appalled by the injustice inflicted upon his fellow White Russians, and dedicated to the cause of seeing that it should be requited on a public platform, Tolstoy progressively persuaded himself that the repatriations had flowed from an evil conspiracy".''

See [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-8313967.html The unquiet graves of Yalta: forty-five years ago, seventy thousand Cossacks]<br /> See also Toby Low, 1st Baron Aldington.</ref> He has recently published the first volume of a biography of his stepfather, the novelist [[Patrick O'Brian]], and is reported to be planning a second volume.

===Controversy===
As historian of the forced repatriation of Soviet citizens and others during and after World War II, he was called by the defence as an expert witness at the trial of [[John Demjanjuk]] in [[Israel]]. In a letter to the ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' (21 April 1988), Tolstoy said the trial and the court's procedures struck "at the most vital principles of natural justice". He condemned the use of especially bussed-in audiences, who were repeatedly permitted by Judge Levin to boo and hiss at appropriate moments. He called Levin's conduct "an appalling travesty of every principle of equity", and said that it was "a show trial in every sense of the word", even being conducted in a theatre. When eventually the [[United States Justice Department]] was found to have collaborated with the Soviet authorities in suppressing evidence that he had been falsely identified, the case against Demjanjuk was dismissed.<ref>Willem A. Wagenaar, "Identifying Ivan: A Case Study in Legal Psychology" ISBN 0-7450-0396-6; Yoram Sheftel, "The Demjanjuk Affair: The Rise and Fall of a Show-Trial" ISBN 0-575-05795-5; Hans Peter Rullmann, "Der Fall Demjanjuk: Unschuldiger oder Massenmörder?" ISBN 3-925848-02-9; Jim McDonald, "John Demjanjuk: The Real Story" ISBN 0-915597-79-9</ref>

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the [[Conservative Monday Club]] hosted a major dinner for Tolstoy at the Charing Cross Hotel in London on 26 October 1988.<ref>''The Daily Telegraph'', October 27, 1988, Court & Social page.</ref> It was an opportunity for him to put his case to a wider audience on his forthcoming libel action defence, the writ for which had already been served.

In 1989, [[Toby Low, 1st Baron Aldington|Lord Aldington]], previously a British Army officer, former Chairman of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], and then Chairman of [[Royal & Sun Alliance|Sun Alliance]], an [[insurance]] company, commenced the libel action over allegations of [[war crimes]] made by Tolstoy against him (and others) in a pamphlet distributed by Nigel Watts, a man involved with Sun Alliance on an unrelated insurance matter. Although Tolstoy was not the initial target of the action, he felt honour-bound to join Watts as defendant. He lost and was ordered to pay £2 million (£1.5 million in damages and £0.5 million in costs). Documents subsequently obtained from the Ministry of Defence showed that under Government instructions files essential to the defence case had been withdrawn from the Public Record Office and retained by the MOD and Foreign Office throughout the run-up to the trial and the trial itself.<ref> ''[[The Sunday Times (UK)|The Sunday Times]]'', 7 April 1996)</ref> A full account of this complicated and convoluted trial can be found in Ian Mitchell's ''The Cost of a Reputation.''<ref> Ian Mitchell, ''The Cost of a Reputation: Aldington versus Tolstoy: the causes, course and consequences of the notorious libel case.'' Edinburgh: Canongate, 1998. </ref>   Tolstoy sought to appeal on the basis of new evidence proving Aldington had perjured himself over the date of his departure from Austria in May 1945. This was ruled inadmissible at a hearing in the High Courts of Justice, from which the press and public were barred, and his right to appeal was rejected.<ref>''[[The Guardian]]'', 28 May 1992, p.19, and 8 June 1992, p.4</ref>

In July 1995, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] concluded unanimously that the [[British Government]] had violated Tolstoy's rights in respect of Article 10 of the [[Convention on Human Rights]], although this referred strictly to the amount of the damages awarded against him and did not overturn the guilty verdict of his libel action. ''[[The Times]]'' commented in a leading article:

: ''In its judgment yesterday in the case of Count Nikolai Tolstoy, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Britain in important respects, finding that the award of £1.5 million levelled against the Count by a jury in 1989 amounted to a violation of his freedom of expression. Parliament will find the implications of this decision difficult to ignore.''

===Political activity===
[[Image:12 March 1990.png|thumb|right|300px|Top table L to R: Christoper Arkell (editor of ''London Miscellany'') & Lord Nicholas Hervey (standing), [[Gregory Lauder-Frost]] (speaking to Arkell), Countess Georgina Tolstoy, Count Nikolai Tolstoy (under painting) unknown man, & Lord Sudeley, at the Russian Monarchist League Annual Dinner in 1990]]
A committed monarchist, Tolstoy is Chancellor of the [[International Monarchist League]]. He was also Chairman of the London-based Russian Monarchist League, and chaired their annual dinner on 6 March 1986, when the Guest-of-Honour was the [[Member of Parliament|MP]], John Biggs-Davison. He was also in the chair for their Summer Dinner on 4 June 1987, at the [[Oxford and Cambridge Club]] in [[Pall Mall, London|Pall Mall]]. Tolstoy was a founding committee member (January 1989) of the now established ''War and Peace Ball'', held annually in London, which raises funds for White Russian charities. 

In October 1987, he was presented with the International Freedom Award by the United States Industrial Council Educational Foundation:
"''for his courageous search for the truth about the victims of totalitarianism and deceit.''"

In October 1991, Nikolai Tolstoy joined a [[Conservative Monday Club]] delegation,<ref>''The Times'', 15 November 1996; for a major interview with Tolstoy on p.18</ref> under the auspices of the Club's Foreign Affairs Committee, which travelled to observe the war between [[Serbia]] and [[Croatia]], the first British political delegation to observe that conflict. Conservative MPs [[Andrew Hunter (British politician)|Andrew Hunter]], Roger Knapman, then Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Armed Forces Minister in the Conservative government (and from 2002 to 2006 leader of the [[United Kingdom Independence Party]] (UKIP)), and [[Gregory Lauder-Frost]], Chairman of the Club's Foreign Affairs Committee, were also part of the delegation which, after going to the front lines in the Sisak region, was entertained by President [[Franjo Tudjman]] and the Croatian government in [[Zagreb]]. On October 13 the group held a Press Conference at the Hotel Intercontinental in Zagreb, which apart from the media, was also attended by delegates from the French government. A report on the conflict was agreed and handed in to 10 Downing Street by Andrew Hunter.

Tolstoy became an early member of the [[United Kingdom Independence Party]] (UKIP). He was approached by Alan Sked in December 1996 with a view to being a parliamentary candidate for them. Subsequently he was their candidate for the [[Barnsley East]] by-election in 1996 and for Wantage seat in the 1997 and 2001 General Elections, and the General Election in 2005. He was later selected by UKIP to stand against Conservative Party leader [[David Cameron]] in Witney at the 2010 General Election, but lost to Cameron who held his seat (due to tribal voting) becoming the new Prime Minister of the U.K.

==Family==
Tolstoy is the head of the senior branch of the Tolstoy family being a descendant of Ivan Andreyevich Tolstoy (1644–1713). His relationship to the famous author [[Leo Tolstoy]] (1828–1910) is that of a distant cousin, as Leo Tolstoy was descended from Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy (1645–1729), the younger brother of Ivan. 

Tolstoy's great-grandfather, Pavel Tolstoy-Miloslavsky, was Chamberlain to the last reigning Emperor, [[Nicholas II of Russia]], who had declared his intention of creating him a Count for his services, but this was deferred due to the growing crisis in Russia during the [[First World War]]. When [[Grand Duke Kiril Vladimirovich of Russia|Grand Duke Kiril]] succeeded to the Imperial inheritance and rights, he granted Pavel Tolstoy-Miloslavsky the title, an elevation which was approved by the Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna and by Nicholas II's sisters Grand Duchesses Xenia and Olga Alexandrovna of Russia. 

Tolstoy's father, Count Dimitri Tolstoy, escaped from [[Soviet Union|Russia]] in 1920 and settled in [[England]], marrying an Englishwoman. He entered the legal profession, was called to the bar as a barrister-at-law and was appointed a [[Queen's Counsel]]. Tolstoy is also the stepson of the author [[Patrick O'Brian]] (d. 2 Jan 2000) who bequeathed him a large inheritance. Tolstoy married in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], Georgina Brown (b.1948), and has four children: Alexandra (b.1973), Anastasia (1975), Dmitri (1978) and Xenia (1980).

==Publications==
* ''The Founding of Evil Hold School'', London, 1968, ISBN 0491003714
* ''Night of the Long Knives'', New York, 1972, ISBN  0345027876
* ''Victims of [[Yalta]]'', originally published in London, 1977. Revised edition 1979. ISBN 0-552-11030-2, published in the US as ''The Secret Betrayal'', Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1977, ISBN 0-684-15635-0
* ''The Half-Mad Lord: Thomas Pitt, 2nd Baron Camelford (1775-1804)'', London, 1978, ISBN 0-224-01664-4
* ''Stalin's Secret War'', London, 1981, ISBN 0-224-01665-2
* ''The Tolstoys — 24 Generations of Russian History, 1353-1983'' by Nikolai Tolstoy, London, 1983, ISBN 0-241-10979-5
* ''The Quest for Merlin'', 1985, ISBN 0-241-11356-3
* ''The Minister and the Massacres'', London, 1986, ISBN 0-09-164010-5
* ''The Coming of the King'', London, 1988, ISBN 0-593-01312-3
* ''Patrick O'Brian — The Making of the Novelist'', London 2004, ISBN 0-7126-7025-4

==External links==
*[http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/04/11/27546.html An Interview with Pravda.ru]
*[http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/intrvws/tolstoy.htm An Interview by Raymond H. Thompson]
*[http://www.hmssurprise.org/Related/tolstoy_obrian.html Tolstoy's article in The Times on his stepfather Patrick O'Brian]
*[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicsobituaries/story/0,1441,563440,00.html Lord Aldington obituary] ''The Guardian''
==References==
{{reflist|2}}

* ''[[Daily Express]]'', September 24, 1992.
* ''Weekend Telegraph'', September 25, 1992, book review
* ''The Times'', November 15, 1996, major interview with Tolstoy on p.&nbsp;18
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Historians]]
[[Category:Tolstoy family]]