Abstract:

The amateur art was used as an affective method for public education in Russia in the 19th-20th centuries. Glee, music and drama classes were a sign of that time. There were such educational activities also at Yasnaya Polyana, Leo Tolstoy and his family put on amateur plays, costumed performances and puppet shows. In the 1920s this theatrical tradition was supported by Tolstoys daughter Alexandra, who organized drama classes at Yasnaya Polyana. When she was abroad, she also arranged theatrical and musicial evenings for american and russian audience.

Keywords: amateur art, glee and theatre classes, leisure, costumed performances and puppet show, local residents, Leo Tolstoy and his family, Yasnaya Polyana, educational activity abroad