Anna Konstantinovna Chertkova (maiden name Diterikhs,There are different spellings of the surname: Diederichs, Ditterichs. In her literary experiences, Chertkova herself wrote her maiden name as Diederichs. Черткова А. К. Из автобиографии // Книга. Исследования и материалы. — М.: Книга, 1979. — Т. XXIX. — P. 161.Эльзон М. Д. [Публикация] Автобиографии и биографии деятелей книги в собрании С. А. Венгерова // Книга. Исследования и материалы. — М.: Книга, 1979. — Т. XXIX. — P. 150—161. September 17 ,In the XIX century, the difference in the calculation of the Julian and Gregorian calendars was 12 days. In the XX and XXI centuries, the difference is 13 days. 1859, Kiev, Russian Empire - October 11, 1927, Moscow, USSR) was a children's writer, social activist, folklore collector, memoirist, and a model of Russian group of painters known as The Itinerants (Peredvizhniki).Пащенко М. В. Чертков Владимир Григорьевич. Жена Черткова // Русские писатели, 1800—1917. Биографический словарь в семи томах. Главный редактор Б. Ф. Егоров. — М.: Научное издательство «Большая Российская энциклопедия», издательство «Нестор-История», 2019. — Т. 6. С—Ч. — P. 643. Her literary pseudonyms are "A. Ch." and "A. Ch-va".Анна Константиновна Черткова (1859—1927). Писательницы России (материалы для биобиблиографического словаря). Составитель Ю. А. Горбунов. 26 January 2021.
Anna Diterikhs was born into a family of professional military officers, married Vladimir Chertkov, an important publisher and public figure in the Russian government's opposition, was a close friend of Leo Tolstoy, and was known to her contemporaries as an active propagandist of Tolstoyan movement and vegetarianism. She worked actively in the publishing company "Posrednik" and in the popular magazines of her time "Svobodnoye slovo" and "Listki svobodnogo slova". Anna Chertkova wrote small literary works (one of them was republished 12 times in 24 years), memoirs about Leo Tolstoy and literary articles. She published several editions of religious hymns and songs of Russian sectarians.
Anna Chertkova was portrayed by Nikolai Yaroshenko in the famous paintings "The Student Girl" (1883) and "In a Warm Land" (1890). Chertkova is also depicted on Mikhail Nesterov's programmatic canvas "In Russia. The Soul of the People" (1916), next to her husband and Leo Tolstoy.
Biography Anna Diterikhs was born in Kiev in the family of a professional military man (then a General of the Infantry, Konstantin Alexandrovich Diterikhs (1823-1899), who had served to the rank of full general. During the Caucasian War, Leo Tolstoy met Diterikhs and used his "Notes on the Caucasian War" to write "Hadji Murat". Anna's mother was the aristocrat Olga Iosifovna Musnitskaya (1840-1893).Ореханов Г. В. Г. Чертков в жизни Л. Н. Толстого. — М.: ПСТГУ, 2015. pp. 32, 176. Anna was the eldest daughter and second child of the family. In the early 1860s, Anna's family lived on the Volga River in a two-story wooden house with a mezzanine and a front garden in the town of Dubovka. She later described in her childhood memoirs her strong impression of the fires that took place there in 1861-1862 and her fear of the arsonists, who were never discovered. The girl preferred to walk barefoot and did not pay much attention to clothes, especially bright colors. Later she remembered that as a child she wanted to be a boy. Among the most pleasant impressions of her childhood, she emphasized music and especially singing. According to Diterikhs, music "hypnotized" her. In the family, the girl was called Galya, not Anna, according to the order introduced by her maternal grandfather, General Osip Musnitsky, according to her memoirs, half-Polish, half-Lithuanian.Черткова А. К. Из моего детства. Воспоминания А. К. Чертковой. — Товарищество И. Н. Кушнерев и К, 1911. — Т. LII. pp. 6—14, 33—36, 82—85, 90. Her mother was a deeply religious person, a firm supporter of Orthodoxy, while her father, who lived for a long time in the Caucasus, was interested in Islam as well as Christian sectarians (molokane and dukhobortsy).Ореханов Г. В. Г. Чертков в жизни Л. Н. Толстого. — М.: ПСТГУ, 2015. p. 32.Among Anna's many brothers were the later famous rear admiral Vladimir Diterikhs, one of the leaders of the White movement in Siberia and the Far East, General Mikhail Diterikhs, and Leonid Diterikhs (1857-1918), an artist and author of books on art history.
In Kiev, the girl was a student at the gymnasium (secondary school) and seriously studied music.Прытков В. А. Образы передовой учащейся молодёжи в творчестве художника. Творчество Ярошенко 90-х годов // Николай Александрович Ярошенко. — М.: Искусство, 1960. — С. 96. In 1878, Anna entered the verbal department of the higher Bestuzhev courses in St. Petersburg,Doctor of historical sciences Georgy Orekhanov claimed that Anna Dieterichs was a fellow student of Nadezhda Krupskaya at the Bestuzhevsky courses. but two years later transferred to the natural department. Historian Georgy Orekhanov claimed that Anna Dieterichs was a fellow student of Nadezhda Krupskaya at Bestuzhevsky courses.Ореханов Г. В. Г. Чертков в жизни Л. Н. Толстого. — М.: ПСТГУ, 2015. p. 147. After graduating in 1886, Diterikhs was not able to get a diploma of its completion. After four years of study, she fell seriously ill and missed the final exam.Despite Chertkova's own claim that she never received a diploma, many researchers write that she "graduated from Bestuzhev's courses," such as Doctor of Historical Sciences Georgy Orekhanov. During her studies she became interested in materialism, positivism and Johann Gottlieb Fichte's studies.
It is reported by the Russian religious philosopher Nikolai Lossky that Anna Dieterichs used to work for some time as a teacher in a private female secondary educational institution in St. Petersburg, the Gymnasium of M. N. Stoyunina, where her younger sisters Olga and Maria were studying.Лосский Н. О. Моя жизнь и философский путь. Поездка в Ясную Поляну и Оптину пустынь // Вестник РСХД : Журнал. — 1965. — № 77 (2). p. 75.
Since 1885 Diterikhs began to participate in the work of the publishing house "Posrednik", where she was introduced by the public figure and publicist Pavel Biryukov. "Very painful and fragile, acutely experiencing every new impression, demanding and serious, A. K. Diterikhs was attracted to people and soon became a necessary worker in the new publishing house", - wrote about her Mikhail Muratov.Муратов М. В. Л. Н. Толстой и В. Г. Чертков по их дневникам и переписке. — М.: Полиграфкнига, 1934. p. 132.
There she met Leo Tolstoy and Vladimir Chertkov, whom she soon married. At "Posrednik" she worked as an editor and proofreader and also handled correspondence. At the same time, Diterikhs wrote and contributed to her husband's publishing activities. The Chertkovs lived in the 1890s on the Rzhevsk khutor (Vladimir Chertkov's uncle's gift to him), which consisted of a manor house on a mountain, a large farm, and numerous buildings. Rzhevsk was a lonely place, surrounded by fields and steppes. The land was rented. There were many servants, workers, coachmen and craftsmen on the estate. The literary and organizational affairs of "Posrednik" took place here.Попов Е. И. Двадцать лет вблизи Льва Николаевича Толстого (Из воспоминаний) // Л. Н. Толстой и его близкие. — М.: Современник, 1986. p. 193.
In 1897, Chertkov was exiled from Russia. The couple left with their entire family. With them went Vladimir Chertkov's mother, two maids who had lived with them for many years – Anna, who had served in their house since her early youth, and her son's nanny Katya, as well as the house doctor Albert Shkarvan, an Austrian maid of Slovak nationality.Муратов М. В. Л. Н. Толстой и В. Г. Чертков по их дневникам и переписке. — М.: Полиграфкнига, 1934. pp. 242-243. While living in Great Britain from 1897 to 1908, Anna Chertkova worked with her husband in the publishing house "Svobodnoe Slovo". In her autobiography, she wrote that although she was listed as a publisher, she actually performed the duties of a proofreader, office assistant, compiler and editorial assistant, wrote editorial notes, compiled the number of issues of "Svobodnoe Slovo", communicated with the printing house, etc. When the publication of "Svobodnoe Slovo" was transferred by Biryukov to Switzerland, the Chertkovs concentrated on the publication of "Listki Svobodnoe Slovo".Муратов М. В. Л. Н. Толстой и В. Г. Чертков по их дневникам и переписке. — М.: Полиграфкнига, 1934. p. 284.
A contemporary describes Tuckton House, where the Chertkovs lived in Christchurch, as very strange and uncomfortable. It had three floors in some parts and four in others, built of brick and all covered with ivy. There was a staircase in the center of the building, with doors to many rooms on the right and left sides. There was a special steel storeroom for Tolstoy's manuscripts, equipped with an alarm system. All the rooms were isolated and did not communicate with each other, except for fireplaces, there was no other heating, and Anna Chertkova suffered from cold in winter. There were 30-40 people living in the house at the same time: Russians, Latvians, Estonians, Englishmen, who had different beliefs: there were Tolstoyans, social democrats, socialist-revolutionaries: "They were all doing something, working, and life was full and interesting. On certain days of the week, the Chertkovs fed English vagabonds. The printing house of "Svobodnoe Slovo" was near the Tuckton house.Страхова Н. Ф. Лев Николаевич Толстой и Фёдор Алексеевич Страхов // Л. Н. Толстой и его близкие. — М.: Современник, 1986. — С. 124-127.
After returning from Great Britain, the couple settled in the Tula province. Their house in Telyatinki became the center of attraction for the Tolstoyans. According to a contemporary, they felt more at home there than in Yasnaya Polyana, "where they were bound by the strange arictocratic ambience. Son Vladimir was closely associated with the peasant youth. Chertkovy quickly attracted the attention of the local administration, and were denounced. Since October 1908, the couple had been under silent surveillance.Муратов М. В. Л. Н. Толстой и В. Г. Чертков по их дневникам и переписке. — М.: Полиграфкнига, 1934. p. 375. Their house was located three kilometers from Yasnaya Polyana, it was wooden, two-storied and, according to a contemporary, uncomfortable. Tolstoy called it a "beer factory". On the ground floor was a large dining room, behind which were corridors in both directions, each of which led to four small rooms. In the middle of the second floor was a hall with a stage for amateur performances. There were 34 rooms in all. Almost all of them were filled with guests. There was no terrace, flower garden, river or pond around the house.Страхова Н. Ф. Лев Николаевич Толстой и Фёдор Алексеевич Страхов // Л. Н. Толстой и его близкие. — М.: Современник, 1986. p. 129.
Anna Chertkova was seriously ill. Tolstoy admired her resilience and considered her one of those women for whom "the highest and living ideal is the coming of the Kingdom of God". In the 1920s, she was engaged in sorting and describing the writer's manuscripts for the publication of his Complete Works. She also wrote a scholarly commentary on Leo Tolstoy's correspondence with her husband.Черткова А. К. Из воспоминаний о Л. Н. Толстом // Толстой Л. Н. в воспоминаниях современников: сборник. В 2-х томах. Издание второе. — М.: Рипол Классик, 2017. — Т. 1. — С. 615. Anna Chertkova died in Moscow in 1927. She was buried next to her husband in the Vvedenskoye cemetery (section 21).