Georgy Tolstoy
Georgy Tolstoy | |
|---|---|
| Георгий Толстой | |
Tolstoy in 2012 | |
| Born | Georgy Kirillovich Tolstoy 24 September 1927 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 10 November 2025 (aged 98) Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Awards | |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | |
| Thesis | The Codification of the USSR Civil Law (1961–1965) (1970) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Civil law |
| Institutions | |
| Doctoral students | |
| Notable students | |
| Main interests | |
Georgy Kirillovich "Yury"[1] Tolstoy (Russian: Георгий Кириллович (Юрий) Толстой; 24 September 1927 – 10 November 2025) was a Soviet and Russian scholar of civil law, full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and professor of the Saint Petersburg State University Faculty of Law. Tolstoy was widely known as a university professor of high-ranking Russian politicians, including Russian presidents Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev.[2]
Life and career
A member of the renowned Tolstoy family, Georgy was born in Leningrad, Soviet Russia, in 1927. His mother, a foreign languages teacher, died at the age of 26 from tuberculosis, when Georgy was only a year and a half, while his father, an engineer, died in 1933, when his son was almost six years old. Tolstoy was raised by his paternal grandmother, a University of Lausanne alumna.
In 1945, Tolstoy entered Leningrad State University and graduated with honors in 1950 with a law degree. In 1953, he completed his postgraduate studies and obtained a Candidate of Sciences (Ph.D. equal) degree. 17 years later he obtained a Doctor of Sciences (habilitation) degree with a thesis on "The Codification of the USSR Civil Law (1961–1965)". From 1956, he taught at the civil law department of his alma mater. In 1996, he co-wrote and co-edited a popular three-volume civil law textbook which over the years has sold a million copies and won the Russian Federation Governmental Prize for education in 2001.
From 1990 to 1991, Tolstoy was a member of the Committee for Constitutional Supervision of the USSR along with another notable law professor, Sergei Alexeyev.
In 2000, Tolstoy was elected corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and in 2003, he became full member of the Academy.
In March 2022, Tolstoy signed a letter of support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[3]
Tolstoy died on 10 November 2025, at the age of 98.[4]
Awards
- Full Cavalier of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland":
- Honoured Scientist of Russia (1999)[9]
- Russian Federation Presidential Certificate of Honour (2015)[10]
- Medal of Anatoly Koni (1999)
References
- ^ Tolstoy's government name was Georgy, however he used the name Yury to sign his scholarly publications
- ^ "Заседание Международного дискуссионного клуба «Валдай»". Президент России. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ "Живые и мертвые пишут Путину" (in Russian). Novaya Gazeta. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Памяти почетного профессора СПбГУ Юрия (Георгия) Кирилловича Толстого". Saint Petersburg State University (in Russian). 10 November 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 17.08.2017 № 373 ∙ Официальное опубликование правовых актов" [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of August 17, 2017 No. 373]. publication.pravo.gov.ru (in Russian). 17 August 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 21 сентября 2022 года № 654 «О награждении государственными наградами Российской Федерации»" (in Russian). Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 25.09.2007 г. № 1295" [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 25, 2007 No. 1295]. Президент России (in Russian). 25 September 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 10 октября 2002 года № 1148 «О награждении государственными наградами Российской Федерации»" (in Russian). Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 22 марта 1999 года № 379 «О награждении государственными наградами Российской Федерации работников Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета»" (in Russian). Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ "Распоряжение Президента Российской Федерации от 25 мая 2015 года № 150-рп «О поощрении»" (in Russian). Retrieved 5 September 2017.