Chiswick Alexandra Tolstoy

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Tolstoy wedding to take place in Chiswick

Alexandra Tolstoy to wed her Cossack at Russian Orthodox Cathedral on Harvard Road

This month will see the wedding of Alexandra Tolstoy and Shamil Galimzyanov in the Russian Orthodox Church here in Chiswick.

Alexandra, distant cousin of the author Leo Tolstoy and daughter of historian Nickolai Tolstoy, met Shamil whilst on her Silk Road Expedition in 1999. An eight month journey, travelling solely by horse and camel, this expedition retraced one of the former trading routes that make up the ancient Silk Road. She subsequently wrote an account of the journey entitled 'The Last Secrets of the Silk Road' which was published in March this year.

Writing about Shamil, she claims “He was everything I imagined a Cossack to be, a free spirit, accountable to nobody and valuing pride and honour more than life itself. He exuded a masculine self-confidence, as if there were no situation he couldn't control.”

They describe their forthcoming nuptials as a ‘small affair’ followed by a reception at Alexandra’s family home.

Alexandra is currently working for Ultimate Travel and Ride Worldwide, escorting horse treks through Uzbekistan, as well as planning a further expedition for 2004 which plans to retrace Genghis Khan's campaign from Mongolia to Uzbekistan, on horseback, and take the form of an endurance race, competing against local teams of riders.

September 8, 2003

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