‘Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Ac ‘11-14-2017 o ! an } | ane OR SECRET : “DATE :. Thi » - Srey c first. Company. of the Corps of Pages (for which he had the necessary qualifications) or to the NIKOLAEVSKIS Cavalry School (natural enough for a WIKOLAEVSKIJ ¢adet). After two years of either of these two he would graduate ag an officer. Instead, Tolstoj _ enlisted as a volunteer in the Chevalier Guards Regiment: This: for an ex cadet is an unbelievable performance and can be explained | ‘Only by two considerations. He had +o Say that he was a Chevalier © ‘Guard to maké me feel more sympathetic; he could not very well say that he was an officer in that regiment as there would. be cross - Questioning’ on'my part. So Mr. Tolstoj told me that he enlisted as» @ volunteer (private) and went to the Training barracks oo (ERECHEVITSKIE KAZARMY). Such a career made it impossible for me to check its veracity, espeeially as all this happened years before I even finished the Corps of Pages (Tolstoj told me that he is now 55). Since she never served with the regiment. as an officer he must havé left the regiment in a year with the rank of Ensign of | the Reserve and would mve been called up during World War Ie He iad not mention by a single word his further military service. . He went to study at the School (University) of Railroad Engineering. — Such @ Gareer cal be described only as erratic and makes it impossible for me to checks ~~ Then ‘comes a rather long gep in his recollections. He. does not mention his participation in Worla War I at all (strangsé for | a soldier talking to another soldier, and being an Ensign of the Reserve he could not. escape it.) He did not mention the Revolution. He did not excuse himself, a folstoj and an ex guardsman, for not having joined the White Amiy = this is almost & rule for any Russian who wants to ingratiete himself with a White Army man. Next I find that after the’ Revolution Tolstoj lived in Frenee (his French is rathér poor for a man who lived in France for a number of years), in Germany, Sweden, and finally settled as.a well-known portreit painter in Oslo, Norway. He is now a Norwegian subject. Sometimé during his life abroad he married a Latvien girl. While he wes in Norway his wife, 6 cousin.of his and a school "comrade" made their way from east Germany to the western gone, occupied | by the:Americans. here they took a\emall house and settled down. to wait for folstej to make i% possible for them to go to Norway. | One day Russian soldiers came into. the american zone and visited the house of Mrs. Tolstoj. ‘The next night. they returned and "shot © up" the whole household. Mrs. Tolstoj escaped with a wound. fhe two men were killed.  fTolstoj nearly cried while telling moe this -, FV AL , Pp CONRIENTI — /voryd-27 SECRET! Docld: 32298994 Page 10 oa) be ee ee |
eleased under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of Tay ' PATE. 1iei4-2017; ae ne ~ Wh ae a ° - ; 2 . = . ; 1.7 co ~ tye Re ¢* . 2 ee Coe ae wo y - at ‘ stozy., After this he broke up his story and wont on to tell mo how difficult it wes for hin, a Russian=born Horwegian. subjest Guring tho Gennan cecupstion of Norway = 4ifficuls, that te, politiealls |. Finanolally he fared very wells -He beceme a well-known portrait prister: uss pietures sold very well and he was able to b ving As | is wife to Norway, built himself 4 ville outeide of Oslo and spent I his iedoure hours hunting, He showed me many saapshete of his | ' wife, villa and hunting doge. I was inbereated in seeing the | .. Snepshots ia whieh he appeared himesl fj. ag having seen the man plus hie photographs is very helpful for identifileation purposes. (Incidentally, all those photographs bear my flagerpri ats). oo. _ Finally Mrs Tolstej eame to the point of his visit. Ageording to him the present Hexwégian goveraumost is very sociale aebie ané taxes his income (from pictures) very heavily. He oo ~ “Gannet complain about his Life ia Norway but needs money and wants to bring his cousin snd school "eourade" out of Germany. I - heationed here that I understood thet these two hed beén shot while dn the American gone but was told that thie is another eoudia and @nother school "comrade". .3o he decided om the following course. He took 16 of his 011 paintings and photographs of many of hia other pictures and flew fron Oslo te Lenion. There he. left twe pictures - with friends (ior eale). From Londen he flew to Moatrenl where ho ~ Gontactea hie good friend Ritehle and Ritehie sont him to Me. . The ides is that I should find a wey of aelling these pistures here. . The cash (I eu to have 25¢ of the sales priee) will be #leeed in - Ritchie's name or mine if I wishe When there is enough money it Wild -be used for bringing Mi. -Talstej, Mra. felstes, the eougin,.. . ang the school comrade from the American Occupation Zone of Gormeny - to Canadas Besides arranging for the séle of pictures I wee asked te seo 6 way of bringing the two men to Canada. ‘The last I brushed | aside saying that besides some old friends in the Amy and o few. in my present job I heave ebsolutely no fvlends or acquaintaneds in. any of the Government offices and. would aot know even how to begia any Grrangements for bringing two BP's to Genada.s Sines Tolstos | game to Canade for the express purpose of seeing me on these two — | iInattere it is strange that he secepted my refusal of help so easily | and never brought the matter up ageine . AS far as the pietures dre. concerned, he showed me three | very nice Gile of Norwegian girls in national adress, and a group of if photographs of his other-pictures, but could not leave any with me - 4&8 be wos Leaving Ottawa on the seme day for Montreal end leaving *.. Montreal for the States where he wag to visit his cousin the Countess ae Ni TIAL | - a . conriBent™ bl 724 f-2F Lo SECRET Docld: 32298994 Page il
Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 US¢-3107 Wotey_ DATED 1% 14-2017 ee Ke . . ; oo Pe ' Cee ct eS SEC ¢ _@ § @ | TIAOIS gonryweeN" a Rolete) (who owhs & farm neex Hew York). He wanted $0 show his pictures in the Stetes in order to arrange for sone seles there | ~ Soe. He seid thet from Yew York ho will fly beek to Cele (vile a iondon) and upon hie retiien will erite we a Letter asking fer e | great deat af paintion (for chiens matte Of G1 pelnbings | Wass Gone One painting (for seie) and photegraphs of other — ‘pictures on hand in als studio ta Oalés Geagne Of omnes i remain: Sir, . . , " ! (aed) M. Chrantohenko. coex TEONFBENTIAY ee! Td ne ej . b/=f0448 -2F . oe SECRE? | Docld: 32298994 Page 12