Pyotr Tolstoy

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation

General Biographical Information

• Pyotr Tolstoy was born on June 20, 1969 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. One of his ancestors is the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.
• From 1987 to 1989 he served in the Soviet Army.
• In 1993, he graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.
• Since 2022, he has been included in the sanctions list of a number of countries due to his active support for Russia's military aggression in Ukraine.

​Journalistic Career

• At the initial stage of his journalistic career, Pyotr Tolstoy worked as a correspondent for the Moscow bureau of the French media outlets Le Monde and Agence France-Presse.
• He has worked in television since 1996. In 1996-2002, he was the deputy editor-in-chief of the ViD TV company. In 1997-2001, he hosted the program Scandals of the Week.
• In 2002-2008, he worked at Channel Three whose general director he became in 2004.
• In 2005-2012, he was the host of the information and analytical program Time of the Week on Channel One.
• In 2009-2016, he was the deputy director of the directorate of social and publicistic programs on Channel One.

Political Career

• In 2016, he was elected as a member of the governing body of the United Russia Ruling Party.
• In 2016, he became a member of the Russian State Duma of the 7th convocation. He was elected Deputy Chairman of the State Duma. On January 27, 2017, he was elected Head of the Russian Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. In 2020-2022, he was Vice-Speaker of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
• In 2021, he became a member of the Russian State Duma of the 8th convocation. He was also elected Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the 8th convocation.
• Since 2024, he has been overseeing the groups of deputies created in the 8th convocation of the State Duma for relations with the Russian-occupied de facto republics of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. Until July 23, 2024, Sergey Neverov oversaw the direction of the occupied regions in the State Duma of the 8th convocation.
• In 2023, he was the head of the election headquarters of Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.

Relations with Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region

• On July 6, 2019, in connection with the events in Tbilisi Tolstoy stated: “tell those who are running around the streets of Tbilisi with anti-Russian slogans that Abkhazia and South Ossetia will never return to Georgia.“ According to him, Russia did not occupy the territories of Georgia.
• On June 15, 2023, within the framework of the International Parliamentary Forum of the CIS, a delegation from the de facto parliament of Abkhazia met with Tolstoy.
• On June 21, 2023, the speaker of the de facto parliament of Abkhazia, Lasha Ashuba, met with Tolstoy in Moscow.
• On August 26, 2023, Tolstoy participated in a solemn event in Sokhumi dedicated to the international recognition of Abkhazia's Independence Day. He also met with the speaker of the de facto parliament, Lasha Ashuba.
• On September 22, 2023, Tolstoy attended an event in Moscow dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the recognition of the independence of the Russian-occupied regions. According to Tolstoy, “Abkhazia and South Ossetia will be able to build a happy future for their children.“
• On April 2, 2025, in Sokhumi, Tolstoy attended the inauguration of the newly elected de facto president of occupied Abkhazia, Badra Gunba. According to Tolstoy, “after the election of the new president, Russia and Abkhazia are opening a new page in “historically good and kind“ relations.“ During his visit to Sokhumi, Tolstoy also met with the speaker of the de facto parliament, Lasha Ashuba.