Tolstoy House is located at 15-17 Rubinstein Street, right on the banks of the Fontanka River in St. Petersburg. The building was designed by the renowned early 20th-century architect Fyodor Lidval.

The house was commissioned by Count Mikhail Tolstoy, a distant relative of Leo Tolstoy and a hero of the Balkan Wars. Mikhail Tolstoy, a representative of an ancient lineage, was also related to the writer Alexei Tolstoy. The plot on which the house was built was formed from several properties previously owned by Nikolai Pavlovich Ignatiev. To avoid the arrest of his property, Ignatiev transferred the plot to his wife Ekaterina, who later sold it to the Tolstoys.

Construction of Tolstoy House lasted from 1910 to 1912. Initially, the street was called Troitskaya, but it was later renamed in honor of Rubinstein. After the completion of construction in 1913, the house passed to Tolstoy's widow, Olga. The Tolstoy family did not live in this house but rented out about 120 furnished apartments.

After the revolution, the house was nationalized and turned into communal apartments. Today, it has over 300 apartments and 16 entrances. The building features three large Renaissance-style arches, and its layout differs from traditional apartment buildings. The inner courtyard is well-ventilated and lacks the usual technical structures.

The facade of the building is made of hewn limestone, and the grand staircases lead to the very top floor. Inside the complex, there is an internal street connected by arches and an octagonal fountain. The building was equipped with central heating, and stained glass windows are installed in the entrances. The house also housed a gym and workshops.

Lidval's architectural style combines Art Nouveau with elements of classicism and neo-Renaissance. He used bas-reliefs and elements from the Renaissance era. The facade of Tolstoy House bears the date of completion, 1912. Lidval is also known for his works in other cities, including Kyiv.

Tolstoy House is famous for its residents, including Yevgeny Rein, Joseph Brodsky, Anna Akhmatova, and Arkady Averchenko. It was also home to the chief of the imperial guard, Alexander Spiridovich, and Prince Mikhail Andronikov. During the Soviet era, the house was inhabited by Eduard Khil and Mikhail Shemyakin.

The house is surrounded by legends. For example, apartment No. 60 on the sixth floor is considered unlucky, and its residents often faced misfortunes. In the basement of the house, there is a museum that houses antique items. The house can be visited as part of a tour that lasts about 1-1.3 hours.