Sergei Lvovich Tolstoy (1863–1947) is a Russian Soviet memoirist, composer, son of the great Russian writer L. N. Tolstoy. The book is dedicated to Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy (1782–1846), according to his cousin Leo Tolstoy, “a criminal man and attractive”, who lived a stormy, adventurous life. He was demoted to military service twice and is known for his adventures in Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, for which he received the nickname “American.” He was friends with P. A. Vyazemsky, D. V. Davydov, K. N. Batyushkov, and was on friendly terms with A. S. Pushkin. An adventurer, raider and card player, F. I. Tolstoy served as a literary prototype for A. S. Griboedov, A. S. Pushkin, L. N. Tolstoy, I. S. Turgenev.