Which character hosts the St. Petersburg salon that opens War and Peace?

Anna Pavlovna Scherer hosts the St. Petersburg salon that opens *War and Peace*.

The novel begins at an evening gathering in 1805, where Anna Pavlovna receives members of Russia’s aristocratic society. Her salon introduces several central figures, including Pierre Bezukhov, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, Prince Vasily Kuragin, and Hélène Kuragina. The conversation quickly turns to Napoleon and European politics, establishing the book’s historical setting.

Anna Pavlovna is a maid of honour to the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Her salon represents the polished, highly regulated world of Petersburg high society, where French is widely spoken and social manners carry political meaning. Pierre’s bluntness and unconventional views make him stand out immediately among her carefully managed guests.

A common mix-up is to confuse Anna Pavlovna with other women in the novel’s social and family networks. Julie Karagina is a wealthy heiress, Anna Mikhaylovna Drubetskaya is Boris’s ambitious mother, and Marya Dmitryevna Akhrosimova is a respected Moscow matron—not the hostess of the opening salon.