The Rostov family’s main home before they flee is in Moscow.
The Rostovs are a wealthy but financially unstable aristocratic family whose Moscow household is one of the novel’s liveliest domestic settings. Count Ilya Rostov’s generosity keeps the house full of relatives, servants, tutors, musicians, and guests, even as poor financial decisions steadily weaken the family’s position.
Moscow is especially important to Natasha Rostova’s story. She grows up there, attends social events there, and later meets Anatole Kuragin at the opera. The city also becomes the setting for the family’s crisis during Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia.
When the Russian army abandons Moscow, the Rostovs prepare to leave. Natasha persuades her parents to use their carts for wounded soldiers instead of household possessions. The family therefore departs with far less property and helps carry the wounded, including the gravely injured Prince Andrei. Their evacuation is tied to the burning and abandonment of Moscow.