The aim of this thesis is to show how English culture and the French language influence the lives of the characters of the Russian aristocracy in Leo Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina". Tolstoy himself was a member of the Russian aristocracy, so the work also draws on his opinion of the influence of English or foreign culture on the lives of the 19th century Russian people. Keeping in mind that a literary work is always a fictional, authorial portrayal of a particular world, the novel can be seen as an encyclopaedia of 19th century Russian society, with foreign cultures playing an important role during this period. Since the family is the source of certain forms of behaviour, the focus of the analysis was placed on four families with different backgrounds: the Karenin, Oblonsky, Vronsky and Levin families. In the first part of the paper, the influence of English culture on the lives of the characters in the novel was shown by means of examples. On the one hand, there are Anna and Vronsky, who accept all English in their everyday lives. Anna is reading an English novel when she becomes aware of her feelings for Vronsky and later lives out her own "English novel" with Vronsky. With his lifestyle, Vronsky is a member of Dendism and the English language plays an important role in his life destiny. On the other side are Dolly and Levin, who see the unreality in the English lifestyle. Tolstoy shows his dislike of everything English through the character of Levin, and Dolly realises after her visit to Anna and Vronsky that they are not living a life but pretending to live one. The second part focuses on the French language in the Russian aristocracy of the 19th century. After a brief historical overview, examples show the use of French in everyday life. The focus is on the use of French and Russian pronouns to address interlocutors, as they give a clear insight into the feelings of intimacy and alienation of one character towards another. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)