The Culture of the Heart
The Ivan Shmelev archive in the Alexander Solzhenitsyn centre for Studies of Russia Abroad strikes you as being very impressive. Both literary and epistolary heritage of the well-known Russian writer is various. Some unknown people come up among his correspondents and his research line can lead to the discovery of new destinies with extraordinatary history. The letter of our сompatriot, Petrova V.N., staying at that time in Podkarpatskaya Russ, to Ivan Sergeevich, turned out to be such a historical connection. The author discovers the Petrov’s family descendants and follows their history, the history of her grandson, Vadim Vadimovich Petrov, who became a well known composer in Checkoslovakia, in more detail. Immutable spiritual connection of this family generations is the main topic of the author’s refiections. The events described cover the period from 1927 to the present day.