The poem ‘We Walked a Secret Path Together…’ written by Blok in 1902 was not published until 13 years later, on 5 July 1915, in Birzheviye Vedomosti (Exchange News). We can make an educated guess that Blok’s autograph was given to Fedin by his friend Samuil Alyansky, owner of the Alkonost publishing house (1891–1974).
Konstantin Fedin didn’t know Aleksandr Blok very well, although he had been introduced to him at a literary soiree in early 1921. He had first seen Blok at a similar function a few days before Christmas in 1919, having recently arrived in Petrograd with the Separate Bashkir Cavalry Division at the height of the Civil War to fight the troops of General Yudenich, who were besieging the city. Fedin recalled that he felt like a stranger ‘in St. Petersburg, still shy of its beauty.’ It was by mere chance that he ended up in Nekrasov’s house on Liteyny Avenue, where Blok was speaking: “We, the putative saviours, were rushing somewhere, seeking salvation ourselves, with our belongings, sacks, our pitiful chattels, and stopped by to listen to Blok.” The poet talked about the collapse of humanism, of civilization falling victim to culture. Blok’s appearance left a strong impression on Fedin:
