In 1972, “The Days of Soviet Literature in Altai” festival was held in Altai, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Formation of the Soviet Union. Many writers from Moscow, Leningrad, and Siberian cities came to Altai that year. Georgy Markov, first secretary of the Writers’ Union of the USSR, headed the group.

Writers came to learn more about the nature of the region, its way of life and culture, and to acquaint the residents with the Soviet literature tradition and its' trends. Robert Rozhdestvensky also took part in this delegation. He actively participated in the meetings with residents and his fellow citizens. The program of these trips across Altai included a visit to the poet’s native village of Kosikha. Rozhdestvensky recalled: “I have a poem called ‘Birthdays’ and these are the lines in it:

It happened on June 20, 1932. I lived in Kosikha for only two months after I was born, and then the family moved to Omsk. For the second time I went to Altai only in 1955, 23 years later, when I studied at the Gorky Literary Institute. It was the time when the Altai virgin lands were reclaimed (‘The Virgin Lands campaign"– a plan to dramatically boost the Soviet Union’s agricultural production due to the usage of underdeveloped, scarcely populated but high-fertility lands of the Volga region, Northern Kazakhstan, and Southern Siberia). I came to Barnaul… All around me the life was blooming. There were many young people around. Sovkhozy (state farms) were established; farmsteads and grain elevators were built. I also went to Kosikha at that time and tried to find our family house, which my mother told me about, but sadly, I couldn’t do it. I still read the poems, which were written during that visit of mine, to my listeners. Now, I make my third visit to my Altai homeland… Many things have changed for the better over these years. The life here became more vibrant. It was very nice that “The Days of Soviet Literature” festival was held here. I think that this event has meant a lot to all the writers. Although we cannot say for sure that any of the participants of the event will ever write about it. But there is no doubt that each of us is going to keep the dearest memories of Altai”.

The other man in the photo is Georgy Egorov, a famous writer born in Altai, who actively participated in the activities of the regional writing association. From 1968 to 1988, he was a representative of the Literary Fund of the USSR in the Altai Region. The leading theme of his writing is the events of the Civil War in Siberia.