The exhibition features a wooden paperweight with blotting paper tucked inside. It is adorned with stylized geometric and floral patterns and has a handle. At the bottom, the initials “A.Z.” signify “Aleksander Zakrutkin”.

The paperweight on the desk was made by the writer’s father, Aleksander Mikhailovich, who decorated it with carvings.

Vitaly Zakrutkin held his parents in deep reverence and sincere gratitude. As an adult, he supported and assisted them in every way possible. When he relocated to Kochetovskaya to live there permanently, he encouraged them to settle in a serene, natural environment. In a spacious house on the banks of the Don, his parents enjoyed their own cozy room, while their son surrounded them with care and attention.

Vitaly Zakrutkin placed photographs of his parents at the center of his office. He was grateful that these photographs had been preserved during the Great Patriotic War.

This essential tool for working with papers, a paperweight, was crafted by the writer’s father in Kochetovskaya. In the late 1940s and 1950s, people still used regular ink, and to proceed to the next page of text, the wet ink needed to be dried or blotted with special paper, which was secured to the paperweight.

A paperweight (French: presse-papier, from presser meaning “to press” and papier meaning “paper”) is a decorative office tool that serves several purposes:

Often, paperweights were used simply as decorative elements of desk decor. Today, they have also become sought-after items for collectors, as many are true works of art.