AndrEi Dostoevsky, the grandson of the great writer, went on a journey to SemipalAtinsk and Omsk to explore places, where his grandfather had once stayed, and support the establishment of museums dedicated to the life and works of Fyodor Dostoevsky. In August 1968, he went to Omsk. His visit was organized by the initiative group engaged in the establishment of a literary museum in Omsk. One of the group’s members was literary critic Ksenia Zubareva. It was she who would later donate Andrei Dostoevsky’s visiting card with a sign ‘I’ll never forget you’ on the back to the Dostoevsky State Omsk Literary Museum.
In her memoirs, Zubareva wrote, “We were aware of Andrei Dostoevsky”s efforts, of how much he does to share the works of his grandfather and establish the Dostoevsky memorial museum in Leningrad. He also supported the Dostoevsky Museum in Semipalatinsk which was under development at the time. He also helped our group working towards the creation of the Dostoevsky literary museum in Omsk. However, as you know, a picture is worth a thousand words. The capacity for work and energy this man, terminally ill at the moment, displayed were astonishing. During his three-day stay in Omsk, he had an enormous number of meetings with city workers, students, schoolers, and teachers and was introduced to the operation of local libraries. He had a moving meeting with famous Omsk regional ethnographer and author Andrei Palashenkov who had made a great effort towards the creation of the Dostoevsky literary museum in Omsk <…> It”s hard to forget their long conversations. One of them took place at Palashenkov”s library. Local teachers, artists, and lovers of literature were invited there at a tea party with samovar. The tea party was hosted by Maria Nikolayevna Vyatkina, the widow of poet Georgy Vyatkin”.
Having left Omsk, Dostoevsky sent Ksenia Zubareva two letters in which he informed that photos taken in Omsk would be handed to the foundation of the memorial museum in Leningrad. Sadly, he died before the opening of Leningrad, Semipalatinsk, and Omsk museums. It happened the same year, in 1968.
