Museum exhibit /Letter by S.L. Entin from Vladimir Prison
 
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A letter by Solomon L’vovich Entin (1892-1947), a political prisoner, to his relatives, written on the 13.10.1947 in the prison hospital of Vladimir Prison, a few days before his death. The letter was kept by the family in their father’s memory. In 2004, Larisa Solomonovna Krutilova (born 1927), Entin’s daughter, gave the document to the Museum of the Research and Information Centre “Memorial” (St Petersburg). (Photo 18.10.2004). 
 
 
 
 
Authenticity
 
Registration number in museum acquisition book KP-202
 
Date of acquisition12.04.2004
 
Thematic indexPrison/
 
Thematic indexLife in Captivity/
 
Thematic indexLife in Captivity/
 
Thematic indexLife in Captivity/
 
Thematic indexMemory
 
Date and place of creation13.10.1947, Vladimir prison
 
Size23,4 см x 16 cm
 
MaterialsPaper
 
MaterialsInk
 
Description of exhibitA handwritten letter on one page. The letter is written in purple ink on both sides of the page. The writing is illegible and there are several blots. The first page is a letter to Entin's wife. It starts with the words: "Moia dorogaia Natashen'ka" ["My Dearest Natasha”] and at the end it says “Yours, Zyama”. Below that there is a footnote: "A shto iz Kryma pishet Valia?" [“And what does Valya write from the Crimea?”], and under that there is the initial “Z”. On the back of the page there is a letter addressed to his daughter. This starts withthe words: "Ne znaiu chislo" [“I don’t know the date”], and it is signed "Tvoi papulia" [“Your Daddy”]. On the envelope there are the stamps: Outgoing: damaged and illegible, incoming: “Leningrad Post Office, 29 kopecks.
USSR 22104718”.
 
State of preservationCrumpled.
 
Detailed annotationA letter by Solomon L’vovich Entin-Krutilov from Vladimir Prison, dated 13.10.1947. At this time S.L. Entin had suffered a stroke and was in the prison hospital. There are two letters on both sides of a single sheet of paper: one is addressed to his wife, the other to his daughter. In the letter to his wife, there is a date: "Tol'ko segodnia, 13/X, poluchil vozmozhnost' pisat'" [“Only today, the 13th of October, I got the chance to write”]. In his letter, Entin thanks his wife for the parcel she sent and expresses concern about the state of her health. He shows interest in the family and friends – although it is not possible to decipher their names. In the letter to his daughter, Entin writes about her studies and about her prospects for a job after she is released. This letter is the last one the family received. Entin died in the prison hospital on the 13.10.1947, after a second stroke. The letter was sent through the post and the envelope was preserved. The family of the daughter, Larisa Solomonovna Krutilova (born 1927), kept all the letters received from Vladimir Prison in the period from 1945 to 1947 in memory of her father. They were given by her to the Museum of the Research and Information Centre “Memorial” (St Petersburg) (12.04.2004).
 
PersonsEntin-Krutilov Solomon L'vovich, Person who wrote the letter
 
PersonsKrutilova Larisa Solomonovna, Creator of the collection
 
PersonsKrutilova Natalia Georgievna
 
Thematic groupsKey words/
 
Thematic groupsKey words/
 
Thematic groupsKey words/
 
Web page?Yes
 
 
 
Museum exhibit /Letter by S.L. Entin from Vladimir Prison