Photo credit: fotocdn.net
A large collection of books in Russian from a Russian bookstore in San Francisco has arrived at one of the oldest bookstores in St. Petersburg - the Writers’ Bookstore. Books that were purchased at different times in the USSR and Russia were donated by a descendant of Russian emigrants Kirill Sapelkin, the Literatutnaya gazeta newspaper reports.
The donator's father was an officer of the White Army who left Russia after the Civil War. Kirill Sapelkin was born in Shanghai, later the family ended up in the United States. The Sapelkins owned the Russian bookstore for many years, ordering a wide range of books. The store has become a place of attraction for Russian-speaking residents of San Francisco.
According to the memoirs of Kirill Sapelkin, in the 20th century the store was very popular - Russian emigrants and Americans came to see the books. An explosion of interest in Russia was observed during the years of perestroika. However, the descendants of Russian emigrants assimilated in the US and the store lost most of its customers, it had to be closed.
Kirill Sapelkin decided to hand over the large collection to Russia, "and now the books are returning to their homeland." Prior to that, he had visited St. Petersburg, visited the Writers’ Bookstore and acquainted modern Russian authors.
Russkiy Mir
