Angelina Shchekin-Krotova

The memoir section of this issue dedicated to Robert Falk opens with the publication of three pieces written by the artist’s widow, Angelina Shchekin-Krotova (1910-1992), whose name is inextricably linked with Falk’s in the history of Russian culture. Shchekin-Krotova was descended from the nobility and, by profession, was a German language teacher and translator. She first met the artist shortly after his return from Paris in 1939. From that moment onwards, their fates became entwined. For almost 20 years, Shchekin-Krotova was the person closest to Falk, his friend, like-minded soul, and helper. After his death, she remained uncompromisingly faithful to his memory. In her declining years, Shchekin-Krotova writes, “I think back over all the difficult conversations of more recent times, his final years, and only now do I understand that Falk instilled the idea in me that I should bear his posthumous fate. He entrusted it to me, even demanded that I shoulder the burden of his life, preserving the traces of it.”