In 1894, Eleanor L. Pray left her New England home to move with her merchant husband to Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. Over the next thirty-six years — from the time of Tsar Alexander III to the early years of Stalin’s rule — she wrote more than 2,000 letters chronicling her family life and the tumultuous social and political events she witnessed. Vladivostok, 5,600 miles east of Moscow, was shaped by a rich intersection of Asian cultures, and Pray’s witty and observant writing paints a vivid picture of the city and its denizens during a period of momentous social change. The book offers highlights from Pray’s letters along with illuminating historical and biographical information.

In 1894, Eleanor L. Pray left her New England home to move with her merchant husband to Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. Over the next thirty-six years -- from the time of Tsar Alexander III to the early years of Stalin's rule -- she wrote more than 2,000 letters chronicling her family life and the tumultuous social and political events she witnessed. Vladivostok, 5,600 miles east of Moscow, was shaped by a rich intersection of Asian cultures, and Pray's witty and observant writing paints a vivid picture of the city and its denizens during a period of momentous social change. The book offers highlights from Pray's letters along with illuminating historical and biographical information.

These are the complete letters written Pavel Florensky after his arrest in 1933 and before his transfer to the Solovki Islands in 1934. They reveal a character which accepted misfortune and injustice with dignity and hope, a keen mind ready to apply itself to new circumstances, and a heart full of longing and gentle love for his family. Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky, born in Azerbaijan in 1882, was a gifted polymath who studied nearly every science available to him and was also well-versed in art and literature. He was also a Russian Orthodox priest and noted theologian. In his time at the gulag in Russia's Amur Region, he applied himself to the study of permafrost and wrote letters to his children, often guiding them in their studies, drawing from his wealth of expertise.

"The Eleanor L. Pray Collection organized and preserved by Patricia D. Silver."