Many vivid experiences and memories will be taken away by Ilya Repin's descendants from Vitebsk

July 20, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. The acquaintance of Ilya Repin's French descendants with the native hearth of their famous ancestor concluded in Vitebsk today, BELTA correspondent reports.

The program of stay in Vitebsk for the numerous Dyakonov family, who trace their lineage from the granddaughter of the great Russian artist Ilya Repin, Tatiana, included visits to the ancestral estate of Zdravnevo, the sights of the regional center, and the art museum, which houses original drawings by Ilya Repin and digitized copies of his works.

"A trip to Zdravnevo was perhaps the brightest event in our entire journey, leaving indelible impressions and experiences. It is these, first and foremost, that we will take with us to France," the older generation of the Dyakonovs emphasized in unison at the final press conference at the Art Museum.

As noted by Mayorgas Terekhova, a distant relative of the Dyakonovs and the initiator of the trip, the family members have always shown a reverent attitude towards the memory of Ilya Repin and his creative heritage. The idea to visit the native places associated with his name had been maturing for a long time. However, it was only during the trip that they were able to fully realize and feel the true depth of the significance of their ancestor's figure in the history of Russian painting.

"Another pleasant surprise for us was the warm welcome we received in Vitebsk and Zdravnevo," admitted Mayorgas Terekhova, expressing immense gratitude for the warm attitude shown on behalf of all trip participants.

Vitebsk became the fourth stop on the Dyakonovs' journey. Previously, they had visited Kyiv, Chuguev - the birthplace of Ilya Repin, and Moscow. The last point of their route is St. Petersburg.

In May 1892, Ilya Repin acquired the Zdravnevo estate and regularly visited it from 1892 to 1902. After that, Repin's family members rested and managed the household at the estate: his wife Vera Alekseevna Shevtsova-Repina, daughters Vera, Tatiana, Nadezhda, and son Yuri. After the October Revolution, in July 1918, Repin's youngest daughter, Tatiana (née Yazeva), settled in the estate with her daughter Tatiana Yazeva. In 1921, Ilya Repin's granddaughter married the son of a local priest, Ivan Dyakonov, and they had four children in Zdravnevo: Valentin, Kirill, Galina, Roman. Having survived numerous repressions, the Dyakonovs managed to move to Finland to their grandfather, Ilya Repin, and after his death, to France.

Repin's great-grandchildren started their own families, and now the number of the artist's descendants along this line is quite large. The other children of Repin either had no children, or their lineage did not continue. Thus, the line of descendants of the great artist, who became related to the Belarusian Dyakonov family, is directly connected to the Vitebsk region.-0-