In February, 2002 Alexander Moiseyevich Volodin would be 83 years old. First he became famous as a playwright. His plays "My Elder Sister", "Don't Part With Those You Love", "A Girl From the Factory" won hearts of Soviet audience. But in spite of general recognition and world fame, the totalitarian press together with some art workers stamped Volodin merciless. That is why Alexander Moiseyevich's 50 anniversary was celebrated by the "The Contemporary" theatre secretly.

  However, Volodin kept writing and soon he appeared before people as a script-writer. Soviet and foreign audience knows best his films "The Doorbell Is Ringing, Open the Door!" (the main prize of the World Film Festival in Venice) and "Autumn Marathon" (Vassilyev brothers State award, the first prize of the World Film Festival in San-Sebastyano). These films as well as many others can be referred to the classics of the Soviet cinematography. Except scripts and plays Volodin showed his worth as a writer. The most outstanding among his books are "Optimistic Notes" and "I feel So Anxious: notes with digressions".

  According to a fair remark of Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava, Alexander Volodin was "a spokesman of hopes and dreams of many generations of Soviet people". Those people gathered in Library Literature Club to recall about Alexander Moiseyevich. The presenter Lyudmila Manannikova, who used to correspond with Volodin for some time, told about him very warmly and rather emotionally. Many of the guests were listening without hearing. Their eyes were clouded up with a shroud of dreams. They gaily returned to the times of their youth.

Konstantin Surov