Table of Contents
Grandfather Stepan Petrovich and Grandmother Anna
On a fine spring day in 1856, a new resident appeared in the town of Nizhny Lomov. He was called Stepan Petrovich Kamendrovsky. As a former farmer who had made some money as a barge-haulier on the Volga, he built a house on the left bank of the Lomov River and dug out a simple earth lodge in the garden, where he started making sulphur-containing matches with his wife, Anna. They had no idea. Neither that it was the beginning of an empire, nor that it would only last for two generations…
Part I – The Lost Land
See chapter 1
The family had their own tomb-crypt, located in the fence of the Kazan Church, located on the site of the current market.
Uncle Mikhail and Aunt Paraskeva
Pious Uncle Mikhail was the warden of the Kazan church. His wife, kind, warm Aunt Paraskeva, was known for her generosity. They had seven children.
Click here for the family tree of Mikhail and Paraskeva Kamendrovsky.
Father: Feodor Stepanovich
He had it all – he lost it all. Passionate about his work, his wife, and his family, Feodor Sr worked hard and did everything for his family.
Mother: Elena Fedorovna Derbeneva
With weak nerves and at times quite critical towards her daughters, the Revolution and its aftermath make sure she learns to care and to cook.
Alexandra
Alexandra finds her strength and her love in the darkest of times, only to lose it all.
Ivan
Unique and artistic, Ivan lives in his own world, finds new passions wherever he goes and is the least affected by the turmoil around him.
Feodor
With a high sense of duty and a big heart for his loved ones, Feodor fights for his beliefs, only to lose it all.
Vladimir
Serious and caring, with a love for photography and beautiful women, Vladimir goes with the flow and makes the best of it all.
Dmitry
With a love for jokes, fun and engineering, Dmitry follows his own path and designs his own future for himself.
Lydia
Shy and insecure, but also warm and loving, Lydia comes of age – and loses her heart – during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution.
Elena
Flirtatious and with a love for the good life, Elena mourns the luxurious life she had to leave behind in Russia. Struggling with émigré life, the wealthy living still tempts her…
Lidochka
Little Lidochka, the daughter of Feodor and Elena, gets sadly caught up in her parents’ struggles of émigré life in Berlin and Paris.