The president met the writer's wife Maria Koryakina-Astafyeva in the house.
She said she is sorry that Astafyev is not with us and added, "You would have been the most welcome guest for him." The writer's wife remembered the years she spent with Astafyev and her efforts to contribute to his creative work. In her words, the writer asked not to publish works that he wrote or didn't finish but had not submitted to any publishers. The writer's wife said she had discovered lots of interesting things in Astafyev's archive.
Putin in turn noted that only the wife could decide the fate of the archive. He added, however, "the writer's thoughts should not fall into oblivion. If the writer did not want to have them published, then at least experts studying his works and his life should probably have access to his archive." The writer's wife noted that the Pushkin House in St. Petersburg had a museum of writers' fates. "Perhaps, I will give it to them," she said. "I haven't decided yet." At the end of the meeting, Maria Koryakina-Astafyeva raised the issue of the writer's apartment-museum in Krasnoyarsk. Their grandchildren are living there, but they cannot afford to maintain the museum, and they have a different profession, so they cannot become museum workers in Astafyev's apartment. Putin replied, "I will meet the head of the university, the governor of the region, and we will discuss this issue. Do not fret, there will be no problems here. We can take care of the museum flat at the federal level too, and the local authorities will also agree to take part in it."
