The one letter dated October 24, 1939 was sent from Belostok (Poland) to Leningrad. The postcard-sized letter dates from the same period or possibly a little later, after the beginning of the war.

Vladimir Lifshits was in the army at this time, and it is impossible to determine from where the letter was sent, while Asya and Lev had been evacuated to Omsk.

Vladimir Lifshits printed part of this letter in order to make is easier for his young son to read.

At the end of the 1940s Vladimir Lifshits left Leningrad for Moscow; however, it appears that this letter was sent from Leningrad.

In this letter Vladimir Lifshits discusses his feelings about Joseph Stalin, who died on March 5, 1953.

The autograph letter is clearly dated September 18, 1955; there is also a very short note at the end from Irina Kichanova.

In the letter of March 5 Vladimir suggests that Lev adopt a pseudonym if he pursues a career in literature. The letter of June 7 references Lev's decision to go to Sakhalin, and subsequent letters discuss the pros and cons of his wife Nina following him to the Far East.

The letters are written from Moscow to Okha in the north of Sakhalin until Vladimir moves to Maleevka--see the letter of February 26. During the time of these letters, Nina Mokhova is with Lev in Okha. The 1st letter in this group contains a clipping of a newspaper photo showing Vladimir Lifshits at the podium during a tribute to the "poet-revolutionary" Mayakovsky.

In the letter dated October 7, Vladimir urges his son to write about Sakhalin. In the letter of October 18 Vladimir heartily approves his son's plan to apply for a transfer south to Iuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Lev and Nina returned to Leningrad in November of 1961.

From the letter dated April 20, 1962, it is clear that Lev is working for the children's periodical Koster. In the letter of November 18, 1963, Vladimir refers to his grandson Dimitry, who had been born on July 15 of that same year.

In the letter dated November 9, 1964, as well as in the note on the note receipt with the same date, Vladimir offers congratulations on the birth of his granddaughter, Maria.

Most of these letters were sent from Moscow to Leningrad; however, there are exceptions; for example, in the letter dated September 21, 1968, Lev is in the Crimea.

In the TLS Vladimir indicates to his son that he will be leaving for Latvia. Lev made a carbon copy of his reply in case his father missed the original letter.

In the letter dated January 8, 1971, written from Yalta, Vladimir inquires about his son's hospitalization.

Vladimir Lifshits asks Kholopov, the main editor of Zvezda, for an evaluation of a book of his poems.

Lev Loseff prints several of the letters in his childish hand, while other letters he "dictates" to his mother Asya, who occasionally adds a note of her own. Lev sometimes adds a note to "Borinka," Boris Semenov, who was serving in the same unit on the Leningrad front.

One letter is clearly dated October 4, 1957, and the rest, though undated, relate to this same period, a time when Lev was hospitalized.