Afonin in art studio, 15 y.o.,1935
An article about Pavel Afonin in East-West Review Spring/Summer 2020.
A Story of life, art and friendship by Ksenia Afonina
In memory of Pavel Ivanovich Afonin (1920–2011)
He was the thirteenth child in a peasant family from central Russia — an unlucky number in this part of the world, where people are generally known to be superstitious. His mother had little hope of seeing her youngest offspring grow to adulthood since several of her children died in infancy. However, Pavel Afonin would go on to live through and take active part in some of the most horrific and extraordinary events in Russian history – collectivisation, purges, war – to witness Perestroika and the dawn of Putin’s Russia. Pavel Afonin would have turned 100 this June, although his real date of birth even his own mother couldn’t remember. What kept him going was stamina, self-discipline, art and a sense of humour.