The twelve letters that make up this very short volume were written in the summer of 1920. Correspondents were two of the most important intellectuals in pre-lived Russia. Weakened by the deprivations of the civil war, they were admitted separately to the Sanatorium for Science and Letters Workers, where they were assigned the same room.

During the early days they gave themselves up to lengthy conversations, but soon discovered that they were taken away from their work, so they decided to continue in writing. The result was this correspondence, which contains a thorough examination of the present and future of Western culture. It is no exaggeration to say that the status of these 'Correspondences' in the cultural history of the West has become legendary.