“...Kalinin wrote none of his works with such passionate and selfless dedication as his novel about Claudius and Budulai,” recalls the writer’s daughter Natalya Kalinina. The first part of the novel, originally conceived as a story, was published in 1961 in the magazine Ogonyok; the last one - the ninth - in 2011 after the death of the author. For more than forty years, Kalinin returned again and again to his heroes, their difficult love; millions of readers and television viewers followed their fate. The novel was filmed several times, several theatrical productions were created on its basis, a romantic opera was written, and its characters became truly popular - loved ones and relatives.