Marat Gizatulin for many years collected information bit by bit about the ancestors of Bulat Okudzhava, miraculously preserved in scattered family and state archives. Painstakingly analyzing hundreds of unique documents, the author studies the intricate intertwining of the destinies of the poet’s ancestors that preceded the emergence of one of the most significant phenomena of the 1960s. Okudzhava's Arbat has its roots in the cramped stone courtyards of Tiflis, where one can hear the sad music of ancient streets, carefully restored by the author of this book.