Sepetys letters and photographs from Siberia

Posted on July 2, 2012

In the photograph are Jonas Sepetys’ nephews and one niece in Siberia, children of his sister Apalione Sepetyte-Vajegiene. Standing, left to right, are Jonas, Petras, Vytautas’ wife Ale, Vytautas, Gene, Vincas and his son Jurgutis standing on the chair. The top letter was written by Jonas Vajega, the bottom one by Antanas Sepetys.

In 1977, in response to press advertisements by Father Prunskis, Jonas Sepetys sent a set of letters and photographs that he had received from relatives in Siberia. These were bound in a folder with instructions on the front not to publish them at the time. Further instructions were to store this material for future historian use when it would be safe to do so. He was concerned that his relatives, who had returned to Lithuania, after being deported to Siberia, might be endangered. Indeed, none of this material was included in the book,  Lithuanians in Siberia, which Father Prunskis published in 1981.

A few weeks ago, this folder was found by accident, amongst other Father Prunskis materials, at the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center in Chicago, by Ms. Kristina Lapienyte. Reviewing this material, certain details in the letters made it clear that this Jonas Sepetys is the grandfather of Ruta Sepetys, the author of the best-seller Between Shades of Gray. In trying to discover the history of her grandfather, Ruta found the inspiration for her book. In a recent telephone conversation with Ruta, she confirmed the accuracy of the postal address and telephone number.

This folder included a cover letter explaining the history, nine letters, six photographs and one envelope. One letter was sent by his brother, Antanas Sepetys, and the majority by his nephews, the sons of his sister Apalione Sepetys-Vajegiene. His sister, along with her husband, Antanas, who were between 55 and 60 years of age, and their five children, ranging in age from 16 to 30, were all deported to Siberia in 1948. The site of deportation was Irkutsk Oblast. They were farmers in Lithuania and were able to return in 1958. In addition, Jonas Sepetys included information that he was able to obtain concerning several other families that lived in the same area: Binkis, several additional Vajega families, Kaupelis, Balciunas, Klascius, and Zolbas.