= In the letter Turgenev grants his permission to Mr. Leon Berardi, editor of the Belgian periodical l'Independance belge, for publication of his short story "Monsieur Francois (souvenir de 1848)": "(...) je m'empresse de vous faire savoir que j'accorde de grand coeur l'autorisation de faire paraitre "Monsieur Francois ["] dans le feuilleton de l'Independance belge".
This Brussels newspaper, edited from 1856 to 1884 by Leon Berardi, a journalist of French origin, enjoyed considerable prestige abroad, not only in France but throughout Europe. "Monsieur Francois (a souvenir of 1848)" first appeared in 1879 in "La Nouvelle Revue." and was also translated into English in "The Fortnightly Review" (Vol 90 (1911), issue 539, p.946-961. This story is about an eccentric old man whom Turgenev claims to have actually met several times in 1848, while staying in France. This mysterious figure supposedly prophesied to him the fall of the monarchy and the advent of the Republic.
This particular letter was exhibited in Moscow in May 1985, according to an attached note.

Small ink stain at the end of the signature; the leaf has two unsharp folds (supposedly previously folded to fit an envelope for shipping [envelope not preserved]).