“Farewell to Matyora” is a kind of drama of ordinary people’s life. It is about human memory and faithfulness to one’s kin.
The story takes place in the village of Matyora, which is about to be destroyed: a dam is being built on the river to build a power station, so “the water on the river and in the small rivers will rise and overflow, flooding… of course, Matyora.” The fate of the village is decided. Young people leave for the city without hesitation. The new generation has no pull toward the land, toward the Motherland; instead, everything urges them to "start a new life." Of course, life is constant movement and change—one can’t remain stuck in one place for centuries, and progress is necessary. But people who have entered the era of scientific and technological revolution shouldn’t lose connection with their roots, destroy and forget age-old traditions, wipe out thousands of years of history, from whose mistakes they ought to learn rather than repeat their own—sometimes irreversible.