levitsky's grandfather was also sergei levitsky, a cousin of alexander gertsin. he was a photographer of their imperial majesties, photographed four generations of the romanov family, as well as outstanding scientists, writers and artists, including mendeleyev, gogol, tolstoy. his father, rafael levitsky, was an itinerant artist, studied with ilya repin, and was friends with vasily polenov. convicted levitsky left his homeland in 1920 with denikin's army, received an education as a design engineer, and in 1940 moved to germany, to the city of munich. during the total mobilization, for reasons left the soviet union for all, even those who for some various territory of western europe, and even there the third reich used emigrants who knew languages, who could be used in the occupied territory. retreating with the unit of derlivanger, after the battles in the lida area, where the ss division left its positions, sergei levitsky was captured, was in butyrka prison in moscow, as a prisoner of war, brought to criminal responsibility. in forty-sixth his case was transfer