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The Papers consist of correspondence, writings, photographs, and personal papers documenting the life and work of Fedor Stepun as an émigré writer, educator, and political commentator. Principal correspondents include such famous Russian émigré writers as Nikolaĭ Arsenʹev, Ivan Bunin, Roman Gulʹ, I︠U︡riĭ Ivask, Michael Karpovich, Aleksandr Kerensky, Victor Leontovitsch, S. P. Melʹgunov, N. P. Poltorat︠s︡kiĭ, Leonid Rzhevskiĭ, Gleb Struve, Dmitrij Tschižewskij, V. Veĭdle, M. V. Vishni︠a︡k, Boris Zaĭt︠s︡ev, Lev Zander, V. V. Zenʹkovskiĭ, and Nicolas Zernov. Stepun was also in contact with noted German thinkers of his day, including Ernst Benz, Bernt von Heiseler, Max Horkheimer, Richard Kroner, Johannes Kühn, Thomas Mann, Zenta Maurin̦a, Paul Mildner, Carl Neumann, Ernesto Saemisch, Otto Taube, and Paul Tillich. There is also correspondence with a variety of other groups of people from his work as an editor, professor, as well as personal correspondence with friends and family.
The Writings consist of manuscript drafts, typescripts, and related publication material for a number of Stepun's major books and many of his shorter writings. All of Stepun's post-World War II books are represented here, including material for different translations. There are extensive notes and manuscripts of Stepun's lecture courses and individual lectures, papers relating to Stepun's participation in the Tolstoy Foundation and the Institut für Filmwesen, and a number of writings by such authors as V. I. Ivanov and Nikolaĭ Berdi︠a︡ev. In addition, the collection contains a number of photographs of Stepun his wife Natalía Nikolaevna Nikolśkaia and her family, and a portrait by émigré artist Sergei Ivanov.