In August 1938, Sergei met Mira Mendelson, a 23-year-old literary student who was a poet and translator. They were each vacationing in Kislovodsk with their respective families. What had begun as a professional partnership quickly developed into an extramarital affair. Although Sergei had initially been dismissive about Mira to Lina, within months he revealed to her the extent of his new relationship. Lina replied that she did not object to it as long as he did not go to live with her, she recalled in interviews decades later. Their marriage continued to deteriorate; on 15 March 1942, Sergei announced that he was going to live with Mira, effectively ending his marriage with Lina. A few months later when the German invasion of Russia threatened Moscow, Prokofiev tried to persuade Lina and their sons to accompany him as evacuees out of the capital, but Lina refused. After the end of World War II, Sergei attempted to serve Lina with divorce papers through their son Oleg, who did not carry the task through for the sake of his mother's well-being. Sergei then filed for divorce in court on 22 November 1947. Five days later, the court announced that it had rejected his petition on the grounds that the marriage had been invalid in the first place because it had taken place outside of the country and was not properly registered with Soviet authorities. After a second court upheld the verdict, Sergei and his companion Mira were married on 13 January 1948.