Dmitry Bykov’s new book includes more than thirty essays about Soviet writers (from Maxim Gorky and Isaac Babel to Bella Akhmadulina and Boris Strugatsky)—“about fighters and conformists, about the heirs of Russian culture and those who refused this heritage.” The book is based on materials from lessons for high school students and lectures for students of MGIMO—along with his intensive work as a writer and journalist, D. Bykov also conducts fruitful teaching activity.