The Story of One City

«The Story of One City» — is one of the most famous works of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (1826–1889). The picture of Russian life is presented here in the story of the fictional city of Glupov. Turning to fantasy and grotesque, Saltykov-Shchedrin created a whole gallery of changing Glupov mayors. Behind these funny, and sometimes frightening, characters one can easily discern the rulers of the Russian state, its true history. «His laughter is bitter and sharp, his mockery often offends, — wrote Turgenev about Saltykov-Shchedrin. — This is a natural manifestation of his character, in which inner kindness and sensitivity are hidden under external severity.» The first publication of the novel (1869–1870) caused a stormy debate in the press. Responding to the critics' accusations, Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote: «Maybe I am wrong, but in that case, reality is a hundred times more wrong than I am...» In the present edition, «The Story of One City» is published with illustrations by Mikhail Kupriyanov, Porfiry Krylov, and Nikolai Sokolov — outstanding Russian artists who worked together under the creative pseudonym Kukryniksy. Their illustrations for the novel were first published in 1939; later, in 1981, the artists reworked this cycle, expanding it and making the illustrations colorful.