Once Gogol Came to Pushkin: Jokes about Russian Writers

The Russian literary joke is a vast cultural space from the 18th to the 20th century, a parallel history of literature and life in Russia. The history is special — bright, bitter, joyful, tragic. Writers and poets, whom we have... known since school days, as heroes and authors of jokes, appear in a completely different light, making us laugh at them, admire or sympathize with them. Here they are — alive, with their weaknesses and quirks, pride and vanity. And with their troubles.
The world of literary jokes is a world of talented natures, keenly noticing the unusual traits of their fellow writers and their own. Once Pushkin was asked what he felt when he met Emperor Nicholas I on the street, and he, proud and vain, honestly answered: "Treacherous in every vein." The world of literary jokes is a ruthless world. Monarchist and great skeptic Tyutchev left for posterity such a statement about his homeland: "Russian history before Peter the Great is a continuous funeral service, and after Peter the Great, it is one criminal case."
A collection of these stories, amusing cases, episodes, and quips are the behind-the-scenes of the great theater of our culture.