“The thought that, noticeably, more often than others sharpens his heart is the thought of God”—this is the key idea of the most famous and remarkable of Gorky’s literary portraits—memoirs about Leo Tolstoy. But what in communicating with the great writer made the author come to another, very unexpected conclusion: “He has a very vague relationship with God, but sometimes it reminds me of the relationship of “two bears in one den”? Gorky, in whom literary talent was always combined with the keen observation of a born journalist, tried to penetrate behind the masks of the public image of the brilliant Russian writer. The collection also includes memories of Chekhov, Lenin and other famous contemporaries who left a bright mark on Russian history and culture.