About the book: 1816 / Vasily Grigorievich Maslovich (1792-1841) - poet-humorist, satirist, fabulist, journalist, publisher, literary critic - wrote a humorous poem "Foundation Kharkov" at the beginning of 1815 (this year, having graduated from Kharkov University, he passed the exam for the degree of Doctor of Fine Sciences). The following year he published the first two parts of the poem in the humorous magazine “Kharkov Democritus”, of which he himself was the founder and publisher. And the full text of the poem (all 4 parts) was published only in 1890 in the form of a separate book under the title “The Tale of Kharkov, the founder of Kharkov, about his daughter Gapka and the farm laborer Yakiv.” This publication was carried out by the poet’s son Nikolai Vasilyevich Maslovich, who was born 24 years after the writing of this poem. The version published in 1890 differs somewhat, but not significantly, from the version printed in 1816. Here the poem is presented according to the 1890 edition, but with the addition of author's footnotes from the magazine version. In the magazine version, under the heading “Foundation of Kharkov,” it is printed: “(Diligently dedicated to the honorable citizens of the Sloboda-Ukrainian province).” The poem is written in two languages: the text from the author is in Great Russian, and the speeches and thoughts of the characters are in Ukrainian. In this publication, the texts are brought into line mainly with the current Great Russian and Ukrainian spellings. But in some places the features of these languages ​​of the early nineteenth century have been preserved for historical flavor..