About the book: year / Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin, a famous Russian writer, knew about the “ulcers of Russian life” firsthand. In his youth, he served in the Vyatka provincial government, then as an official on special assignments at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and later held the positions of Ryazan and Tver vice-governor. Based on the experience of his activities, Saltykov-Shchedrin showed the “disorder of Russian existence”; he saw “embarrassment” in the present and future of Russia: “going forward is difficult, going back is impossible.” The book presented to your attention contains the best journalistic works M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, which have not lost their relevance. They talk about the relationship between the authorities and the people, the peculiarities of Russian governance, the life of Russian people, the possibility of transforming Russia, etc. The foreword to the book was written by N. N. Gubenko, a famous actor, director and screenwriter, director of the Commonwealth Theater actors of Taganka". In his theater, he staged a performance based on the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin, which aroused enthusiastic reviews from the audience. They claim that this performance looks like it was staged based on a play by a modern author.