Vladimir Alekseevich Gilyarovsky was a Russian writer, journalist, local historian, and Moscow legend, a chronicler of its daily life. He authored the celebrated book 'Moscow and Muscovites' (1934), which is undoubtedly the most colorful story ever told about the city. For his kindness and responsiveness, he was known as 'Uncle Gilyai,' and for his journalistic talent, as the 'king of reportage.' In his articles, essays, and memoirs, Gilyarovsky captured everyday life in Russia in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries: through these invaluable eyewitness accounts, the memory of the past of Moscow, the Moscow region, and the Russian provinces has been preserved.

This collection includes the memoirs 'Friends and Meetings,' in which the author vividly and captivatingly recounts his encounters with L. Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorky, and others, and 'People of the Theater'—according to the author, 'a story about an actor's life,' telling about the future celebrities of the Russian stage, whom he met in his youth, during his years of wandering.