As long as a visiting musician kisses a trumpet, as long as Mozart plays an old violin, and sentries of love walk along the Arbat, as long as a family is photographed against the backdrop of Pushkin, and new generations of boys drink the drops of the Danish king, as long as Dali sings for us in his dark red and the last trolleybus circles Moscow—as long as the earth still turns, and the little orchestra of hope, led by love, never ceases to sing, and self-respect, that mysterious instrument, lives within us, and whatever darkness and evil may prophesy, humanity has devised nothing else for its salvation. This edition contains Bulat Okudzhava's most beloved poems and songs. The book includes an introduction by Andrei Bitov.