Oleg Lekmanov is a literary critic, professor at the School of Philology, Faculty of Humanities, National Research University Higher School of Economics, author of many articles on the poetics of O. Mandelstam and his first biography, which went through three Russian editions and one American. The book “Osip Mandelstam: Stolen Air” masterfully combines “ external" and "internal" biographies of the poet. The researcher organically weaves into the fabric of the narrative the analysis of poetry, as well as little-known facts, interprets in his own way seemingly already ossified information, gives the floor to direct witnesses and participants in the poet’s fate - N.Ya. Mandelstam, A. Akhmatova, E. Gerstein and others.