ALEXEY SALNIKOV Born in Estonia, he has lived in the Urals since he was six years old. Published in Literaturnaya Gazeta and other publications. He graduated from two courses at the Agricultural Academy and studied for a semester at the Faculty of Literary Creativity at the Ural University. This year, his novel “The Petrovs in the Flu and Around It” received the National Bestseller Award. The prose of the Yekaterinburg writer is ambiguous. Salnikov hides allusions and references in the text. Describes the city, meticulously recording street lights, bus stops and shops. Combines topographical precision, feverish, flu-like delirium, dreams and reality. Salnikov is criticized for misanthropy. But is love for a person only praise? Praised for its truthful presentation of reality. But are dreams reality?