The author of the book, N.S. Ashukin, can rightfully be called the first Bryusov scholar, who, back in 1927, prepared Bryusov’s manuscripts “From My Life” and “Diaries” for publication. Throughout his life he studied the work of this poet and writer. This biography of the leader of Russian symbolists, writer, translator, editor and publisher Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov is unique in its own way. It consists only of documents and archival materials, including letters and diaries of the writer, memoirs of contemporaries. R.L. Shcherbakov, who considered himself a student of N.S. Ashukin, continued to work on his teacher’s book and supplemented it with new materials. I would like to believe that the book will be useful and interesting both to specialists and to a wide range of readers interested in the work of Valery Bryusov.