The book by B. Ya. Frezinsky is dedicated to the fate of the Petrograd writers who formed the literary group “Serapion Brothers” in February 1921. This group included M. Zoshchenko, N. Nikitin, Vs. Ivanov, M. Slonimsky, K. Fedin V. Kaverin, L. Lunts, I. Gruzdev, E. Polonskaya and N. Tikhonov. The first part of the book contains literary and biographical portraits of the group members (throughout their entire creative and life path). The second, through carefully examined specific scenes, allows us to see exactly how the state skating rink crushed the fates of Russian writers of the 20th century, how destructive their attempts to flirt with the regime turned out to be, and how some of them managed to maintain human dignity despite the circumstances of a cruel time. The author made extensive use of little-known and unpublished materials from state and private archives in the book. As an appendix, little-known articles by group members are published, as well as statements by their colleagues, critics and politicians of the 1920s. about the Serapion brothers.