The book contains a study of the circumstances of V. Mayakovsky's suicide, based on both reliable historical evidence and tendentious materials from the 1950-1980s. A special place is occupied by the analysis of texts on this topic by L. Brik, B. Pasternak, M. Prishvin, V. Shklovsky, R. Yakobson. Leonid Fridovich Katsis - Doctor of Philology, Professor at the Institute of Philology and History of the Russian State University for the Humanities. Author of the books “Vladimir Mayakovsky. The poet in the intellectual context of the era" (2000, 2004), "Change of paradigms and change of Paradigm. Essays on Russian culture, science and literature of the twentieth century" (2012), etc. The book is intended for a wide range of readers interested in the history of Russian literature and culture of the twentieth century.