Andrei Platonov's story "The Pit" is one of the most unusual events in Russian literature - almost journalistically saturated with the realities of the time and is a vivid documentary source of the dramatic Russian history of the 20th century. The guide to “Kotlovan” in an accessible, fascinating form tells about the factual basis of this complex allegorical work; about the philosophical subtext of the story, about the literary parallels of its plot, composition and images. For teachers of schools, lyceums and gymnasiums; students, high school students, applicants, philologists and a wide range of readers.SummaryThe School for Thoughtful Reading SeriesN. I. Duzhina.A Guide to A. P. Platonov’s Story ‘The Foundation Pit’ (Kotlovan): a manual. Moscow: Moscow University Press, 2010. Andrey Platonov's story 'Kotlovan' (The Foundation Pit) - one of the most unusual events in Russian literature - is almost journalistically saturated with reality of the time and constitutes a vivid documentary source of dramatic 20th century Russian history. In a stimulating and accessible style the guide to ‘Kotlovan’ tells the readers about the factual basis of this complex parable-like work; about the philosophical implications of the story, about the literary parallels with its plot, structure and images.For teachers of schools, lyceums and gymnasia, students of higher educational establishments, high school pupils, school-leavers taking university entrance exams, philologists specializing in literary studies and the general reading public.