The films of the leading Soviet comedian Leonid Gaidai are a significant part of the cultural baggage of the entire late Soviet and large part of post-Soviet societies. This is why it is so difficult to approach the film director’s work analytically: the popular love that gave Gaidai’s films cult status and squandered his characters’ lines into quotes for a long time prevented us from appreciating the originality of the author’s film language. The collection, dedicated to the director’s 100th birthday, is the first attempt at a scientific approach to his legacy. Articles by Elena and Alexander Prokhorov, Mark Lipovetsky, Maria Mayofis, Ilya Kukulin and other famous cultural researchers reveal unexpected sides of Gaidai’s film dramaturgy: from satire on the foundations of Soviet society to the psychological motivations of the characters, from the unfunny origins of the funniest Soviet director to late creative stagnation. The authors read and comment on Gaidai’s legacy, turning to cultural reference points and the relevant context for his evolution of the post-war, thaw, and then perestroika years. The afterword to the collection contains an essay by Gaidai’s famous colleague, director Yevgeny Tsymbal.