The book by Pavel Viskovaty (aka Viskovaty), published in 1891, is the first full-fledged biography of Lermontov, a classic work equated to the original source: it was written mainly on the basis of testimonies of people who personally knew the poet and were interviewed by Viskovaty. With this biography, the author completed the first Complete Works of the poet prepared by him, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of his death. Recalling the work done, Viskovaty wrote: “Carefully following the slightest notice or hint about any written materials or persons who could provide information about the poet, I not only entered into an extensive correspondence, but also made many trips. The material turned out to be scattered from the banks of the Volga to Western Europe, from St. Petersburg to the Caucasus...” (from the ZAKHAROV publishing house)