The literary fame of Sergei Dovlatov has a short history: for many years he could not reach the reader with his funny and sad works that violate all the laws of socialist realism. The publication of Dovlatov’s first books in Russia coincided with the untimely death of their author in distant New York. Today, his work has not only won the love of millions of readers, but also attracts the attention of literary scholars who appreciate his refined style, conciseness, and depth of understanding of life with outward simplicity .The first biography of Dovlatov in the “ZhZL” series was written by his longtime acquaintance, the famous St. Petersburg writer Valery Popov. Combining personal impressions with the memories of Dovlatov’s relatives and friends, he truthfully recreates the difficult life path of his hero, the history of the creation of his works, his relationships with his contemporaries, many of which, having changed beyond recognition, became characters in his books.