Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer. He is one of the most talented and prolific representatives of the Silver Age period in Russian history. Andreyev's style combines elements of realist, naturalist and symbolist schools in literature. Andreyev's first collection of short stories and short novels appeared in 1901, quickly selling a quarter-million copies and making him a literary star in Russia. In 1901 he published "?????" ("The Wall"), 1902, he published "? ??????" ("In the Fog") and "??????" ("The Abyss,") which was a response to "The Kreutzer Sonata" by Leo Tolstoy.

These last two stories caused great commotion because of their candid and audacious treatment of sex. In the years between 1898 and 1905 Andreyev published numerous short stories on many subjects, including life in Russian provincial settings, court and prison incidents (where he drew on material from his professional life), and medical settings. His particular interest in psychology and psychiatry gave him an opportunity to explore insights into the human psyche and to depict memorable personalities who later became classic characters of Russian literature ("Thought" 1902).