Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (1871 - 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian literature. He is one of the most talented and prolific representatives of the Silver Age period. Andreyevs style combines elements of realist, naturalist, and symbolist schools in literature. Andreyevs 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), and in 1902, ? ?????? (In the Fog) and ?????? (The Abyss,) which was a response to The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy.