Abstract
This paper highlights the way in which biographies (as well as autobiographies, diaries, official documents, etc.) play an important role in reconstructing in the most authentic and reliable way the biography of the writer during the ‘anthropological turn’ caused by the October Revolution and until the 1930s. False myths are proven wrong by such documents, which reveal instead the real reasons behind some of the choices made by these writers. The author takes into consideration archives and other biographical materials related to Mikhail Bulgakov, Iurii Olesha and other writers. Her study gives the idea that the ‘biographical landscape’ has changed. It now shows a clear divide: personal documents reveal a different reality from that recounted by official documents.