[1] Born to the family of a landed gentry in the Ryazan Governorate, he started his literary career in the late 1880s, contributing mainly to the magazines of humour and satire, like Shut (Jester), Strekoza and Nablyudatel.

Later his stories, poems and plays started to appear in The Artist, Russkaya Mysl and Teatral.

His play Rasplata (Price to Pay) received the Griboyedov Prize in 1893 and was successfully staged at the Maly Theatre in Moscow.

His 1894 comedy V razluke (Apart) was lauded by Anton Chekhov who expressed his delight in a personal letter.

His popular work of the early 1900s include Putyom-dorogoiu (Путем-дорогою, On the Road, 1902, short story collection), Svobodny khudozhnik (Свободный художник, Free Artist, 1903, comedy) and Sredi polei (Среди полей, In the Fields, 1905, short stories for children).