The relationship with Kuzmin was not easy as the poet writes in his diary dated 27 May 1913: "I love him very much, but his obstinacy and hooliganism will destroy him, no doubt about it".

[6] Yurkun belonged to the "emotionalist" literary group, and was acquainted with poets like Anna Akhmatova, Alexander Blok, Osip Mandelstam, among others.

While in St. Petersburg, Yurkun published Swedish Gloves, Bad Company, and other short stories, plays, and poems.

[4] In December 1920, Yurkun met his future wife, Olga Gildebrandt Arbenina, a young actress using the stage name of her father, Arbenin.

[4] In 1931 the Soviet secret police searched their apartment and confiscated Yurkun's manuscripts, forcing him to sign an agreement to cooperate.