The lecture will help to look at the satire of Saltykov-Shchedrin in a new way - not as light wit, but as a bitter and precise conversation about human weaknesses and social habits. Listeners will learn what the writer laughed at, how his jokes were perceived by his contemporaries, and why they still resonate today. The satire of Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin rarely boils down to cheerful mockery. Behind his external sharpness, there is almost always a troubling observation of society, the individual, and the structure of power. The meeting will allow us to consider his humor as a complex literary tool - sharp, bitter, sometimes merciless. The conversation will revolve around what, how, and why the writer laughed. Listeners will analyze how his satire differed from the usual understanding of the comic and why laughter in his work often coexists with irritation, pain, and a sense of hopelessness. The lecturer is Anastasia Pershkina, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor at the School of Philological Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, HSE.