Leonid Andreyev (1871-1919) has a special place in Russian literature. Labeled by many as the father of Russian expressionism, Andreyev's style is rich and diverse, blending literary traits from the schools of Symbolism, Naturalism, and Realism. The writer's fame is mostly felt in his translations of H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, and through his stories, written in the vein of Edgar Allan Poe. His works, often haunting, dark, and controversial, reaching for the fantastic and the grotesque, include two novels, five novellas, and a number of short stories. The most well-known of them include the story "The Seven Who Were Hanged", the play "Tsar Hunger", and his novel "Sashka Zhegulev".