Lazarus is one of Andreyev's best known stories, about a man who comes back from the dead after three days to reveal his experiences and "evil peculiarities." "Wisdom and folly are the same, for the Infinite knows them not."

Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (1871 – 12 September 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian literature. He is one of the most talented and prolific representatives of the Silver Age period. Andreyev's style combines elements of realist, naturalist, and symbolist schools in literature.