About the book: year / Memoirs of the American diplomat Charles Thayer (1910–1969), who worked as part of the first US Embassy in Moscow in the 30s of the last century, are published in Russian for the first time. However, individual plots of Thayer's book have long been widely known. They are associated with the holding at the US Embassy in Moscow in 1934–1935. luxurious receptions and the enchanting “Spring Festival”, which served for one of the guests of the embassy - Mikhail Bulgakov - as a prototype of Satan’s ball in the novel “The Master and Margarita”. The organizer of this festival was Thayer. The book “Bears in Caviar” was first published in the USA in 1951. Most of it is devoted to the years spent by the author in Russia (1933–1937, 1940–1942). In addition, the author shares funny memories of his years studying at the Military Academy at West Point, about the dramatic period of his diplomatic service in Nazi Germany in 1937–1940, about the creation of the US Embassy in Afghanistan in 1942–1944, about friendly meetings military leaders of the allied countries in Europe in the victorious year of 1945. Thayer is an attentive observer, a mischievous and enterprising person, and a talented writer. This makes his memoir a fascinating read. It is important for the Russian reader that, although not a fan of Soviet power, Thayer treated our country with great warmth, where he had many friends. This is also why Thayer paid with his career in the United States already in the 50s, during the era of McCarthyism. The Russian edition of the book is accompanied by an introduction written by Charles Thayer’s niece, Avis Bohlen, who worked for many years in the diplomatic service. The publication contains many previously unpublished photographs. The book is intended for the widest circles of readers.