In the early 1920s, the poet and prose writer Konstantin Vaginov was a member of Gumilev’s ‘Guild of Poets,’ followed by stints in the literary groups ‘The Islanders’ and ‘The Ring of Poets,’ and eventually the poetry section of OBERIU. He authored four books of remarkable poetry and four novels; the first of these—*Goat Song*—earned Vaginov a reputation as a subtle, witty, and highly distinctive writer. *Goat Song* (the literal Greek translation of the word ‘tragedy’) was published in 1927. It is a multi-layered novel, rich in irony and lyricism, in which the characters inhabit the opulent setting of the former imperial capital, constantly caught in the clash between high spirituality and the abyss of the mundane.