Venedikt Erofeev is probably the most popular underground prose writer. His novel “Moskva-Petushki” in the years 1970-1973 has circulated all around Russia (naturally, in “samizdat”). Erofeev is 36 years old. “Moskva-Petushki” is his first novel. The narrator in the novel is an alcoholic, lumpen, ex crew chief of ironworkers, riding a suburban train, constantly drinking. The novel can be read in an issue of the journal “AMI,” which is published in Israel. The general tone and color of the novel, the dark plague-stricken world of the alcoholic protagonist, all of this brings Erofeev’s novel close to Platonov’s “Kotlovan.” Erofeev has authored one more novel, titled “Shostakovich”, literary articles; very interesting and indicative of the underground prose is his essay about V. Rozanov, printed in the magazine “Veche.”