These tales were the first prosaic works by Alexander Pushkin (1799 -1837), published in 1831 in Tsarskoye Selo by the invented name of the retired officer, who after the retirement led the modest life of a village landowner. In the foreword to the tales Pushkin described the way, by which he managed to present them to the reader. He got them, as if by the permission of I. P. Belkin's close friend and neighbor, who had saved them after Belkin's death. The invented storyteller wrote them in his estate. Different episodes from the life of the people, living in this place and told the author by them, served him as the sources of the stories. Pushkin used the names of some villages, both real and invented. The storyteller described the life of simple people, both local peasants and landowners, their love affairs, the way of life, relations between the parents and children. The tales are interesting by their plots, sometimes intricate, but always captivating. In the story "The gentle peasant girl" the reader admires the lively character and humor of the heroine. In the story "The snowstorm" we learn what fatal role in the fates of the main heroes this event of nature had played. The story "The shot" describes the episode from the life of young officers in one of the regiments of Russia. The author touches upon such notions, as the officers' honor, courage and dignity. In the last tale Ivan Petrovich tells the author the story of his friend's misfortune, caused by the travelling philanderer's temptation of his daughter.