День смеха (Den Smekha) - Dostoevsky and Nekrasov's 'Pervoe aprelya'

APR 01 1846

Russia's 1 April is known as День смеха (Den Smekha, 'Day of Laughter') or День дурака. Its literary landmark is the comic almanac 'Первое апреля' ('First of April'), published on 1 April 1846 by Nikolai Nekrasov, containing the satirical story 'How Dangerous It Is to Indulge in Ambitious Dreams' co-written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nekrasov and Dmitry Grigorovich. NOTE: the widely repeated claim that Peter the Great instituted the day is not reliably sourced and is omitted.