Likhachev, D. S., Panchenko, A. M. "The World of Laughter" in Ancient Rus' (Smekhovoy mir Drevney Rusi), 1976. In Russian.

Лихачев Д. С., Панченко А. М. «Смеховой мир» Древней Руси. / Серия: Из истории мировой культуры.
Ленинград : Наука. Ленинградское отделение, 1976.
204 с., 3 л. ил. : ил. Твердый издательский переплет, суперобложка, обычный формат (20 см). Тираж 10 000 экз.
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Likhachev, D. S.; Panchenko, A. M. "The World of Laughter" in Ancient Rus' (Smekhovoy mir Drevney Rusi). / Series: From the History of World Culture.
Leningrad : Nauka. Leningrad Branch, 1976.
204 pp., 3 leaves of ill. : ill. Hardcover, dust jacket, standard format (20 cm). Print run: 10,000 copies. In Russian.

This 1976 first edition is a seminal work in the study of medieval Slavic culture, written by two of the most eminent scholars of the 20th century: Dmitry Likhachev and Alexander Panchenko. Published as part of the prestigious academic series "From the History of World Culture", this book fundamentally changed how historians and philologists perceive the social and spiritual life of Ancient Rus'.
The authors explore the phenomenon of "laughter culture"—a complex system of parodies, "anti-behavior," and the subversion of sacred norms that existed alongside the rigid hierarchies of the Middle Ages. Likhachev’s contribution focuses on the "anti-world" of the medieval rioter and the parodic nature of ancient Russian literature, while Panchenko provides a profound analysis of holy foolery (yurodstvo) as a unique form of religious and social protest through laughter.
Drawing parallels with Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of carnival, the authors demonstrate that laughter in Ancient Rus' was not merely entertainment but a vital mechanism for processing social stress and a means of expressing "freedom within unfreedom." The text is supplemented by rare illustrations of medieval miniatures and early woodcuts that visually capture this "topsy-turvy" world.
Despite a relatively modest print run for a Soviet academic book, this first edition is highly prized for its crisp typography and the presence of the original dust jacket, which is often missing from later copies. For historians of the Middle Ages, culturologists, and collectors of Likhachev’s works, this volume remains an essential primary source for understanding the psychological and cultural foundations of the Russian character.