Czech humorist Jaroslav Hašek (1883–1923) gained widespread recognition primarily for his novel 'The Good Soldier Švejk', which has been translated into approximately 60 languages and has become a classic, especially in the USSR.
In 1915, Hašek was captured on the Russian front and enlisted to serve in the voluntary Czechoslovak Legions, established in Russia to resist Austria-Hungary. He wrote firsthand accounts from the army for various magazines and newspapers, as well as feuilletons and articles in Russian. Hašek actively participated in the organization of international units within the Red Army and even engaged in combat operations, including those in Siberia. 'The Good Soldier Švejk' was written between 1921 and 1923 after his return from Russia. The first Russian edition of Hašek's book, 'The Good Soldier Švejk', was published in 1926.
In the same year, two editions of Hašek's stories titled 'Confession of an Old Bachelor' were published, one in Moscow and the other in Riga. The Moscow edition was prepared by Mikhail Skachkov (1896–1937), a poet and critic. He returned to the Soviet Union in 1926 after living in emigration in Prague and served at the International Association of Revolutionary Writers. Skachkov was arrested in 1933 and subsequently executed in 1937. His translation was republished in Riga without the translator's name, essentially as a pirate edition. This edition comprises 25 stories.

OCLC locates one copy of this edition only: in the University of Iowa Library.