The authors came up with the idea for the collection “The Three” in the spring of 1913, while Elena Genrikhovna Guro was still alive. Originally, this book was intended for her works to be placed alongside those of her friends Velimir Khlebnikov and Aleksey Kruchyonykh. The collection was published after Guro’s death, with a cover and drawings by Kazimir Severinovich Malevich, and was dedicated to her memory.

Three like-minded people — Mikhail Matyushin (Elena Guro’s husband), Aleksey Kruchyonykh and Kazimir Malevich — became inseparable at that time. They spent the summer of 1913 in the village of Uusikirkko in Finland. There was also a meeting held there, which they called the First All-Russian Congress of Futurists. The congress concluded with the publication of a manifesto, announcing the creation of the opera “Victory Over the Sun” as a result of their joint effort.

In addition, the manifesto condemned the traditional “backwardness” of the Russian language, as well as the “artistic impotence”. This work became a call for the revival of poetry and visual arts. “Victory Over the Sun” premiered a little later, in December of 1913.

Inspired by such intentions, the like-minded friends began experimenting and created a series of joint works. Among others, the poetry collection “The Three”, which was compiled from the poems by Khlebnikov, Kruchyonykh and Guro with illustrations by Malevich, deserves special attention.