Fiodor Smirnov first made a living as a shepherd, later he became an unqualified worker. At the age of thirty-six, suffering from encephalitis, he was officially declared handicapped and had to retire. Following his megalomaniac behaviour and delirious speech, he was confined to the mental hospital of Yaroslav. He was forty-two years old. There, he identified with God. He also claimed to have been dead and revived several times, to have lived on the Earth for several thousands years and fathered a multitude of children. He declared himself a poet, a philosopher, a composer and the creator of new science - "worldology" - which was supposed to bring happiness and peace to humanity. He is the author of numerous writings and important graphic work.

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Decharme, Bruno, ed. Alexandre Lobanov et L’Art brut en Russie. Paris : abcd, 2003.