We can always rely on Louis C.K. for an unsentimental story about his misguided youth. Turns out the same guy who once spent his last $1,400 on a trumpet he couldn't play also booked a solo trip to the newly independent Russia when he was just 25. He told the tale last night at Capitale in Manhattan during the superhero-themed Moth Ball literary event, where Louis popped in to accept an award before heading back uptown to help write this weekend's Saturday Night Live season finale, which he will host.

In 1994, two years into his stint writing pearl necklace jokes at Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Louis got a bad case of burnout and thought he was headed for a nervous breakdown. When he tried to quit the show, the head writer offered him two weeks paid leave instead. Flush with TV cash, instead of crashing at a beach resort, Louis decided to spend his downtime in the least relaxing way possible—alone in Russia. (His very Louis C.K. explanation: "When I was a kid, I used to read Russian novels and I would open all the windows so I would be cold.") Regret hit him before his plane even landed in Moscow. Watch the clip above to hear the rest, which involves a gang of child street urchins. No wonder the man has nightmares.

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