Elena Antipova

Europe, 1709. Russia and Sweden are at war. Two French duelists are exiled by King Louis XIV of France: one to the side of Czar Peter the Great of Russia, the other to the side of King Charles XII of Sweden. Although separated by war and allegiance, fate has not finished with them.

Nadya Klyueva is a single woman. Persuaded by her friend, she decides to charm her co-worker whom she doesn't really love, but who is the most popular man around.

Based on the novel by Booker Prize Winner Ludmila Ulitskaya, The Funeral Party is set in August 1991. In a sweltering New York City apartment, a group of Russian émigrés gathers round the deathbed of an artist named Alik, a charismatic character beloved by them all, especially the women who take turns nursing him as he fades from this world. Their reminiscences of the dying man and of their lives in Russia are punctuated by debates and squabbles: Whom did Alik love most? Should he be baptized before he dies, as his alcoholic wife, Nina, desperately wishes, or be reconciled to the faith of his birth by a rabbi who happens to be on hand? And what will be the meaning for them of the Yeltsin putsch, which is happening across the world in their long-lost Moscow but also right before their eyes on CNN?

Nadia made her choice all her life with an eye to pleasing the environment, and by the age of 45 she was at an impasse. On the one hand, she has everything that many do not have - a family, work at the university, status. On the other hand, she does not feel that she is living her own life. But violence against one's inner world cannot go on forever. After her husband's betrayal, Nadya realizes that she cannot continue to live like this. At this moment, her niece Alena, who is fond of stand-up, moves into her apartment and encourages her aunt to change. Gradually finding harmony with herself, Nadia begins to change for the better. But will Nadia be able to defend her right to be herself - to dress the way she wants, do what she loves and meet a young guy - when relatives, friends and colleagues believe that she violates social norms and do everything to prevent this from happening?

A convict named Valiko, a Georgian by nationality, accidentally took part in a prison escape. But local villagers mistake him for a new Franch teacher and employ him in their local school.

They didn't know each other existed. But the meeting in the rural backwoods to lake forest turned the rest of their lives. Now they can't live without each other. Clean and clear water of the lake and purified the body and soul... And what could be nicer to a hot summer day to swim in the refreshing waters of the natural lake