Aleksandr Novikov

1722. Peter I issues an edict, stating that everyone who finds in Russian lands mineral wealth, and provide its precise map will be generously remunerated and will rid him/herself of serfdom. This decree works up the whole Russia. Serfs and all kinds of prospectors rush to Siberia to earn freedom. So does a serf Michael Volkov, but cant find anything. Especially he wishes to find a golden mountain, which, by all accounts, contains the wealthiest entrails of combustible stone - bituminous coal. His road leads him to one German geologist, whom tsar hired to research Siberias natural resources. And Michaels dream starts coming true. But he doesnt know, that his small detachment got a spy in the face of a local money-bags. As soon as he finds minerals, he will have to kill Mikhail

A mother and daughter were brutally murdered in their apartment on Saturday morning. The killer treated the latter cruelly — her face was disfigured beyond recognition. The missing item — an ancient cross with black pearls — was found at one of the acquaintances of the murdered woman. He was hastily tried and sentenced to capital punishment...

On the eve of the Day of the Dead, among mysterious old rituals of the Vilnius region, ghosts of the past and present start to appear.

An average soldier is caught up in the cogs of an inhuman war machine during the First World War.

During a nationwide moral panic caused by a recent spike in teenage suicides two federal investigators are sent to a small Russian town to review a cold case involving a suspicious death of a schoolgirl. Initially seeing their task as a mere PR stunt both gradually start to loose their focus as they venture deeper into the paranoid world of conspiracy theories surrounding the case.

Young lieutenant arrives to tank regiment stationed in the Central Asia. He uses unusual for Soviet Army methods to train his soldiers. It predictably leads to tensions with superiors and subordinates. However later it pays back during live exercises.

In Soviet Union young Misha is dreaming to see USA, but it seems highly unlikely...

Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov plans to buy the titles to “dead souls” and use them as collateral to obtain a large loan. He comes to a small provincial town and begins to proposition the local landowners. These landowners are revealed to be so petty and avaricious that not even Chichikov’s amazing offer can be worked to his advantage on them. Some stall, some refuse for no obvious reasons, some promise and then renege, and others want “in on the deal.” In the end, Chichikov, having concluded that the landowners are a hopeless lot, leaves for other regions.