Sergey Zhukovich

Set in 2002, an abandoned 5-year-old boy living in a rundown orphanage in a small Russian village is adopted by an Italian family.

A group of Russian noblemen want to maintain the monarchy and plan to kill Rasputin.

It shows the life of a man who lost his memory after a car accident. It's like a person is being reborn. But the new life does not bring happiness to the hero. Well-mannered, with good manners, he asks his friend, "What kind of person was I?" And gets an answer: "You were a heavy drinker." All the hero's attempts to establish contact with the world around him end in failure, and the final scene is very dramatic.

Fedot the Shooter is sent by the Czar to find some special food for the foreign ambassador's visit. During the hunt Fedot meets his love Marusya - the magical bird-woman. Evil Czar and his no-less-evil sidekick General with the help of the local witch Yaga try to eliminate Fedot by giving him more and more complex quests and to take Marusya to Tsar's palace. Marusya helps Fedot to solve the quests successfully.

The main character is a talented, but timid writer of the Filippok experiencing with his country the difficult years of revolution, devastation and war. Adversity helps him overcome the unrequited and faithful love for the widow of Commissioner Zinochka, who bossily manages his career, not hesitating to start novels with other men. Filippok will describe the story of his life in a book that at the end of days will be presented by a terminally ill, but still dearly beloved wife, with gratitude for the experience.

World War II is raging on the Eastern front but the soldier Nikanor has been sent to Siberia: bot as a prisoner, but as the leader of a motley group of entertainers who travel from village to village giving concerts. Still, Big Brother is watching and when the entertainers encounter a strange man in the woods there is trouble brewing. One of the performers falls in love with the mysterious backwoodsman, but the secret service is after him, too.

The mayor of a village sees her son killed in a gun accident. A successful, dedicated bureuacrat, she must reconcile her desire to build a bridge - and the new housing that will come with it - with the reality of resistance from the townspeople and her own grief.