Vladimir Smirnov

Tenth-grader Nikolai Olkhovnikov from the provincial town of Olkhovka wrote a heartfelt protest to the newspaper, accusing the "town fathers" of unjust actions. The boy became an outcast in town, but no matter how much his few friends and old teacher tried to warn him, he did not retract his words. And some time later, a letter arrived in the same newspaper with a report of Nikolai's death during a fight with rowdy boys who decided to teach the young truth-seeker a lesson.

Ivan Miroshnikov, a cheeky young man in the Gorbachev era, is trying to figure out what to do with his life (he's not in college, and the 2-year mandatory military service is looming large ahead of him). Meanwhile, he lives with his divorced mother, and works as a courier at a Russian newspaper. Through his job, he meets patronizing Professor Kuznetzov and his rebellious daughter Katya. To annoy the professor, Ivan claims to have an affair with Katya. To his surprise, Katya backs his story up.

Rookie Alexey Gavrilov ends up in a unit where hazing reigns. He resists as much as he can to the three "grandfathers" who, on the eve of demobilization, decide to recoup as much as possible on the "turtles" for past humiliations. He soon finds a like-minded person. Unable to break the will of the obstinate, the "grandfathers" carry out a vile provocation, and then Alexei decides to take a desperate step.