The Darkest Hour

1919, Solnechnomorsk. Talented adventurers have become too unexpected: now they are wanted by the Russian and Turkish police. They go to the south of Russia to take possession of the golden scepter of Count Rumyantsev. In pursuit of a precious little thing, terrorists, circus performers and even participating ladies can dress up as them. Meanwhile, Ostap’s mother is approaching the paws of the gloomy Satanist Crowley, in whose treasury, by a mysterious coincidence, there is also a scepter ...

The parents send the student Stepa to the village for summer holidays to his grandmother — as punishment. Here he is forced to abandon modern technological benefits and live by the rules of the village. Running away from local teenagers once again, Stepa tries to hide in a well, but falls into it. When he gets out, he realizes that he has found himself in a real Cossack village of the 17th century. At the most important historical moment of our country. By the will of fate, Stepa will learn a lot from her distant ancestors, find real friends and learn in practice the history lesson that was filled up at school.

The hunt for imperial gold continues. A priceless scepter, a treasure that could secure a worry-free life in sunny Rio de Janeiro for Ibrahim Bender and his young apprentice Ostap, has slipped from under their noses and ended up in possession of Nestor Makhno, an anarchist army commander. Makhno is convinced that the scepter is one of many imperial relics hidden in the area. With mafia, partisans, and officers of the Red and White armies all determined to get their hands on the fabled gold cache, Ostap and his mentor Ibrahim must surpass their own brilliance to outmaneuver their rivals and snatch the prize. And with Ostap’s beloved fair maiden losing her trust in him, he must do everything in his power to win her back and stop her from marrying another man.

The history of the formation of the personality of the Catherine the Great from the moment of her arrival in Russia as the bride of Grand Duke Peter Fyodorovich to her ascension to the Russian throne. Almost 20 years of palace intrigues, conspiracies, power struggles and personal dramas.

Russian Empire, 1919. By a twist of fate, young idealist Osip Zadunaisky meets an infamous con artist and self-proclaimed Turkish subject Ibrahim Bender. A man of pure thought and aristocratic upbringing, Osip would never have associated with a cunning and unscrupulous swindler, but Bender comes up with an offer Osip cannot refuse. A precious royal relic, a diamond-encrusted golden scepter is hidden somewhere in town; Bender needs a partner on his mission to find it, and offers Osip a share of the profit from selling the treasure. And so begins their joint venture, wrought with comical and dangerous twists and turns, where they have to outsmart and outmaneuver officers of the White Guard as well as the local mafia, who also have their eyes on the scepter. As their quest unfolds, Osip is compelled to learn Bender’s tricks of the trade: charming flattery, delicate deception, soft intimidation... as well as brute force.

Ivan Demarin, a young officer of Peter the First’s new guards, follows the Tsar’s order and goes to the frontier town of Tobolsk, deep in the Siberian forest. There Ivan falls in love for the first time and he and his regiment happen to be involved in conspiracy of local princes who hunt for gold in the town of Yarkand. His fort is surrounded by hordes of wild Dzungars and there is no one to call for help…

Two escaped convicts pose as children's summer camp staff in order to evade capture and learn about caring for others in the process. Sumrak has been in prison since he was 16 years old but is pushing thirty now, is well acquainted with prison gang culture and covered with tattoos. Evgeni Koltsov is a former police officer unjustly imprisoned and destined for a death sentence from the other inmates if he stays in prison.

MUR's investigator, Colonel Alexander Khlystov, receives an old photograph in the mail: it shows Yesenin, who has just been taken out of the loop. According to the rules, the investigator must give the case a legal course.

Once made a choice between duty and feeling. After a year, Zhenya cannot decide what is right - to be honest for love or happy with calculations? Santa Claus gives him a very unusual Soviet lawsuit to look at the snow and make a wish. He does not exactly perform, but under one condition.

Ivan Demarin, a young officer of Peter the Great's new guard, is sent by the tsar to the depths of Siberia — the border town of Tobolsk. Here, Ivan, along with his regiment, finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy of local princes hunting for the gold of Yarkand. Meanwhile, the fortress is surrounded by hordes of wild jungars, and there is nowhere to look for help.

Vladivostok, 1920. To survive in the whirlwind of the civil war, boys from different worlds, a simple boy Ilya, raised by an officer of the Japanese garrison, and cadet Arkady, the son of a White Guard colonel, pose as brothers. But it is by no means a brotherly feeling that will help them find their way into the 1920s and 1930s, full of hopes, gains and disappointments. First, both will fall in love with Zhenya, the daughter of the red commander, and later, as once, they will find themselves on opposite sides of the barricades: Arkady will make a deal with the Nazis, and Ilya will fight the Germans, even being in a concentration camp…