In the thriller novel “Beyond Them Live the Dragons” by Vasily Vedeneyev, objective processes of the development of organized crime are depicted. Ruthless clashes between domestic mafia clans for the right to dominate the shadow market, flourishing corruption, attempts by poorly equipped police to withstand the ever-growing onslaught of crime, a real reflection of modern life with all its problems—“commanders” and “soldiers” of our mafia—everything is present in the novel.