The Brigade. Once Upon a Time in Russia… The Story Behind the Cult TV Series

To mark the anniversary of the iconic TV series about true friendship in difficult times!

No matter how many times we rewatch “The Brigade,” each time the series opens for us from a new angle. As a lyrical story of several guys who, once they turned the wrong way, decided not to stop and to push ahead without end. As a sensual melodramatic saga about complex and fragile relationships born between opposites. As a reconstructed chronicle that records not only landmark dates and resonant events, but also the range of public moods. That “Brigade” we return to—a careful and sensitive portrait of a completely different Moscow, the Moscow of a foggy, autumn childhood of an entire generation. A slightly phantom, fantastical city at the border where documentary truth meets fiction.

If “The Brigade” was a snapshot of its time, then this book is an attempt to look at the 1990s and the 2000s from a great distance and understand something not only about the heroes of the series, but also about ourselves. Why do we remember the series as a beautiful saga of love and friendship, not a sad story of a lost generation and a hard period in the country? Why does the series remain popular among the younger generation after all these years? And what was “The Brigade” supposed to be about in reality?

You’ll find all the answers in this book! Exclusive interviews with the actors and the show’s production team, and photographs from the personal archives of the producers—telling how the story of four friends that became iconic was actually created.