The Gold of the Riot

The novel is set in the Urals at the end of the eighteenth century, four years after the defeat of Pugachev’s uprising. The hero, a young metalworker named Ostaфiy Pереход, must solve the riddle of his father’s death in order to wash the stain of disgrace from the family name. An exciting detective plot immerses the reader in the mysterious and mesmerizing world of the Chusovaya River. Here, barges of iron rush swiftly downstream past deadly, battle-scarred cliffs. Here, the power of merchants and factory owners is nothing compared to the might of the elders—teachers of faith—who rule the river from secret schismatic monasteries. Even those who wear the Orthodox cross sincerely believe in the power of the Vogul shamans. Here, in the earth, lies Pugachev’s treasure—gold of rebellion, a cache that for four years has refused to yield either to shamans or to wandering outcasts…