The Russian Club

At the beginning of perestroika, a bold young man launches his own business. Growth follows, but at every step he is met by bandit extortion, other people’s envy, betrayal, and decisions on which everything depends.

In front of the reader is a vivid, hard-hitting account of a time when the rules were being changed on the go. In the best traditions of satirical prose, behind the mask of a fictional city, the real one comes through, and characters with distinctive names point to real people of the era.

The hero rapidly becomes a prominent figure in a provincial region, but success brings tests as well. How do you fend off criminal pressure? Whom among your circle can you trust? How do you protect your loved ones? What to expect from the authorities? And how do you keep both the company and yourself intact amid the swirl of change?

This book is about strange turns of fate in harsh years, about the cost of risk and the inevitable losses, about instinct and the courage of choice. The author’s perspective—wise, with a slightly narrowed, knowing gaze—illuminates details that previously preferred to stay unspoken. Read the novel, and the era will become more three-dimensional for you.