About the book: 2007 / Evgeny Lvovich Voyskunsky was born in 1922 in Baku. Graduated from the Literary Institute named after. A. M. Gorky. Lives in Moscow. Born of the “thaw” of the 60s, the fantastic works of E. Voiskunsky and his co-author I. Lukodyanov entered the golden fund of Russian science fiction. In the 80s, Voyskunsky said goodbye to this genre. A veteran of the Great Patriotic War, he writes novels about the life of his generation. One of the oldest Russian writers in his new novel turns to a dramatic time in the history of Russia - the years of perestroika. His heroes, former front-line soldiers, miraculously surviving paratroopers of the marine battalion that died near Narva in 1944, understand and accept changes in the life of their country differently. If one of them sees the future of Russia in renewal and cleansing from the lies and terror of the previous regime, then the other yearns not for freedom, but for a strong hand and goes to rallies of newly-minted Russian fascists. This multifaceted, long-breathing novel, written in the traditions of classical Russian literature, is read with unflagging interest in the fates of the main characters and their families until the very last page. In February 1944, a landing battalion of marines died near Narva. The novel centers on the fate of two surviving paratroopers living in Leningrad. People who have been deeply beaten by life, they have different attitudes towards the dramatic events in Russia during perestroika. If one of them welcomes liberation from lies and terror, then the second yearns not for freedom, but for a strong hand and goes to Rumyantsevsky Square to rallies of newly-minted Russian fascists. The children of the main characters are also divided - some, albeit with difficulty, integrate into “market” life, others blame people of a different nationality for their failures and go to the same Rumyantsevsky Square…