PEOPLE

— Sveta, how can you say such things? — Raisa Danilovna’s voice, which after seven days of being a guest had taken on a bitter mix of condescension and

“Semyon, just hang in there a little longer. I’ll be free soon,” Vasily Andreyevich said softly into the phone, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

The frosty air stung his face like needles, but Igor didn’t feel the cold. Inside him, everything was frozen — his heart had turned into an icy lump, colder

Oleg Petrovich was a well-known man. Not famous, of course, but recognizable: a regular guy who owned a restaurant downtown and drove a ten-year-old Mercedes

After twenty years of impeccable service in the army, Alexey Samoylov returned to civilian life. Demobilization was not just a change from military uniform

Several weeks of agonizing waiting had passed. Boris Petrovich lay in intensive care—his life hanging by a thread, like a bird unsure whether to take flight

“Where are you going at this hour?” came Nadia’s sharp voice from the kitchen. “Like you’re going to some cacophony parade!” From the doorway came the

Almost right at the entrance to the restaurant, a quarrel nearly broke out between Alisa and Pavel. She understood perfectly well — this conversation had

A draft pierced through the empty waiting hall of the provincial train station. Irina wrapped her four-year-old daughter more tightly in a scarf.

“Vera, our family mortgage got approved!” Dima literally burst into the house, his eyes shining as if he had just won the jackpot. “