.T.

«T» — a novel by the writer during the era of Brezhnev, Gorbachev, and Putin. The novel tells about the journey of the martial arts master Count T. It likely refers to Leo Tolstoy, who fled from his home to... escape the tsar's secret police and, with an unknown purpose, makes his way to Optina Pustyn, which in the context of this novel takes on features not of a famous abode of Orthodoxy, but either of some Shambhala or an unclear place of spiritual enlightenment existing in the real world. Later, «optina» transforms into «Solovyov», and everything becomes even more unclear and tangled. On the way to Optina Pustyn, Count T. meets the Kabbalistic being Ariel. Ariel, along with five literary figures, invents and writes a story about Count T., which Ariel shares with the Count. However, T. does not really like being subordinate to some dubious five types. Therefore, he tries to seize the initiative from them and become the author himself. Viktor Pelevin's novel became a finalist in the national literary prize «Big Book» contest, ultimately placing third, while in the public voting it took first place. It is being reissued in the series «People's Collection of Works by Viktor Pelevin», which has gained cult status and become a bibliophile rarity over the past ten years.