The Past Affairs

In the spring of 1884, the dark, heavy ice melted from the Neva late. The damp, raw wind began to wash up grotesque, swollen corpses along the shores and shallows. This time there were simply an abominable number of them.... However, the police of St. Petersburg quickly and without a shadow of a doubt found explanations: accidental drownings, intoxication, or unconsciousness. Accidents, what can you do... The Deputy Director of the Police Department, Pavel Afanasievich Blagovo, disagrees with the official viewpoint. Together with Alexei Lykov, he seeks permission for a re-examination of the body of a certain innkeeper from Ostashkov, who allegedly fell into the river in a drunken state. The results of the analysis of the water in the deceased's lungs shock Blagovo... The book consists of five novellas that return the reader to the times of the young Lykov and the still-living Blagovo.