The Heart of the Parma

The 15th century AD, almost seven thousand years since the Creation of the World… The Grand Duchy of Moscow, growing stronger, is eyeing the wealth of its neighbors, both near and far. Rus is slowly advancing towards the Urals. And in the Urals – there are not wild tribes, in the Urals – there are forest pagan principalities, an ancient taiga world, wonderful and terrifying for outsiders. Here, they do not believe in the salvation of the righteous soul; here, they pray to the harsh gods of fate. Will the Orthodox cross conquer the forest evil of the eternal Parma – the coniferous ocean? Will this gloomy universe be subdued by the stranger Jesus Christ? Will the local inhabitants become Russians? And will the Russians become locals?
Alexei Ivanov's novel "The Heart of the Parma" is about how people and nations, finding their homeland, find their fate.