Before you is the debut book of the young Russian writer Igor Boykov. But he is not new to modern literature; his works have already been published in thick literary magazines. This book is a collection of short stories, novellas and short stories, united by one menacing word, like a darkly approaching tornado, the word “Caucasus”. Caucasus, Caucasian themes - today you can often hear that there is a theme, but there is no author who competently reveals the theme (and this despite the fact that many people are now writing about the Caucasus and Chechnya). Author! Author! Where is the author? - the readership asks. Here he is! Here, in front of you. Igor Boykov was born and lived for a long time in an alarming, almost warring Dagestan. These are his native places, and the book conveys a Russian view from the inside. His stories have everything: Chechens, Dagestanis, Russians. The author realistically depicts what you would like to know about the Caucasus. Yes, this stern sketch is sometimes in crimson tones, yes, to many this book may seem overly naturalistic or even cruel. But this is only a mirror reflecting the brutal reality of what is happening. A truly tough, uncompromising and wildly interesting book.