This novel can rightly be called a saga about the Chechen war. Dozens of destinies ground in its millstones shock with their stellar brightness, sincerity and exhaustive plausibility. This is a novel about those who, with a bitter wheeze, pulled federal troops out of the shame of their first defeats and raised them to brilliant victories. This is a novel about those who daily watered the land of Chechnya with their blood; who, without distinguishing ranks, departments and branches of the military, called each other brothers; who shared cartridges and bread with each other. This saga is about those who cursed at “stupid warriors” and “fucking cops”, but immediately climbed into the fire to snatch them from the teeth of death...