The novel “Russian Cross” is a “saga about a generation”, about those whose youth coincided with a serene period of stagnation, and who suffered the main blow in the 90s, which required “choosing a path”, “reshaping” the worldview, creating a new pictures of the world. An intimate diary, covering a large-scale period of the late 20th - early 21st centuries, reveals the twists and turns of the destinies of several school friends in the context of historical events. The first book of the novel is “Paradise Lost” about the youth of the main characters. Four bosom school friends are high school students who have to leave their native village to find their way in life... In the fate of each of us there is our own lost paradise - this is our youth, this is the place where we were born, this is a great country in which we all once lived... If we leave aside the social aspects, then it is impossible not to note that this book is about love, perhaps about love in the first place.