A book about the most notorious criminal cases of the Soviet era. Many materials have not been previously published and were first released from the archives personally to the author. Thanks to access to these documents and communication with eyewitnesses, Eva Merkacheva was able to restore pictures of the trials of the last person executed in the USSR - the maniac Fischer, of the only child executed in Soviet times, Arkady Neyland, of the executioner Antonina Makarova, nicknamed Tonka the Machine Gunner, of Berta Borodkina, who covered tables for Leonid Brezhnev himself - the only one sentenced to capital punishment on an economic charge. Making a bridge to the past is not only interesting and informative, but also useful for understanding the processes that are taking place in judicial practice today. Each chapter is accompanied by archival illustrations from criminal cases and court materials - they give the reader the opportunity to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the events described and see with their own eyes the original interrogation protocols, handwritten sentences, certificates of execution of the death penalty and what the case volumes, victims, criminals and crime scenes. The book ends with the only pre-Soviet case of the “queen of the world of thieves” Sonya Zolotaya Ruchka, from which the author’s interest in the topic of forensic investigations began. This book does not give a direct answer to the question of why this or that person becomes an adventurer, a swindler, a villain. However, it contains vivid historical examples that caused a stir in their time and still continue to excite minds, showing us all possible facets of human essence. Features Unique photos from court archives, documentary illustrations, many of which are published for the first time. The book was prepared with the support of the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.