“Army of Life” is a collection of texts by journalist and public figure Yuri Shchekochikhin. The main themes of the book are the problems of teenagers in the eighties, misunderstanding between the older and younger generations, the turning points of the last decade of the Soviet Union and their impact on young people. 20 years ago, these texts were an analysis of current problems, but today we read them as a monument of the era, showing the origins of social drama, which took on a catastrophic scale in the nineties and the results of which we observe to this day. In addition to articles, the book includes three plays written by the author in 80s and also dedicated to the problems of youth - “Between Heaven and Earth”, “Selling Antique Furniture”, “Trap 46 Height 2”. The first two plays are little known, were almost never staged and were never published. “The Trap...” was a success for a long time at RAMT, and in 1988, the play was adapted into the film “My Name is Harlequin,” which later became a cult film.