The novel “Hard Years” describes the vicissitudes of the life of an ordinary Russian family during perestroika and the hard times of the 90s. This is a story about how political events developed in the country, and how the shocks of this time, especially the shooting of parliament in 1993, affected the fate of ordinary people, citizens of Russia. This novel can be compared with the famous works “Walking Through Torment” and “Quiet Don”, dedicated to the tragic revolutionary events that rolled like a heavy roller through the destinies of ordinary people, residents of the country.