Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Kalikinsky is a journalist and prose writer, author of historical novels, member of the Union of Writers of Russia. He is widely known for his series of books “Ahasfer” - five fascinating retro-espionage detective stories dedicated to the work of counterintelligence in Russia in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. We present another great work of the writer, one of his best works, dedicated to the fate of a real historical figure. Karl Landsberg, a brilliant officer, stumbled and became a criminal, but in the end, through redemption and many hardships, he brought a lot of benefit to our country. There is a version that it was Landsberg who was the prototype of the hero of F. M. Dostoevsky’s famous novel “Crime and Punishment” Rodion Raskolnikov, although the biographies of the book character and his probable prototype, of course, differ greatly. Karl Landsberg shone in the high society of St. Petersburg. He was predicted to have a rapid career, right up to the ministerial one. He fell off the career ladder without even reaching the halfway point. The sparkling world disappeared behind the blank prison walls. Following the verdict of the court and society, Landsberg was sentenced by the criminal world - those who are today called thieves in law.