The direction of the story is fantastic realism. Her hero Herbert Gerhardovich Mayer witnesses the Great Decay. The biggest and happiest part of his life is spent in Tajikistan, where he performs a unique operation and becomes the best surgeon in Dushanbe. Anticipating the coming tragic events, in 1980 he moved to Siberia, where he met many unusual people. Here he finds an era of change, and everything around, including people, becomes unfamiliar. The narrative covers events from 1940 to 2008: the disintegration of the Soviet elites, interethnic conflicts, Yeltsin's victory, the October events of 1993.Cover created by Canva.