"The Doomed City" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, summary Automatic translate

The philosophical and social novel "The Doomed City" was written by the authors between 1972 and 1975 and first published in 1988–1989. The book is an exploration of human nature, social mechanisms, and moral transformations in a closed, experimental society. In 1990, the work was awarded the Aelita literary prize. The novel is a stand-alone work and is not part of a series.

The idea and structure of the City

The city is located on a narrow rocky ledge. On one side, it is bounded by a gigantic vertical Yellow Wall, on the other by a bottomless Precipice. People from various countries and historical eras come here, having voluntarily agreed to participate in the indefinite Experiment. All residents understand each other freely, although each speaks his or her own native language. An automatic distribution machine at the labor exchange regularly changes citizens’ professions without regard to their previous qualifications.

The story’s protagonist is Leningrad stellar astronomer Andrei Voronin, who arrived from 1951. He is a staunch Komsomol member who sincerely believes in the wisdom and nobility of the Experiment’s goals. Voronin begins his service in the City as a garbage collector. His crew includes American sociology professor Donald Cooper and Chinese peasant Wang Lihong.

The normal life of the City is disrupted by unexpected events. Thousands of aggressive baboons burst onto the streets. The city administration refuses to exterminate the monkeys and orders citizens to take the animals home and distribute them among institutions. Donald Cooper, completely disillusioned with the leadership and having lost his purpose in life, shoots himself. Andrei becomes close with the Swedish woman Selma Nagel and the sharp-tongued archivist Izya Katzman.

Career growth and the disintegration of previous beliefs

The distribution machine appoints Voronin as an investigator for the prosecutor’s office. He is tasked with investigating the mysterious Red Building — a brick structure that appears randomly in various locations throughout the City, luring and consuming people.

That night, Andrei personally finds the Building near the synagogue and enters the inner hall. There, he finds himself engaged in a surreal chess game against the Great Strategist. On the board are pieces representing Andrei’s loved ones, both living and dead. Having sacrificed his pieces and barely managed to end the game, Voronin runs outside and watches as the Building crashes into darkness, and he falls with a broken head.

After this incident, Andrei apprehends Izya Katzman, who had inadvertently thrown a folder containing classified archival documents down a manhole. Voronin hands Katzman over to senior investigator Fritz Geiger, a former Wehrmacht non-commissioned officer. In the basement of the prosecutor’s office, Katzman’s arm is brutally broken. It is later discovered that Izya committed no crime, and the folder contained personal materials. Andrei experiences an internal crisis, but suppresses his conscience with arguments about the public good.

Darkness, revolution and new power

Another anomalous event occurs in the City: the sun goes out for twelve days. Water and food supplies are cut off, huge lines form at stores, and famine sets in. Thousands of armed farmers from the southern swamps flock to the City, demanding answers and bread from the leadership.

Voronin is the editor-in-chief of the City Newspaper. Andrey’s Mentor — Andrey’s disembodied handler — admits that the situation has spiraled out of control. Amidst the chaos, Fritz Geiger forms a militia and stages a coup d’état. Armed forces storm the mayor’s office and hang former officials from lampposts. During the riots, Andrey’s friend, reporter Kenshi Ubukata, is killed. As Geiger proclaims the establishment of strict order from the podium, the sun rises again.

Presidential Advisor and Campaign Preparations

Geiger becomes president, and Voronin becomes his scientific advisor. Order and prosperity are restored in the City, but spiritual devastation grows among the residents. Former newspaper employee Denny Lee straps himself with dynamite and blows himself up in front of the presidential palace in protest against the "well-fed pigsty."

Geiger assigns Voronin to lead the "Zigzag" scientific and military expedition to the far north. The official objective is to search for oil and water, but the secret one is to verify the existence of the hostile Anti-City and reach the edge of the world. The detachment includes geologists, soldiers under the command of the English Colonel St. James, the archivist Katzman, and the silent native Mute.

The collapse of the expedition and the path to zero point

The detachment advances along the Yellow Wall through the scorching, parched desert and the abandoned ruins of ancient quarters. Tractors break down, supplies run low, and the men suffer from severe diarrhea. A mutiny is brewing among the soldiers under the command of Private Hnoipek.

Voronin, along with Katzman, Mute, and the Korean Pak, goes on reconnaissance. In their absence, a bloody massacre erupts in the camp. Soldiers and geologists kill each other, and Colonel St. James dies of a heart attack. The surviving rebels steal the only working tractor, but it soon falls off the top of the Yellow Wall and crashes.

Returning to the destroyed camp, Andrei and Izya discover mountains of corpses. They have no transport or food left. Despite their doom, Voronin, Katzman, and Nemoy decide to continue north on foot.

Completion of the first circle

The remaining companions trudge under the scorching sun, subsisting on the rare, succulent roots of the ginseng plant. Along the way, Izya builds pyramids of stones and leaves his handwritten "Guides to the Delusional World" in them. Gradually, they emerge onto a smooth, white stone plateau, where the sun freezes directly overhead. This is the zero point — the beginning or the end of the world.

Two figures emerge from the swirling dust to meet the travelers. One of the strangers rushes toward Andrey. Fearing an attack, Voronin tries to grab his pistol from its holster. The weapon jams, and shots ring out. Andrey is struck in the chest by a bullet and loses consciousness.

Andrei awakens in his Leningrad apartment in 1951. A fresh newspaper lies on the table, it’s raining outside, and children’s voices can be heard from the courtyard, calling little Izya Katsman to dinner. The voice of the Mentor informs him that Andrei has only completed the first lap.