"The City Accepted" by Arkady and Georgy Vainer, summary Automatic translate

Arkady and Georgy Vainer’s novella was published in 1978. It’s a detailed chronicle of exactly one day in the life of a Moscow police duty station. The writers minutely chronicle the endless cycle of incidents, false alarms, genuine tragedies, and petty domestic squabbles that befall the officers of this vast metropolis. The text conveys the extreme tension of a service that demands complete dedication, genuine compassion, and a swift response to the misfortunes of others.

In 1979, director Vyacheslav Maksakov adapted the story into a feature film of the same name. The film proved quite successful: audiences praised the authenticity of its depiction of everyday police life and the expressive performances of the Soviet actors who portrayed the main characters.

Start of shift

The morning begins with Rita Ushakova waking up. She’s twenty-nine years old, a doctor and forensic expert. She’s divorced and raising a five-year-old son, Seryozha, whom she affectionately calls "the dragon." After saying goodbye to the boy, the expert heads to Petrovka. She’ll be filling in for a colleague who’s gone on vacation and working her first 24-hour shift as part of the main task force.

Completely different people are joining the force. The duty officer in charge is Lieutenant Colonel Grigory Ivanovich Severgin. He’s fifty-five years old and suffers from progressive glaucoma. Severgin has memorized the vision chart and cunningly passes medical examinations to stay in the job he loves. Investigator Anatoly Skuratov is on his last shift: dead tired of the human filth and constant danger, he’s leaving for graduate school at the Higher Police School. Behind the wheel of the service car sits the reckless driver Alexander Zadiraka, convinced that speed is everything. The wise Noy Markovich Khaletsky is in charge of forensics, and Sergeant Yuri Odintsov works with his dog, Yungar.

In the operations room, Rita unexpectedly runs into Senior Criminal Investigation Inspector Captain Stanislav Tikhonov. Six years ago, they were passionately in love, but Rita left for another man, a decision she now secretly regrets. Tikhonov is married to radio announcer Katya, but their marriage lacks warmth and understanding. A chance encounter reopens old wounds, but they have no time to talk. At ten o’clock in the morning, Severgin utters the ceremonial phrase: "The city has accepted!" A difficult shift begins.

Daytime incidents

The first call involves the theft of a car door from the famous hockey player Alekseev. Tikhonov reasons logically: only someone who recently dented their own car could have stolen such a rare part. The detectives instruct the traffic police to check accident records, identify suspects, and quickly find the culprit — a pensioner named Luzgin. The old man secretly purchased the stolen gray steel door from local garage mechanics.

The next call takes the group to an antibiotics institute, where rabbits infected with a dangerous strain of cholera have disappeared overnight. Yungar’s dog confidently picks up the scent and leads the police to the barn of a local drunkard. The thieves had already skinned the animals, completely unaware of the deadly infection.

Later, Inspector Tikhonov deals with the brazen con man Rudik Vyshegradskiy. The swindler defrauded two gullible miners of over two thousand rubles for supposed help in purchasing scarce Jawa motorcycles. The detective finds Rudik in the hospital’s surgical ward, where he was admitted with a fictitious gastric ulcer flare-up. Tikhonov easily destroys the con man’s false alibi and forces him to return the bills hidden under his mattress.

At a construction site, a drunk excavator operator discovers an old, rusty 122-millimeter artillery shell. He carelessly moves it with a steel bucket, putting nearby residents at great risk. A task force immediately cordons off the area. Looking at the corroded shell, Tikhonov muses aloud that unpunished evil is like a hidden bomb: it patiently awaits the opportune moment.

Soon, another breaking news comes in: the wife of an American diplomat has lost a platinum branch studded with diamonds in Sokolniki Park. Dog handler Odintsov gives Yungar a brief command to search for the metal, and the service dog successfully locates the jewel among the damp autumn leaves.

Another incident brings the police to the station, where officers have detained four participants in a street fight. The three brutally beaten men claim they were attacked without cause by a lone hooligan named Ovechkin. Inspector Tikhonov cross-examines them, calls neighboring areas, and proves otherwise. It turns out that the three drunks had been terrorizing passersby for a long time, smashing glass windows, and Ovechkin bravely stood up for these strangers.

Thunderstorm situation and night alarms

The evening culminates in a situation codenamed "Thunder." A drunken criminal steals a truck carrying eight tons of high-octane gasoline. The heavy vehicle races down the wrong side of the road. Lieutenant Colonel Severgin coordinates an interception using television monitors and radio communications. Patrol cars push the tanker toward the Yauza embankment. A police lieutenant leaps into the cab at high speed, but the hijacker throws him onto the hard asphalt. Other operatives repeat the desperate maneuver and miraculously stop the deadly tanker. Severgin lets the frantic chase through his own aching heart, mentally driving every patrol car.

In the rare moments of calm between alarming calls, Rita and Stanislav try to have a frank conversation. Rita sees the hardships of police work and asks how one can face grief daily without becoming embittered. Tikhonov calls himself and his comrades the laborers of human misery. The officer sincerely believes that millions of people live happily, get married, raise children, and only call the police in moments of deep misfortune. Saving the weak helps him maintain his composure. Investigator Skuratov has a heated argument with Tikhonov, condemning his youthful maximalism and harsh intolerance. Doctor Rita admits to herself that her ex-husband turned out to be a shallow and indifferent philistine, while Stanislav retained immense inner strength.

Late at night, a call comes in from Sheremetyevo Airport. The landing gear of a French Caravelle passenger jet is not deploying. With exactly forty minutes of fuel remaining, the plane is preparing for an emergency landing on a concrete runway covered with firefighting foam. The task force rushes to the airfield. Anticipating the inevitable explosion, Rita recalls her long-ago flight with Stas from Odessa. The expert realizes with horror that she once pushed away the only person who could give her true happiness. The plane lands heavily on its belly, showering the darkness with sparks, but a fiery catastrophe is miraculously averted. The passengers survive.

Later, the group responds to a reported murder in an apartment. The crime turns out to be a cynical false alarm, orchestrated by the rejected suitor of a local girl, Vera. Inspector Tikhonov forces the hooligan to identify himself over the landline, after which the nearest squad detains the prankster.

Denouement

Immediately afterward, the radio reports a real, mortal threat: a drunken, rowdy man named Matyukhin has locked himself in a seventh-floor apartment with a hunting rifle. The criminal is threatening to shoot his wife and six-year-old son. The task force rushes to the address. Matyukhin fires large rounds of buckshot right through the closed wooden door.

Tikhonov makes a desperate decision: he steps out onto the stairwell balcony and risks falling into the concrete abyss by jumping onto the balcony of the seized apartment. He needs to break the window and neutralize the criminal from behind. The bloodied Matyukhin notices the inspector and quickly raises his black gun. At that very moment, Investigator Skuratov, forever forgetting his fear and his ardent desire for a quiet academic life, runs and smashes the riddled wooden door with his shoulder. Matyukhin pulls the trigger and shoots Skuratov straight at him.

Rita promptly performs emergency surgery on an ordinary dining room table. The doctor removes the lead bullet, deftly sutures the severed blood vessels, administers adrenaline, and saves the young officer’s life. Skuratov, coming to to the sound of an ambulance siren, experiences a strange, absolute happiness. The investigator rejoices in having overcome his primal fear and, at the cost of his own blood, saved his best friend.

A rainy Moscow morning dawns. At ten o’clock, the command sounds to hand over the police shift. The shift is over.