"The Right to Walk the Earth" by Arkady and Georgy Vainer, summary

This story was written by writers Arkady and Georgy Vainer in 1968. The text introduces the reader to the first high-profile cases of Inspector Stanislav Tikhonov and his supervisor, Vladimir Sharapov, depicting the difficult work of the police without unnecessary embellishment.

Murder in the Wasteland

On a snowy winter evening in the Vladykino district of Moscow, a young woman dies. Her name is Tatyana Aksenova, a special correspondent for a major Moscow newspaper. She falls dead in a snowy vacant lot while walking to a bus stop on Susokolovskoye Highway. Two bystanders, elderly women named Yevstigneeva and Lapina, notice a tall man in a cap and dark coat behind her. The stranger is holding a small suitcase. The man passes Tatyana moments before she suddenly collapses. Forensic expert Sorokin examines the victim’s body. He jumps to the conclusion that she was stabbed in the back with a very long, thick awl.

The investigation is entrusted to twenty-eight-year-old criminal investigation captain Stanislav Tikhonov. Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Sharapov personally oversees the case. An anonymous letter is discovered in the dead journalist’s black leather bag, the unknown author of which declares, "You are a vile and despicable woman." The captain goes to the newspaper office, speaks with journalists Stepichev and Belyakov, and learns of Tatyana’s recent breakup with her fiancé. Aksenova’s former lover is theater actor Konstantin Stavitsky.

The detective visits the actor at his home. It turns out that the actor had long concealed his previous, unanimous marriage from Tatyana. The anonymous letter could have been sent by Zinaida Pankova, a theater friend of his ex-wife, Elena Bukova. Tikhonov finds Pankova and takes handwriting samples. The actress tearfully admits to authoring the letter, intending to frighten the journalist and force Stavitsky to return to his former family. She also mentions Bukova’s new, aggressive admirer, Nikita Kazantsev.

Tikhonov, along with detective Sasha Savelyev, begins searching for Kazantsev. The captain calculates the suspect’s precise travel schedule using bus schedules and the testimony of his driver, Demidov. Kazantsev works as the on-duty radio technician at the Baikal Hotel near the crime scene. The tall suspect wears a dark coat and always carries a briefcase, inside which the detective finds a long, sharpened screwdriver. However, during the confrontation, actress Pankova fails to recognize Kazantsev, and the well-established theory falls apart.

Expert error

The tired captain returns home. Late that night, an old friend, Dr. Lebedinsky, comes to visit him. The comrades drink cognac and watch a theatrical production on television. An actor on the screen is fatally stabbed with a sword and dies a very long time later. Tikhonov suddenly realizes a clear physiological discrepancy. The dead girl had walked about twenty meters after being wounded in the heart. A blow from a bladed weapon would not have allowed her to walk such a long distance.

The forensic examination confirms Tikhonov’s suspicion. Professor Pavlovsky determines that the edges of the tiny hole in the victim’s warm gray sweater were slightly melted. Aksenova was shot with a small-caliber rifle. The first doctor made a mistake, mistaking the bullet hole on her rib for the end of an awl wound. Police officers secretly conduct an investigative experiment right in the vacant lot. Calculations show the precise direction of the shot from the third-floor window of the Baikal Hotel.

The guests of hotel rooms fifty-eight and fifty-nine are under suspicion. Doctor Alexander Popov from Kineshma came to the capital to defend his medical dissertation. Engineer Lev Kozak from Lviv constantly lies to the investigator about his love affairs. Chief accountant Dmitry Lagunov claims to have spent the evening of the crime at the Bolshoi Theater. The captain methodically checks the alibis of each suspected guest. Kozak maintains his innocence.

Local boys Murtaza and Seryozha find a rifle, missing its stock, hidden in a dense snowdrift. The weapon is sent for ballistics testing. Expert Shifrin confirms a 100% match between the barrel and the bullet recovered from the body of the murdered journalist. The detective sends telegrams to the Tula arms authorities. The rifle’s origin is revealed. Several years ago, it was stolen from a sports club in Bryansk. A petty thief sold the weapon to an unknown adult at the market.

A shadow from the past

Tikhonov reexamines Aksenova’s work notebooks. She had recently returned from a business trip to Rivne. Her notes frequently highlight the name Khizhnyak. The captain decides to check the deceased’s train tickets. On the way back to Moscow, Tatyana made an unplanned overnight stop in Bryansk.

The detective immediately flies to Rivne for a personal meeting with Anna Khizhnyak. A frank conversation with this woman reveals a military secret. Anna’s ex-husband served as a punitive force for the Nazis. He went by the name of Yerygin and executed civilians in occupied Zdolbuniv. For many years, the executioner was officially presumed dead. Shortly before the Moscow journalist’s arrival, Anna saw an old newspaper photograph of top industrial workers. She recognized her husband in one of the faces. The journalist volunteered to travel to Bryansk and investigate the woman’s suspicions.

Captain Tikhonov flies to Bryansk. He now clearly understands the killer’s logic.

Tatyana found Yerygin, who was living under the false identity of Dmitry Lagunov. She left him a note asking for a meeting. Yerygin arrived in Moscow and checked into the Baikal Hotel. He invited Aksenova to his room. The journalist realized she was facing a Nazi war criminal. She couldn’t hide her sincere disgust from the executioner.

Yerygin feared the inevitable trial. He had purchased a stolen rifle at the market in advance and secretly brought it in a suitcase. The criminal waited until the journalist left the room. He opened the window, turned on the radio, and took aim. The killer shot the journalist in a vacant lot, hid the gun in the snow, and drove to the theater to create a reliable alibi. A detective arrested Lagunov-Yerygin right at his home.

The detectives deliver the war criminal to the capital. During interrogation, Yerygin confesses to the crime, openly expressing his hatred for humanity. The killer is led away under guard. The exhausted captain trudges to his office. The broken door lock, as usual, refuses to open. Exhausted, the detective sits down on a bench in the hallway and immediately falls asleep.