"Peace and War" by Boris Akunin, summary Automatic translate

This historical detective novel, published in 2020, describes life on a Russian estate on the eve of and during the Patriotic War of 1812. This book is a bold reimagining of classic Russian literary plots through the lens of criminal investigation. The narrative juxtaposes a strict patriarchal order with the ruthlessness of serial murders and the national calamities of war.

The novel is part of the author’s extensive cycle "The History of the Russian State in Stories and Novels." It serves as a fictional illustration for the seventh historical volume of the series. Other texts in this cycle include "The Fiery Finger," "Bokh and the Rogue," "The Widow’s Veil," "The Week of the Three-Eyed," "The Nut Buddha," "The Good Adventures and Reflections of Lucius Catinus," and "The Road to Kitezh." This novel is the seventh book in the fictional cycle.

Death in the village of Vymiralovo

In the summer of 1812, peasants in the village of Vymiralovo near Moscow discovered the body of a young woman named Palasha in the Savva River. Polina Afanasyevna Katina, a powerful 62-year-old landowner, took matters into her own hands. An examination revealed strange mutilations. All the bones in the lower torso were broken, there were no signs of beatings, and the skin on the wrists had been scraped off by a rough rope. Katina found a small bone button in the victim’s hair. This was the fifth such death in the district. Horrified, local residents blamed a fairytale forest spirit.

The landowner convenes a secret council — the "Sanhedrin." Its members include the wise village elder Platon Ivanovich, the philosophizing priest Father Mirokl, his insightful wife Virineya, and the wealthy miller Kuzma Likhov. The miller had previously been known for his violent temper, brutally beating his hunchbacked wife Agafya, but suddenly calmed down after her fervent prayers. Polina Afanasyevna trusts in the miller’s sharp wit to catch the unknown killer. Katina also entrusts the investigation to the district captain, Klyaksin. The provincial detective proves completely incompetent.

Sashenka, the landowner’s granddaughter, is passionate about anatomy. Together with the captured English navigator Foma Fomich Zhenkin, she carefully examines a corpse. She uses palpation, feeling for injuries. The young doctor determines the exact cause of death. The victim was suspended by the arms and then dropped from a height of more than fifteen meters. The girl hit the ground with her legs straight. Sashenka goes to Moscow to get an astronomical calendar and reference books. It turns out that the dates of discovery of all the corpses coincide with the days of the full moon.

The criminal suffers from a rare affliction — selenomania. He flies into a frenzy during the full moon, choosing identical victims. All the murders were thin, curly-haired, fair-skinned girls. Suspicion falls on Kuzma Likhov. Sashenka calculates that the miller’s outbursts of aggression ceased precisely when the murders began. The site of these brutal executions could have been the enormous old oak tree near his watermill.

Katina summons Kuzma for questioning. The landowner hides a loaded double-barreled pistol under the table. The miller calmly denies his guilt. He tells the old woman, "You’re right, mistress. Someone’s got a screw loose here." Polina Afanasyevna doubts her suspicions and releases the peasant. That same evening, Kuzma packs his things. He leaves the village forever and joins the people’s militia.

Enemy invasion

The war with Napoleon begins. The Moscow province fills with refugees and retreating troops. Katina is busy harvesting a gigantic oat crop. The landowner plans to profitably sell over three thousand tons of fodder to army quartermasters. Soon, the fighting reaches Vymiralovo itself. Near a broken carriage, Sashenka finds a wounded Russian ensign, Mitya Lartsev. Doctors diagnose an open fracture of his arm. The girl faithfully nurses the young man back to health. Romantic feelings quickly blossom between the young people.

French troops occupy neighboring Zvenigorod. French Major Beauchamp arrives at the estate. He demands that all the harvested oats be given away for free, citing martial law. The landowner becomes enraged and punches the officer in the face. In response, Beauchamp orders his soldiers to plunder and burn the village, including the manor house. The Vymiralovo peasants hastily retreat into the dense forest to Gniloye Lake. Kuzma Likhov appears at the forest camp. The fugitive urges the peasants to take up axes and become true partisans.

A forest detachment begins attacking small French supply trains. The men obtain guns, gunpowder, and crackers. The partisans plan to free Russian prisoners from the Savvinsky Monastery. To this end, the priest’s wife, Virineya, intercepts a supply wagon on the road. The woman seduces a French soldier and slips poison powder into a keg of beer. The enemy guard is killed. The partisans open the gates. Among the rescued prisoners are Father Mirocle and Ensign Lartsev.

The French are preparing to transport the captured oats towards Moscow. Katina decides to destroy her own barn. The partisans set up a false ambush near the bridge, firing blanks from the bushes. The Englishman Foma Fomich commands the firing with a boatswain’s whistle. Beauchamp mistakes the handful of peasants for regular troops. The major gathers all the infantry at the bridge. Meanwhile, the miller Likhov brings a cartload of gunpowder to the warehouse. The man lights the fuse.

A monstrous explosion occurs. The French camp is blown to pieces. Vast stockpiles of forage are burned to the ground. The vengeful landowner triumphs. Kuzma narrowly escapes death, jumping to the bottom of a deep well just in time. Katina orders the peasants to spare the wounded French soldiers. She spares their lives. Soon, an early frost sets in. The remaining French army perishes from lack of food and the deadly cold.

Peaceful life

Peaceful life is restored in the summer of 1814. Katina rapidly grows rich from timber sales and horse-drawn transport. The village of Vymiralovo is rebuilt in stone and renamed Phoenix. Sashenka blossoms, becoming a true beauty. The girl spends her days admiring herself in the mirror. She writes long letters and awaits Mitya Lartsev’s return from his European campaign. Foma Fomich Zhenkin visits the estate. The former prisoner now holds the rank of lieutenant captain in the Russian navy.

Suddenly, a new victim is found in the river, bearing familiar, horrific injuries. The girl’s body is severely disfigured by the water. At the same time, Kuzma Likhov returns to the village. The miller has become a true war hero, decorated with military medals. Sashenka realizes the miller’s alibi is false. During his absence, the murdered girl’s body was kept in the ice of the mill cellar. The body was deliberately planted in the river for Kuzma’s return.

A granddaughter learns a terrible secret from neighbors. In their early childhood, Kuzma lost control of his twin sister, Glafira. The girl fell from a tall oak tree. The tragedy irreparably damaged her brother’s sanity. He began methodically recreating the scene of the fall. The maniac selected similar girls, suspended them from the branches, and threw them to the ground. The victims fell silently, as the killer gagged them.

Katina and Sashenka hurry to the old oak tree on the shore of the pond. Brown blood stains are clearly visible on the ground. Fresh furrows from a thick rope remain in the tree’s bark. Suddenly, Kuzma appears on the path with his elegant wife, Agafya. The miller frankly admits his atrocities. He is absolutely confident of his impunity, hiding behind his status as a national hero. Kuzma declares that heroes are forgiven any sins.

Agafya fully shares her husband’s madness. The hunchback is ready to pray for forgiveness for his most heinous crimes. She fanatically screams at the landowner: "A demon is possessing him, the poor thing, tormenting him!" Kuzma promises to kill the old woman on the spot and lock the beautiful Sashenka in the basement until the next full moon. Katina takes out a pistol hidden in her pocket. Agafya rushes in front and takes a bullet to the chest. The landowner’s second shot mortally wounds the miller. The war hero falls dead.

December Uprising

In December 1825, the Lartsevs arrived in snowy St. Petersburg from America. Overseas, they were successfully growing cotton on hundreds of hectares. Mitya was attempting to breed alligators on a special farm. Alexandra was secretly operating on local residents using potent African-American potions. They arrived in Russia in response to an urgent call from Polina Afanasyevna. The elderly landowner had fallen from her horse and broken her hip. The old woman planned to take a plant poison. Alexandra was determined to save her grandmother with a unique surgical procedure.

Dmitry heads off to meet old army friends. The former military men are fascinated by the ideas of a constitution and reorganizing the country into a federation. Alexandra goes out onto a Moscow street to do some shopping. Cannon fire and rifle shots boom loudly in the distance. She irritably mistakes the sounds of the historic Decembrist uprising on Senate Square for a military salute. She returns to the hotel, hoping to leave on time. She silently promises her husband a harsh trial if he’s late.