"Once Upon a Time in America" ​​by Roman Zlotnikov, summary

The novel "Once Upon a Time in America" was written in 2021. The work is based on the literary device of transferring an elderly person’s consciousness into their own body from the past, offering the opportunity to correct historical errors by using the memory of future events. The text is part of Roman Zlotnikov’s "Real Past" series. This book is the third in the series, continuing the events of the previous volumes and preceding the plot of the next work, "Save Moscow."

Illusions of control and leaving the country

The action begins in the Bohemian Grove. An elderly David Rockefeller explains the structure of power to his young relatives. He uses the analogy of driving an old Ford Model T, arguing that the world is ruled by those who understand the hidden mechanisms of society. Rockefeller performs a staged ritual of burning a doll for the young people, demanding unquestioning obedience to the rules of the elite.

In 1992, Roman Markov was living in Moscow. After he struck Boris Yeltsin in the face with a bouquet of roses, his publishing business was blocked by government authorities. Journalist Al Jake Ronson interviewed the writer and discreetly offered him a job at Western Montana Community College. Markov agreed to leave for the United States, wanting to temporarily disappear from the radar of vengeful politicians.

The writer settles in the town of Dillon. He teaches Russian philology to students, chatting with professors Steve Donahue and Phil Kirkpatrick during lunch breaks. Drawing on memories from his previous life, Markov bets on the lottery. He soon wins the $73 million jackpot. The lottery rules force him to appear on a public television show in Miami.

Stock market game and relatives moving

Having received a third of the sum after paying enormous taxes, Roman seeks a way to increase his capital. He flies to Boston and hires a young, ambitious Harvard graduate, Bill Ackman. The partners rent an office in New York and raise colossal amounts of borrowed funds to play the stock market. The writer remembers the exact date of the collapse of the British pound. A successful financial operation brings them millions of dollars in profit.

In 1993, the world was shocked by news of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. Due to Markov’s previous actions, the accident did not occur on its usual schedule, but occurred later at a more powerful RBMK-1500 reactor. Contamination spread across vast swathes of Belarus, Poland, and Russia. Markov immediately obtained visas and transported his wife, Alyonka, children, and numerous relatives to Dillon.

Life for a large family in America is punctuated by medical examinations. Roman spends enormous sums on his grandfather’s treatment. At the same time, he secretly finances the laboratory of scientist Burbash, who is producing a biological drug to prolong youth. Over time, domestic squabbles begin between the older family members in their rented houses. These conflicts, fueled by boredom, force the writer to send most of his relatives back to Russia as soon as the radiation levels in his homeland stabilize.

Conquering the Film Industry

A scandal is brewing at the college. Students are filing complaints against Markov, accusing him of promoting alien historical views. The writer voluntarily resigns as a professor.

His wife’s friend, German photographer Ellen von Winwerth, advises Markov to make a film to boost sales of his books. Roman buys the film rights to The Lord of the Rings from Saul Zaentz. Directors Peter Jackson and Guy Ritchie are brought in. The filming process requires colossal investment. Markov negotiates with the Japanese corporation NEC for a supercomputer for graphics rendering, as well as borrows from Indian bankers. The elves in the film are played by Indian actors to emphasize their uniqueness. The Riders of Rohan are played by Russian actors, and Jean Reno agrees to play Aragorn.

Influential producer Harvey Weinstein wages an aggressive press campaign against Markov’s project. Journalists predict the film will be a catastrophic failure. Despite the critical acclaim, the premiere of the first film is a box office success worldwide. The writer earns hundreds of millions of dollars. Roman then flies to Edinburgh, where he meets J.K. Rowling in a café. He pays the aspiring writer a $300,000 advance for the film rights to the Harry Potter series.

Politics and Moscow Investments

In 1998, Markov was invited to a private event at the Bohemian Grove. There, he drank beer and chatted with George Soros and Zbigniew Brzezinski. The next morning, the writer noticed he had been methodically questioned and assessed for loyalty. Markov realized his inability to fit into the Western elite’s system of coordinates. He decided to sell his film studio to America Online. Markov funneled the billions of dollars he received through a complex network of offshore accounts in the Bahamas, Antigua, and the Virgin Islands.

During the economic default in Russia, Markov began a massive buying spree of devalued shares in industrial giants: Gazprom, Sberbank, Lukoil, and aluminum smelters. Local criminal organizations attempted to pressure the writer. During a meeting in a Moscow apartment, Roman showed the gangsters photographs of himself with Deputy US Attorney Eric Holder and FBI Director Louis Freeh. The ploy worked, and the criminals retreated.

Markov plans to build a unique village in Mnevniki, Moscow. Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat is designing houses hidden within artificial hills, based on the Shire concept. The estate’s central building will be a Crystal Castle with a glass dome and a swimming pool.

While in Moscow, Roman secretly meets with Yevgeny Primakov at his dacha. The writer warns the prime minister of the imminent NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Markov advises secretly transferring S-300 air defense systems to the Serbs, disguising the shipment as a sale of obsolete weapons to third countries. The politician takes note of the idea and guarantees Markov immunity from the authorities.

Parisian tragedy and ceremony

Markov’s studio’s films are receiving international acclaim. The film "Evil City," depicting the heroic defense of Kozelsk from Batu Khan’s hordes, wins the César Award in France. After a gala evening, Roman and Alenka are strolling through Paris. A streetwalker calls out to the couple. They recognize him as Dragan, a former Serbian construction worker. He tearfully recounts how Albanian militants brutally slaughtered his wife, children, and all his relatives in Kosovo. Europe ignores the massacre of the Serbian population. This tragedy leaves a deep mark on the Markovs.

The Academy Awards ceremony is approaching. Markov is secretly preparing his escape routes. He’s transferring some of his proceeds to a charity, donating Elizabeth Taylor’s house-museum, sending his children to Moscow, and chartering private jets to Canada for emergency flights.

In the spring, the couple arrives on the red carpet in Los Angeles. The film "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" wins the top prize. Harrison Ford opens the envelope and declares Markov’s work the best film of the year. The audience erupts in applause.

Roman strides onto the stage and takes the microphone from Whoopi Goldberg. The writer addresses the global elite in the audience and hundreds of millions of television viewers. Markov recounts the slaughter of Dragan’s family. He loudly accuses the Western world of hypocrisy and the preparation of the bombing of Yugoslavia. The writer draws a direct historical parallel between the planned operation against Belgrade and the Nazi air force’s attacks on European cities 60 years ago. Roman asks the audience pointedly whether America truly wants to unleash a new global war to cover up political scandals in the Oval Office.