"On the Sleigh" by Boris Akunin, summary Automatic translate

"On a Sleigh" is a novel set in 2025. The action takes place in Moscow in the late 1970s. The events are intertwined with the diary entries of a terminally ill Soviet writer, as well as chapters from his historical novel. The book is part of the "Family Album" series and is the seventh installment. Other novels in the series include "Aristonomy," "Another Path," "Happy Russia," "Trezorium," "The Bear Cub," and "He Asked as He Left."

Meeting an elite student group

Mark Rogachov, a fourth-year journalism student at Moscow State University, receives an invitation from Savva Bogoyavlensky, nicknamed "Sova," the leader of an elite student group. The group is going to celebrate Maslenitsa at the Kuskovo estate. Along with them are Bashka, Baklazhan, and Fred Strutsky. The young men ride sleighs on a frozen pond, drink vodka, and burn an effigy. In the forest, they are accosted by a gang of local hooligans. Mark is undeterred and clumsily tries to fight back. The bandits are driven off by the taciturn former paratrooper Sergei Shcherbak. Mark’s courage earns Sova’s sincere respect, and the young man joins the group.

Savva asks Mark to get tickets to a literary evening with writer Grigory Vasiliev at the Central House of Writers. Sova wants to impress his new girlfriend, Nastya Blyakhina. Mark gets tickets from his stepfather, a famous writer. The jazz-rock band Arsenal is performing at the concert. The student meets Nastya and immediately falls in love with her. She invites him to her birthday party. The young man casts aside his previous cynical views on relationships and marriage.

Nastya lives in a huge apartment on Nemirovich-Danchenko Street. Her father, Serafim Filippovich Blyakhin, wears the epaulettes of a KGB general. During the party, guests play forfeits and collect shoes. Mark is ashamed of his cheap Soviet boots compared to the imported ones. He makes up a story about his mother’s illness and leaves. Nastya sympathizes with Mark. She invites him to go to the hospital to visit her dying grandfather, Filipp Pankratovich. In the ward, the old Chekist complains about the hospital procedures and reminisces about his military past. Mark understands the depth of Nastya’s feelings.

Recruitment and family secrets

A student decides to urgently buy fashionable jeans. He meets with Vladimir Shchegolev, a black marketeer. The buyers of the imported clothing turn out to be undercover police officers. Shchegolev quickly escapes. Mark is detained and held in a cell for a long time without food or water. A plainclothes man calling himself Sergei Sergeyevich offers a deal. The student must become an informant under the pseudonym "Maxim." Refusal means certain imprisonment and expulsion from the university. Mark breaks down, signs a cooperation agreement, and reveals the name of the escaped black marketeer.

At home, the student suffers from acute self-hatred. His relationship with his stepfather, Marat Rogachov, is also hopelessly damaged. The writer constantly yells at his stepson over trivial matters. One day, Mark secretly opens a drawer of Marat’s desk. Inside lies a hidden manuscript titled "Tessarakontameron." The young man begins to read the hidden text. It turns out that doctors have diagnosed the writer with inoperable lung cancer with metastases. The stepfather has about two months to live.

Marat hides his diagnosis from his wife, Tina. He writes detailed instructions for her for forty days. Tina is to read these notes after her husband’s death. His stepfather leaves music selections, poems, and assignments. The text will help his wife cope with the overwhelming grief and loneliness. Marat deliberately provokes arguments with Mark. The writer wants to alienate the young man so that he will suffer less from the imminent loss. The diary is interspersed with chapters from a historical novel.

Historical novel and secret missions

The novel tells the story of the youth of Princess Charlotte of Württemberg. The girl moves to Paris with her family. Her cruel father throws live mice on her bed, harshly forcing her to overcome her fear. Charlotte is then sent to a poor Parisian boarding school run by Madame Heru. There, she faces bullying from her classmate, Josephine Walter. The princess displays true nobility and makes peace with her bully. Later, her uncle informs Charlotte of his impending marriage to the Russian Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. In snowy Russia, the princess converts to Orthodoxy and takes a new name — Elena Pavlovna. Her grammar teacher teaches the Grand Duchess to love the harsh Russian winter.

Sergei Sergeyevich orders Mark to write detailed character references for twenty-five of his fellow students. The student writes exaggeratedly glowing reports, hoping to prove his complete incompetence to his supervisor. The supervisor assigns him a new operational assignment. The young man is to gain the trust of French teacher Ekaterina Viktorovna Kladentsova. The KGB suspects her of having ties to foreign journalists. The student is to plant an envelope containing French francs in her books, which will lead to her subsequent arrest.

Mark brings a Japanese walker for Kladentsova’s ailing mother. The teacher invites the student to her anniversary. Mark cannot betray a good person. He openly admits to Ekaterina Viktorovna that he is working for the secret services under duress. The young man asks his hostess to hide the banned books and cancels his visit.

Denouement

The student is determined to commit suicide. He plans to leap spectacularly from a window onto the roof of his curator’s car. For seven days, Mark methodically bids farewell to the world. He visits Neskuchny Garden, the Pushkin Museum, the Salaryevo landfill, and the crematorium. The young man wants to rid himself of his primal fear of death. He feels a cold, detached calm.

General Blyakhin writes a secret memorandum for KGB chief Yuri Andropov. Serafim Filippovich analyzes the reforms of Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez and King Juan Carlos after the death of dictator Franco. Blyakhin applies this successful political experience to Soviet realities. He proposes a plan for a cautious revolution from above. The document envisions a careful liberalization of the press and the legalization of the opposition while maintaining control over the national republics.

Marat’s daughter from his first marriage, Mary, breaks into the Rogachovs’ apartment. She’s looking for her father’s birth certificate. She wants to emigrate and go abroad. Mary cynically seduces Mark right in his parents’ bedroom and promises to continue their secret encounters. Life regains meaning for the student. Mark makes peace with his ailing stepfather.

Nastya lies in wait for Mark near the university. She demands a clear explanation for their breakup. Mark tells her about his shameful recruitment and impending arrest. Nastya immediately goes to her father’s work. General Blyakhin makes one call on a security line. He orders the security officers to leave the student alone forever.

Rogachov’s historical novel ends with a brief scene in St. Petersburg. The dying Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna rides in a sleigh along the Palace Embankment in temperatures of minus ten degrees Celsius. Dr. Dobrynin sits nearby. The Grand Duchess watches the falling snow and calmly prepares to depart this world.