Books 
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Contact by Carl Sagan, summary
Contact is a science fiction novel by Carl Sagan, published in 1985. Sagan, an astrophysicist and one of the founders of the SETI program, wrote the book based on a screenplay that had been elusive for years.
"Royal Games" by Grigory Gorin, summary
Written in 1995, the play reimagines the relationship between the English monarch Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. It’s a sharp satire on the workings of state power, blending real events of the sixteenth century with elements of the grotesque and outright tragicomedy.
"Coronation" by Marek Modzelewski, summary
The Polish playwright’s play, written in 2004, explores the crisis of a thirty-year-old man through dialogues with a cynical inner voice. This voice is materialized on stage as a distinct character.
Carl Sagan’s "Cosmos" Summary
"Cosmos: The Evolution of the Universe, Life, and Civilization" is a book by astrophysicist and science writer Carl Sagan, published in 1980 simultaneously with a thirteen-part television series of the same name on PBS.
"Cherry Pit" by Asya Lavrinovich, summary
This book is a story about finding one’s way in life, set in 2024. The core of the work lies in the conflict between filial duty and the protagonist’s personal aspirations, which unfolds to the accompaniment of southern waves.
"Nightmare Dreams, My Love" by Anna Jane, Summary
Anna Jane’s novel "Nightmare My Love" was written in 2016 and first published in 2017; it’s a mystical thriller in which a love story is simultaneously linked to memory trauma, a series of murders, and the intrusion of a nightmare into ordinary life.
"Seditious Canvases" by Anatoly Varshavsky, summary
This book is a historical account of the great masters of the brush, whose canvases boldly challenged despotism, hypocrisy, and social injustice. The work was created in 1963. The book simultaneously describes famous paintings and the brutal political conflicts of the corresponding historical eras.
"Red Square" by Yuli Dunsky, summary
Yuli Dunsky’s work, written around 1970, faithfully and honestly describes the difficult birth of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red ArmyThe most intriguing detail of this book is its open depiction of the intense conflict between the old-school career officers and the spontaneous masses of revolutionary soldiers who rejected any military discipline.
"The Peasant Woman from Getafe" by Lope de Vega, summary
This play by a Spanish playwright explores class prejudices, genuine emotions, and the power of feminine ingenuity. Written in 1609, it is a striking example of the classic comedy of intrigue.
Plato’s Critias, Summary
This is an unfinished philosophical dialogue written by the great ancient Greek thinker Plato around 360 BC. The work serves as a direct continuation of the dialogue Timaeus and contains the most detailed surviving description of the legendary Atlantis, its political structure, geography, and destruction.
"Cool" by Victor Pelevin, summary
"Cool" was published in 2024; it is Viktor Pelevin’s 21st novel, a direct sequel to "Journey to Eleusis" and a new installment in the Transhumanism Incseries. The action takes place in the third century of the Green Era, and at the center once again is the canned operative Markus Sorgenfrei, who, after his previous mission, has been restored to his operational status, given a second tier, and assigned a new task, this time related not to an ancient simulation, but to a threat to the entire world.
"Wings" by Christina Stark, summary
"Wings" is the debut novel by contemporary writer Kristina Stark, published in 2015 by AST. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Lika Werner from Simferopol, who discovers an uncontrollable ability to "throw herself" from her own body into another’s—under the influence of pain, fear, or extreme shock.
"Kuban Fire" by Nikolai Svechin, summary
"Kuban Fire" is a detective novel by Nikolai Svechin from the series about detective Alexei Lykov, set in 1911. The book combines criminal investigation with the historical backdrop of the Kuban oil rush and pre-war military-technical developments.
"Culture: The Origins of Enmity" by Evgeny Elizarov, summary
This book is a profound philosophical essay written in the 1990s. The text connects the highest achievements of the human spirit with biological processes, arguing that the origins of ethnic hatred lie in the body’s physiological rejection of alien life rhythms.
"The Cabriolet Driver" by Alexandre Dumas, summary
Alexandre Dumas’s novella, written in the early 1830s, is a masterpiece of Romantic prose, where a mundane sketch of Parisian life seamlessly transitions into a dramatic tale of honor, love, and self-sacrifice.