State Counselor (novel)

The combat group of the Socialist Revolutionary Party commits “execution” of Adjutant General Khrapov, guilty of the suicide of political prisoner Polina Ivantsova. Erast Fandorin , who was responsible for the security of Khrapov in Moscow (to which Khrapov, however, did not have time to get to), begins an investigation into the circumstances of the murder, hoping to go to the Battle Group. Only in this way can he save his patron (Governor-General of Moscow, Prince Dolgoruky) from a shameful resignation. The investigation is complicated by the arrival of the "star of the St. Petersburg detective" - ​​Prince Pozharsky. The state adviser Fandorin needs to get ahead of Pozharsky at any cost, behind which Dolgoruky’s ill-wishers stand. Erast Fandorin plunges into the life of a revolutionary underground and political investigation: heroes, sympathizers, spies, provocateurs, traitors, though official and truly revolutionary - Russia appears in a new light to the state adviser. The affair with the revolutionary-minded daughter of the banker Esfir Litvinova only exacerbates his doubts.

During the investigation, Fandorin discovers a connection between Prince Pozharsky and the Battle Group, which, without knowing it, acts on his tip. To disclose this fact is not possible for political reasons, in addition, Pozharsky has very influential patrons. Fandorin also goes to the Battle Group, however, he cannot detain them, since they are busy preparing explosives ( explosive jelly ), and any spark from a pistol can cause an explosion. When Pozharsky sets off to detain the Battle Group, Fandorin does not warn him of an ambush that is being prepared there. (“Evil eradicating evil ...”) At the end of the investigation, Fandorin, who became disillusioned with public service, resigned.

The central character of the parallel storyline is Green (Grigory Greenberg) - the leader of the Battle Group. After the execution of General Khrapov, he and his comrades are hiding in Moscow, which they have no way to leave because of gendarme checks on the roads. Upon learning of the arrival in Moscow of General Pozharsky (also sentenced to death by the party), the Battle Group begins to hunt him. The Moscow underground, known as Needle, helps the Battle Group hide and maintains their connection with the party. Suddenly, news came from Petersburg about the arrest of the party box office (Pozharsky, on the other hand), urgently needed to raise money - they were needed to release comrades awaiting execution from prison and to finance a European printing house where a revolutionary newspaper was published. The Battle Group, in spite of its precarious situation, undertakes to get money (for Greene, this is a kind of honor - he considers himself guilty, as he lost Pozharsky earlier). Through the mistress of the brothel Julie (sympathizing with the revolutionaries), a robber named Kozyr is called to Moscow: for a share in the booty, he is ready to help the Battle Group get the money. The robbery succeeds, but the gendarmes follow Green and his companions on the heels, and only notes from an unknown well-wisher who signs the TG allow them to slip away at the very last moment. However, the Battle Group does not abandon the intention to execute Prince Pozharsky.

On a tip from TG, Green and his comrades arrange another assassination attempt on Pozharsky in a city park, where they are ambushed, only Green and Igla manage to escape alive. Realizing that TG is a traitor, Green decides to find him and avenge the death of his comrades. After finding out that TG is Prince Pozharsky, and that Julie was his spy in the Battle Group, Green lures Pozharsky into an ambush. But he, suspecting something was amiss, brings the gendarmes with him and hides a pistol in his sleeve, from which Green mortally wounds. Realizing that Green is dying, and the house is surrounded, the Needle blows up an explosive jelly prepared the day before. In the explosion, Pozharsky, Julie, gendarmes, Green and herself die.

Among the real figures of Russian history that served as prototypes of the book’s heroes are the famous political investigator Zubatov and his colleague Mednikov , Moscow Governor-General Prince Vladimir Andreyevich Dolgorukov and Grand Prince Sergey Alexandrovich , manufacturer Savva Morozov and many others.

• Prince Dolgoruky - Prince Vladimir Andreevich Dolgorukov
• Frol Vedischev - Grigory Ivanovich Veltishchev
• Sverchinsky - Sereda Nikolai Akimovich, Head of the Moscow Provincial Gendarme Administration and Yevgeny Yurkovsky , Moscow Chief Police Officer.
• Burlyaev - Nikolai Sergeyevich Berdyaev, Head of the Moscow Security Department.
• Zubtsov - Sergey Zubatov
• Mylnikov - Evstraty Mednikov
• Lobastov - Savva Morozov
• Khrapov - Fedor Trepov

The State Counselor, like other works by Boris Akunin, is a creative revision of classical literature. In this case, the books “What to do?” By Nikolai Chernyshevsky , “Sashka Zhegulev” by Leonid Andreev and especially “Impatience” by Yuri Trifonov . The image of Green (the leader of the Battle Group) was noticeably influenced by Andrei Zhelyabov (“Impatience”), Sashka Zhegulev (“Sashka Zhegulev”), Rakhmetov ( “What should I do?” ), In Igla (Moscow underground, a connected battlegroup), Sofya Perovskaya easily guesses ("Impatience").

In addition, the book could be influenced by the author’s knowledge of Japanese culture - the plot of a novel (a crime committed “in the guise” of a famous detective with characteristic external features) resembles the plot of detective Torao Setoguchi, who was filmed in 1958 as “Hibari torimonochō: Jiraiya koban” (ひ ば り捕 物 帖 自 雷 也 小 判, “Secret of the Golden Coin” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330390/ )

In 2005, the adaptation of the same name was released by Philip Jankowski . Erasta Fandorin is played by Oleg Menshikov , Pozharsky - Nikita Mikhalkov . Mikhalkov won two awards for Best Actor ( Golden Eagle , Kinotavr ).

The film has many differences with the book.

• State Counselor (film)
• People's will

• B. Akunin. State Councillor. M. "Zakharov", information about the publication
• Acoustics, "State Councilor", characters