Rupture-grass. Do not cross the field.

Isay Kalashnikov, a native of a Buryat village settled by Old Believers after the church reform of the 18th century, became known throughout the country after the publication of the epic novel "Cruel Century" (1978), which tells the story of Genghis Khan's life. In another novel, "Razryv-Trava" (1970), the writer also delves into history, but a history that is closer and more personal. The narrative focuses on the life of an Old Believer family village in the first half of the 20th century - forty years, filled with the same amount of upheavals that befell contemporaries, an entire era. The same theme is explored in Isay Kalashnikov's last novel, first published posthumously in 1999, and once again the writer skillfully captivates the reader with the twists and turns of his characters' lives, proving that in history there are no big or small themes, that the measure of everything is the person and their place in the world.