10 Russian crime series for fans of intricate plots

10. Plot

• Russia, 2003.
• Comedy, crime.
• Duration: 1 season.
• "KinoPoisk": 7.7.

A modest and very responsible police lieutenant Pavel Kravtsov is sent to work as a district police officer in the quiet village of Anisovka. It would seem that little is happening here: all the locals know each other and are friendly. However, the policeman has enough work.

Sergei Bezrukov gained national popularity thanks to his role as a criminal in the TV series "Brigade". However, after that, the actor appeared on the screen in exactly the opposite image: his hero is always polite, honors the law and does not even swear. Alas, the project turned out to be very short: only 12 episodes were released.

9. The investigation was conducted ...

• Russia, 2006 - present.
• Documentary, crime.
• Duration: 17 seasons.
• "KinoPoisk": 7.9.

Documentary an anthology led by Leonid Kanevsky tells about the most notorious crimes in the USSR and Russia from 1917 to the end of the 1990s. Many of these cases have already become legendary: they have been used for films and books.

"The investigation was conducted ..." is not limited only to the investigation of crimes. At the same time, the authors show the way of life of the past: people's hobbies, the atmosphere in their homes and working days. So the project can be considered not only detective, but also historical.

8. The life and adventures of Mishka Yaponchik

• Russia, 2011.
• Crime, drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• "KinoPoisk": 8.0.

A young Odessa resident Misha Vinnitsky, after serving several years in prison, goes free and quickly becomes a crime boss. In parallel, the criminal wins the love and trust of ordinary people, because he helps the poor and turns his life into a real show.

There is no need to look for historical facts in this series. It is partly inspired by Isaac Babel's "Odessa Tales", but mostly it is a fictional fiction based on real characters.

7. Owl cry

• Russia, 2013.
• Detective, crime.
• Duration: 1 season.
• "KinoPoisk": 8.0.

In the mid-1950s, in the small town of Ostrov in the Pskov region, the police caught a gang of criminals. During the operation, one employee is seriously injured. While in the hospital, he suddenly starts speaking German. To investigate this case, KGB officer Ivan Mitin is sent to the city.

The series from the screenwriter of "First Time" Oleg Pogodin imitates classic Soviet films about spies. Moreover, to preserve intrigue and believability, the author did not even tell the actors until the last episode who would be the main villain.

6. Policeman from Rublyovka

• Russia, 2016–2019.
• Comedy, crime, drama.
• Duration: 5 seasons.
• "KinoPoisk": 8.0.

The first seasons of the series tell about Grigory Izmailov - wealthy policemanwho works in an elite area and often exceeds his authority. Then his boss, Vladimir Yakovlev, becomes the main character.

The series has already grown into a major franchise: in the main project, the main characters and even the scene have gradually changed. And at the same time they release full-length films that are shown in cinemas on New Year's holidays.

5. Executioner

• Russia, 2014.
• Detective, thriller, crime.
• Duration: 1 season.
• "KinoPoisk": 8.0.

In 1965, a seventeen-year-old boy was killed in Moscow. The investigator does not believe that a friend of the teenager is behind the crime and starts looking for other evidence. It turns out that the deceased, without knowing it, was associated with a cruel woman who shot partisans during the war.

The authors of the series took real events as the basis of the story, namely the biography of the war criminal Antonina Makarova. However, the entire main investigation is fiction.

4. Method

• Russia, 2015–2021.
• Detective, thriller, crime.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• "KinoPoisk": 8.1.

After graduating from the law school, Yesenia Steklova goes on an internship with the unusual investigator Rodion Meglin. He calculates maniacs, trying to understand their way of thinking. In fact, the girl hopes that a mentor will help her find her parents' killer. However, Meglin's own behavior is often frightening.

The first season of the series, which seemed like a complete story, was directed by the famous Yuri Bykov. However, six years later, a sequel was released, on which another director was already working. The audience received the new part cooler.

3. Major

• Russia, 2014–2018.
• Drama, crime.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• "KinoPoisk": 8.3.

Growing up with an oligarch father, Igor Sokolovsky never worked, although he received a law degree. After the hero starts a fight with a policeman, his father sends him to serve in the police department. Of course, all newly minted colleagues are negatively disposed towards Igor.

The project from the production company Sreda attracted a huge number of viewers in 2014. And then it was "Major" that turned out to be the first Russian TV series bought by Netflix for display.

2. Brigade

• Russia, 2002.
• Detective, crime, drama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• "KinoPoisk": 8.3.

Returning from the army, Alexander Belov reunites with his childhood friends. After one random fight, all of them are drawn into the world of crime and become the personal enemies of the senior police lieutenant. Gradually, the four heroes turn into authorities of the underworld.

Released in the early 2000s, the Brigada series too romanticized the image of the bandits of the 1990s. But this, together with vivid characters and a memorable soundtrack, made the project a real symbol of its time.

1. Liquidation

• Russia, 2007.
• Detective, crime, military.
• Duration: 1 season.
• "KinoPoisk": 8.4.

Post-war Odessa suffers from banditry and looting. Among others, criminals appear under the leadership of the mysterious Academician, who rob military warehouses. A sharp and witty lieutenant colonel of the Odessa Criminal Investigation Department David Markovich Gotsman is trying to figure out the case.

In this series, in addition to an excellent detective component, there was a place for bright Odessa humor. Many viewers fell in love with "Liquidation" just for the catchphrases. Which does not change the dark basis of the plot.

What criminal projects are you interested in: which are based on real crimes or fiction?

Alexey Khromov