OneВ Cup Chronicles. Tales Within a Tale of the Russian Underworld

Vladimir Ross

How far from reality can you travel in 15 minutes? The stories of One Cup Chronicles take the reader on a gritty, in-depth tour of the Russian underworld, all in the amount of time it takes to drink a single cup of coffee. Discover the dark secret of a famous philanthropist, watch the downfall of a world-renowned gambler, or come along for the ride as a pickpocket accidentally gets tangled up in a malicious scheme – all before your coffee gets cold.

OneВ Cup Chronicles

Tales Within a Tale of the Russian Underworld

Vladimir Ross

Cover designer Nada Orlic

Translator Paul Lucken

Editor Nicole Stepanek

© Vladimir Ross, 2017

© Nada Orlic, cover design, 2017

© Paul Lucken, translation, 2017

ISBNВ 978-5-4483-9368-6

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Generals of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs made a fatal mistake. Some bureaucrat from the central department was zealous enough to contact publishers in Moscow with a strict forbiddance against the publications of writer Vladimir Ross. Without any hesitation the author moved to the United States. It was not long until an ardent address came from across the ocean. Opposition from Russian security forces had only encouraged this cosmopolitan author to become more driven. Everything that he tactfully omitted while living in his homeland, the author now describes in all of its glory. And not only in his mighty native language. English has come into play. The first volume, “One Cup Chronicles,” is similar to the Russian collection of stories, “One Cup Chronicles,” published on Amazon and Ridero. In the near future the author will return to the public with his main novella forbidden in Russia, The Thief – a stumbling stone of all conflicts with authority. For now, you can enjoy the short, fascinating crime stories of the series “One Cup Chronicles.” A cup of coffee taken along with the new stories will especially emphasize a somewhat bitter taste of the criminal world.

Prologue

My first audience, critics as they were, have been gracious friends. As it happens, the earliest reading of my work was in a little café on the East River Side. There we gathered on that first extraordinary Tuesday, drinking coffee. I, overcoming my own embarrassment, humbly read the tale about a gentleman immigrant from the collection of “One Cup Chronicles.” Having lived through similar experiences themselves, the two criminal authorities turned out to be a first-rate audience and knowledgeable critics. Fact keeps with fact. For me their opinions were more precious than all of the sales on Amazon. Senya arrived a few years ago in the first wave of immigrants. He was content and spoke a simple English. With first-hand knowledge of the docks, he reasoned about American politics. He had managed to marry a full-blooded American woman, and it was no surprise that he wanted to put in his rusty two cents on the tale.

“Valdemar, I say, this is nowhere near good enough! You write about the pickpocket as if he’s a dead soul. Enliven him. Nazar is a man who deserves praise, and you make him out to be a common bandit. In the past at the Kolyma work camps, I knew many such men, punks of a noble and honorable nature. A righteous kind of thief, not associating himself with just any sort of brigand.”

Ignoring his nonsense, IВ felt no need toВ defend myself against what he said, and yet at home IВ quickly wrote out aВ part ofВ the narrative inВ accordance with his comments.

Anastas was much less expressive. Expelled from his homeland ofВ Greece byВ Greek criminals, carrying only that which was inВ his pockets, he found refuge inВ the United States, just outside the range ofВ the Greek community. He usually just nodded and grinned and, when my story caught his imagination, rubbed the bridge ofВ his nose. He always listened through until the end ofВ the story. He was growing acquainted with our Senya, whom IВ had known alread