Bandit Petersburg
Bandit Petersburg (or Gangster Petersburg, Russian: Бандитский Петербург) is a Russian detective television series. It was one of the most successful Russian series of the early 2000s. The series is loosely based on the eight works of Andrei Konstantinov.[1]
The first two parts premiered in May 2000 on the NTV channel. In total, ten seasons were produced, the last of which was broadcast in 2007.[2] The only character who appears in 9 seasons (except the film The Operative), is Lieutenant Colonel Kudasov by Yevgeny Sidikhin.
Music
The series' theme song is The City that isn't there, by singer and composer Igor Kornelyuk, and lyricist Regina Lisits . Part I of the series also features You're a Stranger To Me by Tatiana Bulanova as a secondary theme.[1]
Anachronism
Although the events of the series are portrayed as taking place in the late 1980s to early 1990s, anachronistic objects such as car models, mobile phones, personal computers, signage and media appear in the series; even gravestones with dates from the late 1990s appear.
Cast
- Yevgeny Sidikhin as Lieutenant Colonel Nikita Nikitich Kudasov - season 1-4, 6-10[3]
- Aleksandr Domogarov as Journalist Andrei Seregin (Obnorsky) - season 1-6
- Lev Borisov as Viktor Govorov (Criminal Authority Antibiotic) - season 1-6
- Mikhail Razumovsky as Detective Alexander Zverev - season 4-7, 9
- Alexander Romantsov as Banker Nikolai Naumov (Kolya-Vanya) - season 4-7
- Andrei Tolubeyev as Deputy Head Gennady Vaschanov, ORB - season 1-3, 5
- Yan Tsapnik as Journalist Igor Nikiforov (Colleague Seregin) - season 3, 7-10
- Alexander Peskov as Vladimir Dmitrievich Nefedov (Businessman and Crime Boss) - season 7-10
- Yuri Itskov as Valentin Losev (Kingpin Prongs) - season 7-10
- Dmitry Pevtsov as Sergei Alexandrovich Chelishchev (Black lawyer) - 2 season
- Aleksei Serebryakov as Oleg Zvantsev (White lawyer) - 2 season
- Olga Drozdova / Anna Samokhina as Catherina Zvantseva (childhood friend and sweetheart both lawyers) - 2 season (4-6)
- Kirill Lavrov as Yuri Alexandrovich Mikheev (kingpin Baron) - 1 season
- Evgeniya Kryukova as Lydia Pospelova, investigator - 1 season
Series structure
The series can be divided into two parts:
- Seasons 1 to 6, released from 2000-2003, were set in the 1990s, and featured topics involving bandit lawlessness and corruption in law enforcement.
- Seasons 7 to 10, released during 2005-2007, had mostly new characters, was set in more recent times and featured topics that involved big business.
Seasons based on the works of Konstantinov
- The Baron (2000) - 5 episodes
- The Lawyer (2000) - 10 episodes
- The Fall of Antibiotic (2001) - 8 episodes
- The Prisoner (2003) - 7 episodes
- The Operative (2003) - 5 episodes
- The Journalist (2003) - 7 episodes
Seasons based on the works of other writers
7. Redistribution (2005) - 12 episodes (the script was written based on a concept of Andrei Konstantinov
8. Terminal (2006) - 12 episodes
9. Dutch Passage (2006) - 12 episodes
10. Payback (2007) - 12 episodes
Reaction of Konstantinov to the later episodes
Konstantinov said that the series Bandit Petersburg consisted of 7 parts rather than 10, since, in his opinion, Terminal, Dutch Passage and Payback were taken in violation of copyright. Unlike the DVD, these films were broadcast without use of Bandit Petersburg in the title, although the title was listed in channel information.
Sources
The original books were:
- The Lawyer
- The Justice
- Attorney 2
- The Thief
- Journalist 2
The Writer
- The Inventor
- Writer 2
- The Prisoner
- The Cop
- The Scavenger
- four works by other writers