Тайна старой газеты

V raznykh stranakh i v raznykh ėpokhakh, slovno vremi͡a i prostranstvo nad nim ne vlastny, poi͡avli͡alsi͡a zagadochnyĭ sedovlasyĭ staret͡s, kotoryĭ predlagal vsem zhelai͡ushchim sygratʹ s nim partii͡u v kosti. Taĭna ego lichnosti byla pokryta mrakom: odni videli v nem uchenogo-alkhimika, drugie schitali chernoknizhnikom i obvini͡ali v obshchenii s dʹi͡avolom. Kak by to ni bylo, no li͡uboĭ, kto prinimal ego predlozhenie, stanovilsi͡a svidetelem cheredy strannykh, neobʺi͡asnimykh sobytiĭ. . . V sovremennom Peterburge detektivu-li͡ubiteli͡u Nadezhde Lebedevoĭ popadaet v ruki stopka starykh sovetskikh gazet, i chto udivitelʹno: proisshestvii͡a, opisannye na ikh stranit͡sakh, strannym obrazom nachinai͡ut povtori͡atʹsi͡a v nastoi͡ashchem. Buduchi chelovekom zdravomysli͡ashchim i ne veri͡ashchim v misticheskie sovpadenii͡a, Nadezhda zhelaet razobratʹsi͡a v proiskhodi͡ashchem. I poiski istiny privodi͡at ee k zlopoluchnym igralʹnym kosti͡am…

In different countries and in different epochs, as if time and space had no control over him, a mysterious gray-haired elder appeared who invited everyone to play a game of dice with him. The mystery of his identity was shrouded in darkness: some saw him as an alchemist scientist, others considered him a warlock and accused him of communicating with the devil. Anyway, anyone who accepted his offer witnessed a series of strange, inexplicable events. . . In modern St. Petersburg, amateur detective Nadezhda Lebedeva gets her hands on a stack of old Soviet newspapers, and surprisingly, the incidents described on their pages strangely begin to repeat themselves in the present. Being a sane person who does not believe in mystical coincidences, Nadezhda wants to understand what is happening. And her search for the truth leads her to the ill-fated dice.…