St Petersburg has embraced many of the characteristics of western capitalism and liberty, among them organised crime, police corruption and extortion. In this three-part drama, Yevgeni Grushko is Head of the Mafia Investigations Division of the local police force, facing new challenges as the internicine gang rivalries escalate towards war on the streets.
Grushko has to fight not just the mafiosi themselves but the councillors, politicians and businessmen who benefit from their activities. Money from crime is becoming a common currency.
Brian Cox , acclaimed as a National Theatre King Lear and RSC Titus Andronicus on the one hand, as the cinema's original Hannibal Lecter on the other, plays Grushko. His most recent television role was as Picasso in BBC2's Yo Picasso.
In this first episode, a restaurant is fire-bombed, a TV journalist and a member of a local mafia are murdered, and a valuable statuette is stolen.
What is the connection?
Producer Nicky Lund ; Director Tony Smith
Meeting the real Grushko in St Petersburg
SEE FEATURE page 38