Russians bombarded Bucha, Borodyanka, Irpin and other cities in the region following their invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. By the time they retreated a month later, the damage was huge: buildings had been destroyed and there were corpses lying in the streets. Filmmakers Mila Teshaieva and Marcus Lenz went in immediately, in time to film local people emerging from their shelters, but never showing the actual atrocities. That wasn’t necessary, as the trauma of war is clear to see on everyone’s faces, including those of the volunteers who rushed in from far and wide to help.

Over the course of several weeks, the filmmakers follow various residents as they pick themselves up from the smoldering ruins. The dead are identified, debris is cleared, and prosecutors start talking about a war tribunal. At first, all is panic, despair and sadness—accompanied by sheer bafflement that they have been attacked by a country with so many ties to families and friends. But as the first blossoms of spring start appearing, these Ukrainians also reveal their resilience.

The project tells about life in criminal circles, high-profile criminal cases of the 1940s and 1950s, famous gangsters and criminal investigators, operatives and forensic experts.

Viewers are presented with little-known facts about the criminal activities of legendary figures such as Father Angel, the ‘raider’ Sergei Astrakhansky, and the ‘bear hunter’ Kuvalda.

Each episode presents in detail the secret activities of the secret services and previously unknown historical events that were long kept under the classification ‘Top Secret,’ as well as exclusive chronicles that were long hidden from the public. Each programme reveals topics about saboteurs, the fight against the Nazis, the confrontation between SMERSH and the Abwehr, espionage, post-war famine and rampant banditry.