Two idiots Nikita and Artem

Culture and Communities:
Music: Clubs like "Breeze," "Pilgrim," and "Rock 'n' Roll Pub" play everything from pop to R'n'B to Russian rock. The alternative scene (punk, metal, indie) hangs out in more underground venues like the "Tsunami" club (in the basement at Dekabrskie Sobytiy) or at apartment concerts.
Subcultures: Emo, Goth, punk, rapper—all very colorful and easily identifiable by their clothing. Clashes sometimes break out between groups.
Students: Irkutsk is a city of students (Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk State Technical University, Belarusian State University of Economics and Law, and the Medical University). Dorms are separate worlds with their own rules, romances, and dramas.
The Spirit of Baikal: Baikal is sacred, but in 2009, tourism wasn't yet so widespread. A trip to Baikal (Listvyanka, Olkhon) is a special, almost ritualistic event, a cleansing from the city's grime and bustle.

Everyday vocabulary and details:
Money: They paid in rubles, not conventional units. A bottle of beer at a kiosk was 30-40 rubles, a shawarma 50-70.
Transportation: The main means of transportation are trams and minibuses (called "topiki" in Hyundai County). Taxis are mostly unofficial, like "gypsy cabs."
Language: Local slang with a touch of criminal jargon. Addressing strangers as "muzhik" (man). A characteristic Siberian accent, with drawn-out vowels.

Key locations and their spirit:

1. Kirov Square (formerly Tikhvinskaya): The heart of the city. The Modny Kvartal shopping center (new and glamorous), next to the classic TsUM (Soviet-era, more affordable). Nearby is the eternal smell of fried belyashi and chebureki from the stalls. A diverse youth hangs out here: from glamorous girls to goths and punks.
2. The Angara Embankment (near the monument to Alexander III): The main place for strolls. It overlooks the mighty, cold river and the famous icebreaker "Angara." In winter, there are snowdrifts and icy winds; in summer, there are weddings, tourists, and sellers of corn and souvenirs (matryoshka dolls, stones from Lake Baikal). It's a place for philosophical conversations and chance encounters.
3. 130th Quarter (Irkutsk Sloboda): In 2009, it was just beginning to be reconstructed. It wasn't a glamorous tourist area, but rather a construction site and a slice of old, half-abandoned Irkutsk. An ideal place for secret meetings, relic hunting, or mystical exploration.
4. Yubileiny Market (on Timiryazev Street): Chaos, energy, life. You can buy everything from Chinese sneakers and pirated CDs to homemade dumplings and omul. The cries of vendors and the smell of spices, fish, and donuts fill the air. A place where all social strata collide.
5. Dormitories and "sleeping communities" (e.g., Sinyushina Gora, Pervomaysky): A world of gray panel buildings, dilapidated playgrounds, and cheap beer and shawarma stands. An atmosphere of everyday life, petty despair, and friendship.
6. Karavella Shopping Center (outside): A symbol of the new era. For many Irkutsk residents, a trip there was almost like a "foray into another world"—clean, modern, with a movie theater and food court.

General atmosphere: The "dashing noughties" are drawing to a close
· Global crisis localized: The global financial crisis of 2008-2009 reached Russia. Many businesses froze, wages were delayed, and the future was bleak. This created a background tension, a mixture of apathy and survival.
· Contrasts: The first islands of prosperity had already appeared (new car dealerships, restaurants, “European-style” renovations), but they stood in sharp contrast to the general shabby atmosphere, Soviet courtyards, and poverty.
The spirit of the "wild 90s" is still in the air: Violent showdowns between businessmen have died down, but the aftershocks remain. "Criminals" can still influence the situation in the city. Crime reports in the local press are commonplace.
The desolation and romance of the old town: The center (especially the area around Dekabrskikh Sobytiy, Karl Marx, and Lenin Streets) is a mix of restored merchant mansions and rapidly deteriorating wooden houses with carved window frames. Many of them were already in disrepair, but they were still bustling with life. The smell of stove smoke is common in winter.
Technology at a crossroads: Everyone already has push-button phones (Nokia, Sony Ericsson). Mobile internet exists, but it's slow and expensive (GPRS/EDGE). Apartments have dial-up or the only recently introduced ADSL. Computer clubs are a pilgrimage site for young people. VKontakte is already popular, but live communication is still key.

Artyom Anufriev and Nikita Lytkin, known as the "Academy maniacs," were thin, pale, and had sullen faces.

Artem Anufriev:
tall, thin, light brown hair, short hair, brown eyes.
Born on October 4, 1992 in Irkutsk, he grew up without a father.
Friends described Artyom's childhood only in positive terms, but also noted that his childhood was very difficult psychologically.
For some time he was a member of the NS skinhead movement; in certain circles he was nicknamed “Fashik-Nazi”.
After his arrest, he said that it was his association with neo-Nazis that led him to commit murders, although he and Lytkin did not remain in their company for long, considering their ideology too passive and soft.

Nikita Lytkin:
dark brown hair and brown eyes.
In the eighth grade, he began skipping school and, unlike Artyom, only completed nine grades.
I entered college twice: first into an energy college, then, in 2010, into a construction college.
In the first case, he was expelled for poor academic performance after he failed his first exam session.
In the second case, Nikita had a conflict with his classmates when they started bullying him, and one of his classmates began to patronize him, but in return extorted money and stole things from Nikita's house.
For a while, I was involved in music, drawing, and kickboxing, but gradually abandoned all of this and began devoting all my free time to regularly visiting social networks.