History Literature / TsarGorokhsDetectiveAgency

* TheCape: In the fifth novel, Mitka is framed for the kidnapping of several young girls. In order to protect him, Nikita sends him back to his mother in the village for a vacation he originally asked for. A few days later, a strange man dressed in red and blue and draped in a cape starts meting out vigilante justice. Nikita immediately realizes who it is and regrets telling Mitka about {{Superman}}.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Zmey Gorynych is a typical Slavic dragon with multiple heads. According to Koschei, he is extremely old and is ''extremely'' fond of [[AnythingThatMoves anything female]], to the point where he has tons of lizard descendants (apparently, including dinosaurs). He likes kidnapping women, marrying them, and, after he grows bored with them, eating them. In his human form, Zmey Gorynych looks like a cultured European aristocrat calling himself Von Drakhen. He also appears to be the BiggerBad to Koschei, who is terrified of Zmey Gorynych. [[spoiler:Except it's all an act, and Koschei is the true mastermind, who plots to get rid of both his rival and Nikita in one fell swoop]].

* EnemyMine: In ''The Plot of the Black Mass'', Koschei invites Nikita to his castle to discuss a temporary truce in order to stop [[spoiler:Beelzebub]] from being summoned in Russian lands. Naturally, being a villain, he has trouble keeping his own word and sends large, [[RedEyesTakeWarning red-eyed]] owls to attack Nikita on the way home. In the ninth book, Nikita is the one who goes to Koschei to ask for help in dealing with [[BiggerBad Zmey Gorynych]]. [[spoiler:Once again, Koschei tries to trick the heroes and, in the end, turns out to be TheManBehindTheMan anyway]].

* BiggerBad: In the ninth novel, it seems that Koschei has been finally supplanted by [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Zmey Gorynych]] as the biggest threat. [[spoiler:Except Gorynych isn't as smart as he believes himself to be and has been unknowingly manipulated by Koschei all this time]].

* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: Nikita encounters two of them in the second novel when seeking for the water of life to cure Mitka of a vampire scratch. As befitting the Russian folklore, mermaids are girls who have or have been drowned. As he finds out later, the [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue-haired]] Una drowned herself from unrequited love, while the green-haired Dina was drowned by her mother as a baby for being born out of wedlock. Both have normal human (very attractive) legs and are wearing thin dresses that leave little to the imagination (it helps that the dresses are wet). The myth of the fishtails was spread by women to keep their husbands away from the mermaids. Una and Dina give Nikita what he asks but demand payment in the form of a [[TwoPersonPoolParty three-person river party]]. However, it's a ruse to get him in the water, where they plan to tickle him to death and drown him. They almost succeed, but Nikita is saved by a field spirit whom [[CallItKarma he had been nice to earlier]].

* ASpotOfTea: The non-alcoholic drink of choice. Samovars are a staple in every household, and sweets are frequently served with tea. However, being a modern Russian man, Nikita likes coffee as well, which he occasionally gets from the German ambassador.

'''''Tsar Gorokh's Detective Agency''''' (''Тайный сыск царя Гороха'', Tainyi sysk tsarya Gorokha) is a series of novels by the Russian fantasy author Creator/AndreiBelyanin. Like all his other works, the series is full of deliberate anachronisms, magic, and humor. The protagonist of the series, Mladshiy Leytenant (Third Lieutenant) Nikita Ivashov, is a modern-day Russian fresh-out-of-the-academy [[UsefulNotes/SpellOurNameWithAPo policeman]]. One day, during field training in an abandoned village, he enters a hut's basement, which someone immediately shuts on him. After getting out, he finds himself in a [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Medieval Russian city called Lukoshkino]] ruled by the strict but just Tsar Gorokh. After explaining who he is to the Tsar, Nikita is asked to head the first Russian detective agency using modern investigative techniques (technically, the wording used for the agency better translates as SecretPolice, but Nikita's job description is exactly what you would expect a police detective to do). Setting up his office in the home of Literature/BabaYaga, whom he recruits as an expert on forensics and all things magical (thanks to her criminal past), he is also given a simple-minded village boy named Dmitriy "Mitka" Lobov, as a "junior associate". Being a clear example of both DumbMuscle and MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong (apparently, he bends horseshoes with his bare hands for fun), Mitka frequently creates more problems than he solves. In later books, he is also given a company of Tsar's streltsy (guards) under Sotnik (commander of 100) Foma Yeremeyev to add manpower to the agency.

* BadassBeard: Most Russian men in the novels have beards, as shaving wasn't common in Medieval Russia. In fact, during certain periods, it was illegal for commoners to shave. Nikita continues to shave, as beards are against police regulations.

* ShiftingTheBurdenOfProof: Nikita has a lot of trouble convincing Gorokh that a suspect's guilt needs to be proven before he or she can be punished. In the first novel, after Nikita rounds up some suspects in a theft, Gorokh simply tells him to [[OffWithHisHead behead]] them all and be done with it.

* RealityEnsues: Unusual for a fairy tale world. In the ninth book, Nikita meets Emelya from the well-known folk tale "Emelya and the Pike". Nikita is a little surprised to find out that he's still living in the same hamlet he grew up in instead of the tsardom he supposedly received from a tsar. Emelya explains that, along with the wisdom the Pike has given him, came the knowledge that running a tsardom is ''frigging hard'', especially with zero prior experience. Also, the tsar's daughter he received in marriage left him as soon as he lifted the love spell. The same wisdom also made him realize that he only wanted her to be with him of her own free will. Thus, he's right back where he's started, in an even worse situation than before, as the house was destroyed by the magical stove, and he's haunted by the knowledge that he has achieved nothing in his life. Ouch. Maybe it's a good thing fairy tales end when they do.

* EverythingIsBetterWithPrincesses: In the fourth book, the Tsar finally decides to re-marry (he is widowed before the start of the series), and princesses from all over the world (well, mostly Europe, but an Ethiopian princess also shows up) arrive to try to become the new Tsarina.

* GreedyJew: Abram Shmulinson occasionally shows traits of this. Being a stereotypical [[AllJewsAreAshkenazi Ashkenazi]] Jew, it's inevitable. In the fourth novel, he's made the official referee in the Lukoshkino Hockey Championship (as the only unbiased party due to the absence of a Jewish team). He figures out a clever way to make some money on the side while still running a fair game: he privately offers to rig the game to both team captains with the stipulation that he returns the money if the team loses. Thus, no matter what, he gets paid, and nobody can claim the game was rigged. Unfortunately for him, the wives of the captains end up meeting, and the truth comes out. The captains also frequently take him out to dinners. "Coincidentally", his wife and kids show up at the tavern to ask him how he can eat when his children are starving (in fact, he makes a decent living as an undertaker and usurer), causing the other people to feel guilty and feed them as well.

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: While averted with Tsarina Lidia, who ultimately means well, it's played straight with Koschei's estranged wife (whose name translates as something like "Arrogant Hag"), if Koschei can be considered the king of the evil forces. Koschei is so afraid of her, he had her entombed in a mountain of salt (the only substance that can weaken Koschei or her).

The series consists of 8 novels and is the author's longest running series:

* GlamorFailure: The Shamakhan sorcerers are able to make themselves look and sound like anyone. The only things they can't hide are their small impish horns and pig-like tails (although hats and pants are usually helpful in that regard). Also, [[spoiler:the Tsar's chrysoprase ring, when worn on the pinky,]] allows one to see right through the disguise.

* LoveInterest: In the third novel, Nikita meets a pretty girl named Alyona. By the fifth novel, he is ready to turn heaven and earth to find her. In the seventh novel, they finally marry. [[spoiler:She is initially a demoness, sold by her parents to Koschei at a young age. Fortunately, Nikita accidentally gets one of Koschei's {{Mook}}s to chew up her contract, and she is turned back into a human, free from Koschei's control]].

* WoundedGazelleGambit: In the third novel, a woman wearing a [[InvisibilityCloak cap of invisibility]] attacks the precinct in an attempt to kill the last surviving witness. The good guys manage to drive her off and give chase. They arrive to a tanner's place and witness [[spoiler:Alyona fighting the red-headed FemmeFatale they have been looking for. The two women fall into a vat of water, and the red-headed woman appears to have fallen on her own knife. Later, Nikita is made to realize that Alyona has been working for Koschei all this time. She is the one who attacks the precinct and then kills a fellow criminal to frame her. She does admit it all to Nikita at the end of the novel, explaining that she is forced to serve Koschei until the end of the end of the deal. She still falls for Nikita, though]].

* AnachronismStew: The series doesn't appear to try to stick to any historical time period, instead going for a generic "Medieval Russia" feel with some magic thrown in for good measure. The first novel has various birds show up in Baba Yaga's yard when she summons them. When Nikita is listing the birds, turkeys are mentioned to be among them. Turkeys are native to North America and wouldn't be imported to Russia until centuries later.

# ''The Dead Has to Be Taken Alive'' (2017)

# ''Take the Dead Alive'' (2017)

** In the fourth novel, Colonel Chorniy, the commander of the visiting Cossack delegation, seems like a decent guy. After discovering that a gold-and-diamond bulawa (ceremonial mace) that he was tasked to gift to the Tsar has been stolen, he calmly explains the situation to Nikita and tells him that, if it's not found, he'll have no choice but to [[AteHisGun shoot himself]] to avoid the shame of returning to the Sich (the Cossack capital) in disgrace. Like the German ambassador, he expresses certain anti-Semitic tendencies (both Germans and Cossacks are historically known for their dislike of Jews).

* OurLichesAreDifferent: Koschei cannot be killed by any known means. He is a DiabolicalMastermind who is behind most conspiracies threatening Lukoshkino. The only way to kill him is to find his death, which is at the tip of a needle, which is inside an egg, which is inside a duck, which is inside a hare, which is in an iron chest, which is hanging on an old oak. Being a DiabolicalMastermind, Koschei has [[spoiler:planted a whole forest of oaks with chests, hares, ducks, eggs, and needles. Additionally, it turns out that snapping off the ''tip'' of a needle is incredibly hard without any tools. Breaking a needle in half doesn't work.

* LoveInterest: In the third novel, Nikita meets a pretty girl named Alyona. By the fifth novel, he is ready to turn heaven and earth to find her. In the seventh novel, they finally marry.

* EverythingIsBetterWithPrincesses: In the fourth book, the Tsar finally decides to re-marry (he is widowed before the start of the series), and princesses from all over the world (well, mostly Europe, but a Nigerian princess also shows up) arrive to try to become the new Tsarina.

* HollywoodVoodoo: Tamtamba Mumumba, a Nigerian princess who arrives to Lukoshkino in the fourth book in an attempt to marry the Tsar, appears to be a voodoo practitioner. She makes wax dolls out of some of her biggest competitors with things like hairs and nail clippings inside. Since magic is real in this setting, it's not a stretch to assume that voodoo works here as well. However, Nikita points out that voodoo only works on someone who believes in it. It's all fine until Tamtamba explains to the Tsar what voodoo is, making him vulnerable to it. Indeed, the very next day he announces that he wishes to marry her. When Nikita searches her room and finds the wax doll of the Tsar, he breaks it open, freeing the Tsar from its spell (in fact, the Tsar doesn't remember the past day at all).