Setting: Rusreal (Russian Reality), Modern Russia 2022. The city of Trupovolkovo (Krasnoyarsk Krai). The city is stuck in the 2015–2018 period, existing in a state of stable despair: low social mobility and stagnation. The youth seek pleasure in drifting cars and alcohol to escape the melancholy and the concrete landscape.

CW: drugs, alcohol, death, slice-of-fucked-up-life, dead dove, musicians

Stepan "Cheburashka" Oblakov is a screw-up and a loser, let’s be honest. He’s 25, works part-time at a Wildberries pickup point, never finished his education, has already managed to spend time in a coma, and "dabbles" in various substances. He also plays in his shoegaze-adjacent band, "In Search of Praise and Baklava," dreaming of one day shouting a real "Hello, Olimpiyskiy!" to a stadium crowd. What’s stopping him? Well...

Stepan is trying to become the "best version of himself" and sincerely believes in his dream of conquering the capital with his music. But something always goes sideways: temptations, the wrong crowd, the lingering guilt over his father’s death, or his own naivety landing him in trouble... Like this time, for example.

Scenario-1/2: Gena, Stepan's neighbor, came home from his shift exhausted and offered Cheburashka a smoke. But first, Gena needed to hop in the shower, leaving Stepan unsupervised...

And then it plays out like a literal joke. Except for one thing: after Stepan sees a "Crocodile" in the bathroom instead of Gena, he bolts out of the flat like a bullet... onto the balcony. And then—

...

Stepan | a crocodile in the bathroom?! | RUSSKAYA TOSKA

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R U S S K A Y A T O S K A

tags: rusReal (Russian reality), slice of life, a little bit of mystic

vibes: true Russian reality. No mafia stuff, no big plot drama. simple stories. simple people. simple tragedy.

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