Arkady Renko ( Russian: Аркадий Ренко) is a fictional detective who is the central character of nine novels by the American writer

Martin Cruz Smith Martin Cruz Smith (born November 3, 1942) is an American mystery novelist. He is best known for his nine-novel series (to date) on Russian investigator Arkady Renko, who was first introduced in 1981 with '' Gorky Park''. Early life and educ ...

.O'Brien, Timothy L. ''The New York Times'' (August 6, 2007)
Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko series: A trail of clues to the Russian soul
/ref>Wroe, Nicholas, ''The Guardian'' (March 26, 2005)
Crime Pays
/ref>

Character timeline

In '' Gorky Park'', the first novel, he is a chief investigator for the Soviet Militsiya in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, where he is in charge of homicide investigations. In the sequels, he takes on roles varying from a militiaman to a worker on a fish processing ship in the arctic. Born into the nomenklatura, Arkady is the son of

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

General Kiril Renko, an unrepentant Stalinist also known as "the Butcher", who sees Arkady as a bitter failure for choosing the simple life of a policeman over a military career, or even a career in the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

. Arkady was also never able to forgive himself for indirectly and unwittingly helping his mother commit suicide (he helped her gather the rocks she used to drown herself with in the lake at their family estate when he was a young boy). Wary of the official lies of Soviet society, Arkady exposes corruption and dishonesty on the part of influential and well-protected members of the elite, regardless of the consequences. When exposed to Western

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

society, he finds it to be equally corrupt and returns to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Despite this, and his own tough nature, he emerges as a man capable of displaying both compassion and a faith in the future. The first three books published between 1981 and 1992 form a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

culminating with the fall of the Soviet Union, at the

August Coup August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

in 1991. The action in '' Gorky Park'' takes place in the Soviet Union and in the US, ''

Polar Star A pole star or polar star is a star, preferably bright, nearly aligned with the axis of a rotating astronomical body. Currently, Earth's pole stars are Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), a bright magnitude-2 star aligned approximately with its ...

'' on board a Soviet fishing vessel in the Bering Sea, and ''

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

'' in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and the Glasnost-era Soviet Russia. ''

Havana Bay Havana Harbor is the port of Havana, the capital of Cuba, and it is the main port in Cuba (not including Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a territory on lease by the United States). Other port cities in Cuba include Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Manzanillo ...

'' is set in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

; ''

Wolves Eat Dogs ''Wolves Eat Dogs'' is a crime novel by Martin Cruz Smith, set in Russia and Ukraine in the year 2004. It is the fifth novel to feature Investigator Arkady Renko and the first one taking place in Russia during the new, independent (post-Soviet) ...

'' is set in Moscow and in the areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster. '' Stalin's Ghost'', published in 2007, returns Arkady to a Russia now presided over by

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, followed by '' Three Stations'' published in 2010,See, Carolyn, ''Washington Post'' (September 3, 2010)
"Three Stations," the new thriller by Martin Cruz Smith, author of "Gorky Park"
/ref> ''

Tatiana Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Variations * be, Тацця́на, Tatsiana * bg, Татяна, Tatyana * germ ...

'' in 2013 and ''The Siberian Dilemma'' in 2019.

The Arkady Renko novels

(with years of publication) #'' Gorky Park'' (1981) #''

'' (1989) #''

'' (1992) #''

'' (1999) #''

'' (2004) #'' Stalin's Ghost'' (2007) #'' Three Stations'' (2010) #''

'' (2013) #''The Siberian Dilemma (2019)''

Film

In 1983 ''Gorky Park'' was adapted as a film starring

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. H ...

as Renko.

References

External links

Martin Cruz Smith official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renko, Arkady Characters in American novels of the 20th century Characters in American novels of the 21st century Literary characters introduced in 1981 Fictional Russian people in literature Fictional Soviet people Fictional police detectives Fictional male detectives Thriller film characters

Character timeline

The Arkady Renko novels

Film

See also

References

External links