''Streets of Broken Lights'' (russian: Улицы разбитых фонарей, Ulitsy razbitykh fonarey) is a Russian criminal drama-detective TV series anthology about police work in Saint-Petersburg. The pilot episode, known as ''Menty'' (russian: Менты, literally "Cops") premiered in 1995, while the initial series ran for 16 nonconsecutive seasons from 1998 to 2019, with 500 episodes released overall and making it the longest crime series in Russia.Алексеева Ю. Е. Сериалы убойной силы. — М.: Анаграмма, 2008. — С. 29-59. — 160 с. — (Клуб любителей сериалов). — 4000 экз. — The series eventually spun off two more shows with same and new characters: '' Deadly Force'' (2000—2005) and ''

Bandit Petersburg ''Bandit Petersburg'' (or ''Gangster Petersburg'', russian: Бандитский Петербург) is a Russian detective television series. It was one of the most successful Russian series of the early 2000s. The series is loosely based on the ...

'' (2000—2007).

Plot

The main series recounts everyday life of a typical district police establishment in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Police officers have to face uneasy duties, some must go undercover, while others do mostly forensic work. ''Streets of Broken Lights'' was inspired in part by a similar series called ''Petrovka-38'', recounting everyday work of a similar unit in Moscow; in part by the blatant crime rate of the 1990s in Russia. Many fictitious cases presented in the show are based on real life cases having occurred during that dangerous period.

Awards

* Grand Prix at the First Interstate (April 1999) * Award

TEFI TEFI (russian: ТЭФИ) is an annual award given in the Russian television industry, presented by the Russian Academy of Television. It has been awarded since 1994. TEFI is presented in various sectors (up to 50 nominations in 2008), such as tele ...

in the nomination best TV show of the year (May 1999) * Award

in nomination best feature TV series (May 1999)

Spin-offs

Main series

*'' Deadly Force'' (2000–2005) *''

'' (2000–2007)

Documentary series

*''Chronicles of the Deadly Department'' (2004–2007) *''Liteyny, 4 / Liteyny'' (2009–2014)

Standalone film

*''Insurers'' (2011)

References

External links

* ' Channel One Russia original programming STS (TV channel) original programming TNT (Russian TV channel) original programming NTV (Russia) original programming Films directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin Russian crime television series Russian workplace drama television series Russian police procedural television series 1998 Russian television series debuts 1990s Russian television series 2000s Russian television series 2010s Russian television series Television shows set in Saint Petersburg Fictional portrayals of the Saint Petersburg Police 2019 Russian television series endings {{Russia-tv-prog-stub