Chapter 7: The Brink of Nothing Summary

Chapter seven tells Ryzhik's story. He is an old Trotskyist who has been deported. Prosecutor Rachevsky, Gordeyev, Popov, and Zvyeryeva agree that Ryzhik is the perfect person to add to the Tulayev case. They need a Trotskyist to complete their investigation.

Ryzhik has been living in a place that he calls the Brink of Nothing for years, guarded by one soldier named Pakhomov. The two men become friends and spend their days playing cards, hunting, philosophizing, or listening to Pakhomov play the accordion.

One day, Pakhomov tells Ryzhik that his deportation is over and he has orders to take him to the city. Ryzhik is taken to the nearest town and then shuttled from prison to prison by freight car until he finally makes it back to Moscow.

Shortly after he is examined in a...