Vsevolod Krestovsky repeatedly called Konstantin Tumanov his teacher and even gave almost the same name to his most famous novel. Popular at the end of the 19th century, K. Tumanov, according to V. Bonch-Bruevich, "Laid the cornerstone of the Russian detective," but after the revolution it was forgotten and was practically not published in Soviet times. This book presents K. Tumanov's most famous novel, Petersburg Slums, as well as Criminal Tales, many of which formed the basis of the works of such detective masters of the early 20th century as A. Zarin, A. Krasnitsky and A. Shklyarevsky.