The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt

The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt (Слово пацана. Кровь на асфальте) is a 2023 Russian crime drama television series directed by Zhora Kryzhovnikov and written by Kryzhovnikov and Andrey Zolotarev. It is based on the novel The Word of the Boy: Criminal Tatarstan of the 1970s–2010s by Robert Garaev about the Kazan phenomenon. The series gained wide popularity in Russia and other post-Soviet countries.

Plot
In the late 1980s, when “perestroika” was taking place in the USSR and the era of the Soviet Union was about to collapse, life became unstable and very different. The 1980s brought not only freedom, but also waves of crime on the city streets. While some young people began to ‘grow up’ on the streets, others found it difficult to find their place in this unpredictable reality.

The main character, fourteen-year-old Andrey, lives with his mother and five-year-old sister. He studies at a music school and often encounters street teenagers who harass him. To protect himself, Andrey makes friends with one of these teenagers, Marat. Marat helps him to immerse in the world of street life, gang life. Youth groups fight for every piece of territory; they defend their right to live the life, even breaking laws and promises. The only thing that matters to them is the vows they make to their gang members-brothers, with whom they confront the violence and fears of the adult world.

At the same time, begins the story of the relationship between Andrey and the young juvenile inspector, Irina Sergeevna.

Main

 * Ivan Yankovsky as Vova "Adidas" Suvorov (Вова "Адидас" Суворов), leader of the "Universam" gang, Marat’s older brother.
 * Ruzil Minekayev as Marat "Adidas Junior" Suvorov (Марат "Адидас-младший" Суворов), member of the "Universam" gang, Vova’s younger brother.
 * Leon Kemstach as Andrey "Palto" Vasilyev (Андрей "Пальто" Васильев), new member of the "Universam" gang.

People around Suvorov brothers

 * Elizaveta Bazykina as Natasha Rudakova (Наташа Рудакова), nurse, Vova's girlfriend.
 * Anna Peresild as Aigul Akhmerova (Айгуль Ахмерова), school student, Marat's girlfriend.
 * Sergey Burunov as Kirill Suvorov (Кирилл Суворов), Vova and Marat's father.
 * Svetlana Smirnova-Katsagadzhieva as Dilyara (Диляра), Marat's mother, Vova's stepmother.
 * Ildus Abrahmanov as Renat (Ренат), Aigul's father.
 * Ruslana Doronina as Aigul's mother.

People around Andrey

 * Anastasiya Krasovskaya as Irina Sergeevna (Ирина Сергеевна), juvenile inspector, Andrey's love interest.
 * Yuliya Aleksandrova as Svetlana Mikhailovna (Светлана Михайловна), Andrey's mother.
 * Varvara Kuprina as Yulia (Юля), Andrey's younger sister.
 * Grigory Dudnik as Iskander (Искандер), Andrey's former friend, a member of the "Razyezd" gang.

Others

 * Anton Vasilyev as Ildar Yunusovich (Ильдар Юнусович), militsiya leading investigator.
 * Nikita Kologrivyy as "Kashchei" (Кащей), former leader of the "Universam" gang.
 * Lev Zulkarnaev as Vakhit "Zima" Zimaletdinov (Вахит "Зима" Зималетдинов), one of the "supers" of the "Universam" gang.
 * Slava Kopeykin as Valera "Turbo" Turkin (Валера "Турбо" Туркин), one of the "supers" of the "Universam" gang.
 * Ivan Makarevich as "John" (Джон), lead singer of a musical group.
 * Alexander Samoylenko Jr. as Denis Konevich (Денис Коневич), head of the operational Komsomol detachment of vigilantes.
 * Nikita Manets as Kirill (Кирилл), former member of the "Universam" gang.
 * Yaroslav Mogilnikov as Misha "Yeralash" Tilkin (Миша "Ералаш" Тилькин), member of the "Universam" gang.
 * Albert Tavabilov as Albert "Lampa" Salikhov (Альберт "Лампа" Салихов), member of the "Universam" gang.
 * Andrey Maksimov as "Zhyoltyy" (Жёлтый), leader of the "Dom Byta" gang.
 * Vladimir Vinogradov as a video salon owner.
 * Natalia Potapova as Flyura Gabdulovna (Флюра Габдуловна), English teacher and deputy head teacher of the school.
 * Olga Lapshina as Nina, Natasha's aunt and Zhyoltyy's mother.
 * Lydia Ilyina as Polina Filippovna (Полина Филипповна), Yeralash's grandmother.

Production
In December 2023, the scriptwriter of the series, Andrey Zolotarev, said that he had prepared stories for two new seasons of the series.

Critical response
Film critic Vasily Stepanov praised the series and wrote: "The author's intensity and expression are captivating; everything that makes Kryzhovnikov's cinema worth loving is present: an uninhibited camera, well-conceived crowd scenes, passionate acting (the casting here is golden)". Critic Zinaida Pronchenko responded negatively to the series: "The main problem of the series is not even the dominance of props too much melted snow, peeling panel houses (inside of which one finds five-room apartments worthy of academician Keldysh), rusty zaporozhets, muskrat hats, obsessive slang, Yura Shatunov, but a complete lack of any development".

British newspaper The Economist notes "high production values and unflinching drama" in the series. The Economist writes: "The series' grimmer episodes, full of severed ears, rape and murder, make it clear it does not glorify violence".