Gary Grossman

His handshake was as tight as the rest of his body.

Aleksandr Dubroff had long ago retired from the Politburo, the Central Committee of the now-defunct Soviet Union.

Every spring and fall, Dubroff returned to the marshes, but not because he really liked mushrooms. It was the hunt—like in the old days when he looked under different kinds of rocks. Here he found Beilee, Podberiozouik, Gorkoshkee, and Maslikyonok.