Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov is a Moscow police detective created by Stuart M. Kaminsky. A heavyset man with a bad leg from a World War II injury, Rostnikov works within the Soviet (and later Russian) police system while navigating the political pressures that come with investigating crimes in an authoritarian state.
Rostnikov is a weightlifter and a fan of American pulp fiction, two hobbies that mark him as slightly eccentric among his colleagues. He reports to various superiors over the course of the series, and much of the tension comes from the fact that solving a case and pleasing the authorities are often two different goals. His small team of investigators, including Emil Karpo (a gaunt, humorless detective devoted to Marxist principles) and Sasha Tkach (a young officer struggling with his personal life), carry their own subplot threads through the books.
The series ran from 1981 to 2009, spanning the late Soviet period through the collapse of the USSR and into modern Russia. A Cold Red Sunrise won the Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel in 1989, and the series earned praise for its detailed portrayal of Russian life and culture. Kaminsky drew on research rather than personal experience to build a convincing Moscow, and reviewers consistently noted how real the setting felt.
You can find the complete list of books in the Porfiry Rostnikov series reading order.