which was extremely popular in the Soviet Union. Nikitin wrote it on a bet with his fellow writers who said that writing industrial novels was far more difficult than SF and that he was hardly capable of it. Nikitin bet that he would write such a novel in six months and won. The book received several awards, and a TV series was made on the basis of it. The novel featured real people – Nikitin's co-workers in the foundry. He even used their real names, and they were pleased by this fact. In 1976, Nikitin joined both the Communist Party and the USSR Union of Writers. He was the first ever science fiction writer who was not only allowed but invited insistently to do it. The management of both those organizations had rather slighting attitudes towards science fiction in general, but they highly appreciated Fire Worshippers and the fact that Nikitin was a workman without higher education: it was congruent with the aims of Communist propaganda. Nikitin used his newly gained opportunities and influence to found the Speculative Fiction Fan Club (SFFC) (Russian: Клуб Любителей Фантастики, КЛФ) in Kharkiv. It was designed as a communication platform for SF writers, scientists and avid readers, a place for literature discussions and critics, and a means to help young SF authors improve their writing skills and get their stories published. In 2003, Nikitin also created SFFC in Moscow. In 1979, Nikitin wrote his third book, The Golden Rapier: a historical novel about Alexander Zasyadko (1774-1837), a Russian general of Ukrainian origin and inventor of rocket weapons. The contents of the book were found to be inappropriate by Leonid Kravchuk, the head of agitprop department of the Communist Party of Ukraine. He accused Nikitin of Ukrainian nationalism and ordered to destroy all the printed copies of the book. For his scandalous novel, Nikitin was dismissed from his office in the Union of Writers, banned from publishing in Ukraine, and his name was forbidden to be mentioned in the local media. Also in 1979, he entered the prestigious Higher Literary Courses (HLC) in the Literary Institute, Moscow. The pro-rector of HLC had read The Golden Rapier and so liked it that he accepted Nikitin despite the Communist officials strongly recommending not to do it. In 1981, Nikitin completed HLC and returned to Kharkiv but could not resume his work as a writer. Whatever he wrote