A Gallery of
Russian
Authors

This page owes much of its existence to the Handbook of Russian Literature, Victor Terras, ed., Yale University Press, 1985.


"I am a sick man... I am an angry man. I am
an unattractive man. I think there is
something wrong with my liver."

- Notes From Underground

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
(1821 - 1881)

Dosteovsky is, without a doubt, my favorite Russian author. I was even willing to spend an entire year of my short life reading, studying and writing to produce a senior thesis on his masterpiece The Brothers Karamazov. Like most Russian authors, Dostoevsky takes on the heavyweights: God, evil, suicide, child abuse, and yes, crime and punishment. The great writer's biographer, Geit Kjetsaa, states, "Those who go to the works of Dostoevsky in search of solutions to life's problems will be quickly disappointed. Dostoevsky writes rather for those who wish to know what things are worth talking about."


Reading List!

Items in yellow link to texts available on the Web.


A beautifully done Dostoevsky page provides links to biographies, chronologies and photos from all over creation.

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"Yes, that was death. I died - and I
awoke. Yes, death is an awakening!

- Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, War and Peace.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoi
(1828 - 1910)

Possibly the best known Russian aauthor, Tolstoi influenced much more than literature. A teacher, educational theorist, farmer and philosopher, as well as a great author, his theory of non-resistance to violence was expanded upon by Gandhi. Torn by a spiritual crisis in 1877, Tolstoi "disowned" his magnificent novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina to turn to essays on social ills and children's literature. A wonderful stylist, he utilizes in his works devices which manipulate the reader to come to the conclusion that only Tolstoi's attitudes toward religion, history, death, love and society are right and good.


Reading List!

Items in yellow link to texts available on the Web.


For more on Tolstoi's biography, literary criticism of his works and bookstore links, check out the Tolstoy Library.

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"Pora, moi drug, pora! Pokaia serdtse prosit
Letiat za dniami dni, i kazhdyi chas unosit
Chastichku bytiia, a my s toboi vdvoem
Predpolagaem zhit'...I glaid' - kak raz - umrem."

"It's time, my friend, it's time! The heart
begs for peace; the days fly by, and every hour
carries off another piece of life; and you and I,
who had supposed to live, shall die."

Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin
(1799 - 1837)

As Russia's national poet, Pushkin receives far more veneration than any poet of the English language can ever dream to achieve. He unfortunately has not achieved the status he deserves among Westerners, partially because of the difficulty in satisfactorily translating his works. In addition to his brilliant poetry, Pushkin displays remarkable genius in his short stories, dramatic works, novels, critical essays, folk tales, hisotical accounts, and travel writings. Many of his works have been set to music as ballets or operas. The quintessential romantic, his short, tumultuous life was cut short by a duel.


Reading List!

Items in yellow link to texts available on the Web.


The Pushkin Page at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is a wonderful source for biographies and other links.

See where Pushkin lived, walked, and worked at the The Pushkin Museum.

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