On June 21, we will begin a new Classics Circuit, the White Nights on the Neva: Russian Imperial Literature. Depending on the number of people who sign up, it will run for three or four weeks, that is, until July 11 or July 17.

The nineteenth century is generally known as the “golden era” of Russian literature, and this tour is our opportunity to embrace it. Romanticism flourished with Alexander Pushkin’s poetry, followed by many other poets, such as Mikhail Lermontov. For those outside of Russia, the prose writers are possibly more well known: Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Anton Chekhov, as well as Goncharov.

While on this information page we highlight some of the most well known novels and stories by these authors, any author or writing from the golden age of Russian literature (19th century) is suitable for the tour.  This list is just to give you ideas and get you started if you are a newbie. Some of these works are quite long, but most authors also wrote short stories. Choose something you have time to read for the Circuit and enjoy! For more information and other authors you may want to consider, see Wikipedia.

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If you missed sign up and would still like to participate in the tour, please send an email to the committee at classicscircuit@googlegroups.com and we will see if we can add you to the schedule.

Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837)

Often considered the great poet of Russia, Pushkin also was the father of a distinct Russian literature, writing during the Romantic era. His writing used vernacular speech, and his stories combined drama, romance, and satire.

Eugene Onegin (1825-1833): This novel written in verse focuses on a tragic love story amongst upper class St. Petersburg.

• “His eye for detail was superb…” –Wuthering Expectations

The Gypsies and Other Poems (1827): The title poem is a narrative one set in the Russian south.

• No reviews found, but it receives a 3.5 out of 5 star average rating on GoodReads.

The Little Tragedies (1830): A collection of four short plays, each in the tragic style.

• “He seems very much in his element here, and while these pieces aren’t particularly multifaceted, they are sufficiently gripping that they really deserve more attention than they tend to get.” mikeu3 at Amazon

Various Short Stories, Poems, and Plays (there exists a ‘collected short stories’)

• “Boris Gudonov” (1825): This play is set in 16th century Russia and is about the eponymous Russian tsar.

• • “The five dramatic works [by Pushkin] contain some of the author’s most famous lines, which generations of Russian students have learnt by heart.” Mike Mullins at Amazon

• “The Bronze Horseman” (1833): this narrative poem is about a terrible flood St. Petersburg experienced when the Neva burst its banks.

• • “I’ve read it in Russian and English. Its really good…” –James of GoodReads

Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841)

The most important poet after Pushkin’s death, Lermontov’s prose is also memorable. His patriotic and pantheistic poems had a large impact on Russian literature, although much of it suffers from lacking modern translations and thus has become largely unknown outside of Russia.

A Hero of Our Time (1839): this is a novel set in the Caucasus about the adventures of Pechorin, a Russian officer and anti-hero.

• “A Hero of Our Time, Mikhail Lermontov’s only novel, and a short one, is the kind of thing that gets me warmed up right away: a small, faceted, framed thing, filtering its story through several layers of mesh and coming out the other side with multiple narrators and a nonchronological plot.” Bibliographing

Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852)

The first great modern Russian novelist, Gogol was also one of the first Russian writers of realism. Wikipedia refers to Gogol’s “scrupulous and scathing realism, ethical criticism as well as philosophical depth” in his prose.

Dead Souls (1842): This is a satirical novel mocking the failing social Russian system of the early nineteenth century, which included serfdom.

• “The plot is not in any way central to the story.  It is there only as a vehicle to get across Gogol’s other points.  And those are what make the book so funny, so fascinating to read.” –Aarti of Booklust

The Overcoat and Other Stories (1842): A short story collection that includes “The Overcoat,” one of the most influential stories in Russian literature.

• “I enjoyed this short story…” –Wendy of Caribou’s Mom

Various Short Stories (there exists a ‘collected short stories’)

• “Gogol’s stories so far have contained the devil in human form. It seems that Gogol’s mother warned him repeatedly about the evil one’s devilish schemes. I think the stories must have scared him to death when he was a youngster! They definitely had an impact on his imagination.” 1morechapter

Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883)

Writing with artistic purity of peasant life and nature, Turgenev’s style has been compared to Henry James and Joseph Conrad.

Fathers and Sons/Fathers and Children (depending on translation; 1862): This is a novel about generational clashes in the 1830s/1840s.

• “This book has all the elements I look for in a work of fiction, which means I liked it immensely. It is intense but not tedious, written with economy without being terse, lyrical without romanticizing, and revolve around themes that appeal to both intellect and heart.” –deebee1 of LibraryThing

Smoke (1867): This is a novel about upper-class Russians travelling abroad.

• “One of Turgenev’s most perfect stories. ” –DRFP of LibraryThing

A Sportsman’s Diary/A Sportsman’s Sketches/Sketches from a Hunter’s Album (depending on translation; 1852): A collection of short stories inspired by Turgenev’s observations of his mother’s country estate.

• “Although Turgenev never intentionally set out to overthrow Russian serfdom when he penned this collection of vignettes around 1850, that was precisely what occured. ” –vesnaslav of LibraryThing

First Love and Other Stories (1860): “First Love” is a novella about a young Russian nobleman.

• “While First Love seems strangely naive in this day and age, it has a quiet, restrained beauty that makes it a delightful read…” –kimbofo of Reading Matters

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)

Largely considered one of the world’s greatest novelists, Tolstoy writes with depth of 19th-century Russian life and attitudes. He was a leading writer of realistic fiction.

Anna Karenina (1875-77): This is a novel set amongst the Russian nobility centered around love relationships.

• “Everyone in our book club agreed that Anna Karenina was one novel that we were glad to have read.” –Alison of Alison’s Bookmarks

War and Peace (1865-69): This is a novel (mixed with sections of Tolstoy’s philosophy of history) centered around Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, and how it affects the lives of various Russian nobles.

• ” From the very beginning I was captured and couldn’t put the book down.” Robin of My Two Blessings

The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1887): This novella is about the life (and death) of a Russian high-court judge.

• ” I really enjoyed The Death of Ivan Ilyich…well, I don’t know if “enjoyed” is the write word, but it is a remarkable novella. ” –Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made On

The Cossacks (1863): This is a novella about a Muscovite stationed in the Caucasus.

• “In this lovely and perceptive novella, the beauty of the Caucasus region, where, the Russians are fighting with the Chechens — its mountains, streams, forests, and wildlife — jumps off the page. ” –rebeccanyc of LibraryThing

The Kreutzer Sonata (1889): This novella explores issues of love, marriage, sex, and childbearing.

• “Nonetheless the story is readable and at the closing scenes, highly dramatic.” –John Self of Asylum

Resurrection (1899): This was Tolstoy’s last novel and is about the moral struggle of a Russian nobleman trying to atone for a sin committed years ago.

• “Resurrection is an ultimate achievement of literary power that accentuates life of people in Russia.” –Matt of A Guy’s Moleskine Notebook

Childhood/Boyhood/Youth (three novellas often published together; 1852/54/56): A series of autobiographical novellas in which a Russian man narrates his early life.

• “If I were told that Childhood, Boyhood, Youth was the autobiography of Constantin Levin, from Anna Karenina, I would almost believe it, except that Nikolai is missing a brother.” –Amateur Reader of Wuthering Expectations

The Man Who was Dead/The Living Corpse (depending on translation; 1900): This is a play about a Russian man tortured with doubts about his wife’s love for him.

The Law of Love and the Law of Violence (published posthumously in 1940): This is a book outlining Tolstoy’s moral philosophy and his related views on Christianity.

What is Art? (1897): This book examines Tolstoy’s aesthetic philosophy.

• “A book that could have been written today. His observations on the corruption of art and the creative process are as current as they were in 1899.” –isolde100 of LibraryThing

Various Short Stories and Essays (there exists a ‘collected short stories’; collections titled “Master and Man and Other Stories” and “Divine and Human and Other Stories”)

• “When you start reading these lovely short stories, you can just see that lovable image of the wise old Tolstoy telling a story, with his shaggy, long white beard, and his friendly eyes with a laughing fire in them burning out from beneath the bushy eyebrows smiling down at you, a small child, laughing on his knee. ” A Kid’s Review at Amazon

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881)

Dostoevsky’s novels explore the human psychology behind the political and social turmoil in the nineteenth century.

Poor Folk/Poor People (title varies depending on translation; 1846): Dostoyevky’s first novel, written in epistolary form, is a profound look at the poor workers in Russia in mid-1800s.

• “Poor Folk (sometimes translated as Poor People) is a bit of a strange epistolary novel…, representing the correspondence of impoverished clerk Makar Devushkin with Varvara Dobroselova, a poor orphan whose virtue has been mysteriously compromised in the past—maybe. One of the things they write to each other about is literature….” Nicole at Bibliographing

Crime and Punishment (1866): A man commits murder one summer in St Petersburg.

• “The best facet of Crime and Punishment is its depth. An abundance of characters, some stereotyped and some individual, and layers of complexities of situation and personality illustrate just how each one of us has both a “devil” and a “saint” inside us. … Crime and Punishment is a novel that I cannot praise sufficiently and that I could not reread frequently enough.” Rebecca at Rebecca Reads

The Brothers Karamazov (1881): A passionate philosophical novel and spiritual drama of morals.

• “I loved it! Thank goodness.  The story of three (or four) very different brothers, their detestable father who ends up murdered, a couple of histrionic women for them to fight over, and a dying priest all comes together like some sort of a high-brow soap opera from which you leave feeling like you’ve listened to a soul-stirring sermon.  Seriously, how often will you find a book like that? ” Shelley at Book Clutter

The Idiot (1869): A saintly man finds himself in a love triangle, challenging his ideas of Christian morality.

• “This is a towering, exciting novel–perhaps not as great as “Crime & Punishment” or “Brothers Karamazov”–it contains some of his most penetrating insights into religious faith, human compassion, despair, and insanity. ” William Errickson Jr on Amazon

The Gambler (1867): The story of a young man’s addiction to roulette.

• “The Gambler is primarily a book about obssession and mania, a topic that Dostoyevsky would go on to further explore using criminal, political and religious themes as a backdrop. … Although most people consider this book a minor work, it is Dostoyevsky at his inspired best. … It has incredible characterization and a humorous, dramatic narrative.” Cort McMeel at Amazon

The House of the Dead (1862): A novel portraying the life of prisoners in a Siberian camp.

• “The House of the Dead [is] one of the most potent, moving pieces of literature ever written. The convicts that Dostoyevsky describes seem to come alive — their descriptions are so complete and realistic that its almost as if they’re reading the book with you. This method of describing imprisonment defies conventiality, but Dostoyevsky pulls it off easily. By knowing the convicts, you feel for them, you understand them, and you walk away knowing and loving humanity just a bit more.” A Customer at Amazon

Notes from the Underground (1864): Existentialist ramblings from a bitter and isolated narrator’s diary.

• “The book is not easy to read let alone to digest. … The book reads like a delirious man’s babbling, in his own shy, wounded, and exorbitant pride. While a novel usually needs a hero, but here Dostoyevsky had purposely collected all the features of an anti-hero: self-contempt, wounded vanity, conceit, and sensitive ego.” Matthew at A Guy’s Moleskin Notebook

The Eternal Husband (1870): “A rich and idle man confronts his dead mistress’s husband in this psychological novel of duality.” (via Amazon)

• “This is an entertaining novella that will give you an idea of Dostoevsky’s genius. Like his great works (Crime and Punishment, Brothers K, The Idiot, The Possessed), it has a lot of psychological power and displays his style of writing. It has enough depth to it that you really get into the story and the characters, unlike some of his short stories. ” Allison at Amazon

The Possessed/The Devils/Demons (title varies depending on translation; 1872): A political book that is a testimonial to life in Imperial Russia.

• “The Possessed explores the tendency of people, particularly young ones, toward nihilism. … This brilliant novel also explores other subjects: the responsibility of one generation for the next, the responsibility of teachers for students, and above all, the responsibility of philosophers for their ideas. It is a must for any reader of classics or Russian literature. ” Bill R. Moore at Amazon

Various Short Stories

• White Nights (1848): A short story about a perpetual dreamer who imagines strangers he see are his friends.
• A Gentle Creature (1876): A short story about a pawnbroker and a girl who frequents his shop.
• The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (1877): A short story of a man who is contemplating suicide.
  • “A nice little story – much more positive than some of Dostoyevsky’s work. ” N Beau at Amazon
• Bobok (1873): A short story about a depraved man pondering the depravity present even in the grave.
• A Nasty Story (1862): A satirical short story about a Russian civil servant.
• The Grand Inquisitor on the Nature of Man (excerpt from Brothers Karamozov): A dialogue between the head of the inquisition and Jesus.
  • “[It is] more than just a metaphorical commentary on the debate over whether or not humans willingly give up their existential freedom in order to avoid the sometimes awesome responsibility that accompanies it. Dostoyevsky’s classic also serves as a powerful critique of institutional religion and, by implication, all institutions … who offer “bread” in exchange for the sacrifice of free choice. A “must read” for educators, social scientists, politicians, organizational consultants, policymakers, and corporate executives.” A Customer at Amazon

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

Although he initially trained as a physician and is well known as a playwright, Chekhov is often considered one of the greatest short story writers in world literature.

Three Sisters: The play focuses on the lives of three sisters, Olga, Masha, and Irina, young women of the Russian gentry who try to fill their days in order to construct a life that feels meaningful while surrounded by an array of military men, servants, husbands, suitors, and lovers, all of whom constitute a distractions from the passage of time and from the sisters’ desire to return to their beloved Moscow.

• “The three sister’s arcs into unhappiness and depression weave together to create a very cohesive whole. ” Jeremy C. Ellis at Amazon

The Cherry Orchard: The Cherry Orchard was Chekhov’s last play. Written in 1904, it reflects the stirrings of the Russian people against despotism.

• “”How should one live?” is the fundamental question driving most of Chekhov’s work, and it is very overtly laid bare in The Cherry Orchard.” pierce inverarity at Amazon

Uncle Vanya: In “Uncle Vanya,” a retired professor and his beautiful young wife return to the country estate left by his deceased first wife to find themselves overwhelmed by the stagnant inevitability of the rituals of their life and class, and mercilessly taxed by the encroachment of age at the expense of youth.

• “This is Chekhov’s best play. ” Vladimir Miletic at Amazon

The Seagull: The famous actress Arkadina presides over a household riven with desperate love, with dreams of success and dread of failure.The Story of a Nobody: Chekhov’s little–known literary gem is a profound and moving work, combining the political tensions of the day with a tale of deep poignancy and sorrow.The Shooting Party: Chekhov’s only full-length novel centres on Olga, the pretty young daughter of a drunken forester on a country estate, and her fateful relationships with the men in her life.  One of Chekhov’s earliest experiments in fiction, The Shooting Party combines the classic elements of a mystery with a story of corruption, concealed love and fatal jealousy.

• “What a strange and delightful combination of early police fiction with Chekhov’s incredible talent for description and emotional representation. ” — Incurable Logophilia

Various Short Stories and Letters (there exists a ‘collected short stories’)

• “The action and thoughts of the characters told the story, rather than the descriptions of the author.” — Rebecca Reid

• A Night in the Cemetery and Other Stories:  This collection of 42 stories, most of which have previously been unavailable in English translation. As Sekirin notes in the preface, these stories appeared in a variety of periodicals “and until now have managed to escape the notice of contemporary editors and translators.” Though billed as featuring crime and suspense, the volume has a broad range, including morality tales and stories of both dark and puckish humor.

• The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories: The works in this volume show how Chekhov moved away from the realism of his earlier stories, forging a style that would inspire modern short-story writers such as Hemingway, Faulkner and the Bloomsbury Group.

• Other collections include The Wife and Other Stories, In the Ravine and Other Stories, The Crooked Mirror and Other Stories, The Duel and Other Stories, and The Brute and Other Farces

Ivan Goncharov (1812-1891)

Although for most of his life he was a government official, Goncharov did write some popular novels.

Oblamov (1859): At the time it was published, it was one of the most popular Russian novels; it’s story focuses on a man who doesn’t want to get out of bed.

• “Oblomov is ultimately a tragic figure, and his flaw of inaction is very much tied up with the archaic feudal system in place in Russia at the time. However, this does not prevent those of us living 141 years in the future and many thousands of miles away from sympathizing with him and having a great deal of fun as more and more about this fascinating character is revealed.” mikeu3 at Amazon

The Precipice (1869): A novel “containing seduction, betrayal, redemption, and secrets of the generation of elders” (from Amazon reviewer)

• “The Precipice is, perhaps because of its slightly campy air to modern audiences, a very enjoyable read today.” Ruth Edlund at Amazon

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