Now the current generation sees everything clearly, marvels at the delusions, laughs at the foolishness of its ancestors, it is not in vain that this chronicle is scribbled with heavenly fire, that every letter screams in it, that a piercing finger is directed from everywhere at him, at him, at the current generation; but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new delusions, which will also be laughed at by descendants later. "Dead Souls"
For what? Like an inspiration
Love the given subject!
Like a true poet
Sell your imagination!
I am a slave, a day laborer, I am a merchant!
I owe you, sinner, for gold,
For your worthless piece of silver
Pay the divine price!
"Improvisation I"
Literature is a language that expresses everything that a country thinks, wants, knows, wants and needs to know.
In the hearts of the simple, the feeling of the beauty and grandeur of nature is stronger, more alive a hundred times than in us, enthusiastic storytellers in words and on paper.
"Hero of our time"
Everywhere there is sound, and everywhere there is light,
And all the worlds have one beginning,
And there is nothing in nature
No matter how love breathes.
In days of doubt, in days of painful reflections on the fate of my homeland, you alone are my support and support, O great, powerful, truthful and free Russian language! Without you, how not to fall into despair at the sight of everything that happens at home? But one cannot believe that such a language was not given to a great people!
Poems in prose "Russian language"
So, complete your dissolute escape,
Prickly snow flies from the bare fields,
Driven by an early, violent blizzard,
And, stopping in the forest wilderness,
Gathering in silver silence
Deep and cold bed.
Listen: shame on you!
It's time to get up! You know yourself
What time has come;
In whom the sense of duty has not cooled down,
Who has an incorruptible heart,
In whom is talent, strength, accuracy,
Tom shouldn't sleep now...
"Poet and Citizen"
Is it possible that even here they will not allow and will not allow the Russian organism to develop nationally, by its organic strength, but certainly impersonally, servilely imitating Europe? But what to do with the Russian organism then? Do these gentlemen understand what an organism is? Separation, "split" from their country leads to hatred, these people hate Russia, so to speak, naturally, physically: for the climate, for the fields, for the forests, for the order, for the liberation of the peasant, for Russian history, in a word, for everything, hate for everything.
Spring! the first frame is exposed -
And noise broke into the room,
And the blessing of the nearby temple,
And the talk of the people, and the sound of the wheel ...
Well, what are you afraid of, pray tell! Now every grass, every flower rejoices, but we hide, we are afraid, just what kind of misfortune! The storm will kill! This is not a storm, but grace! Yes, grace! You are all thunder! The northern lights will light up, it would be necessary to admire and marvel at the wisdom: “the dawn rises from the midnight countries”! And you are horrified and come up with: this is for war or for the plague. Whether a comet is coming, I would not take my eyes off! Beauty! The stars have already looked closely, they are all the same, and this is a new thing; Well, I would look and admire! And you are afraid to even look at the sky, you are trembling! From everything you have made yourself a scarecrow. Eh, people! "Storm"
There is no more enlightening, soul-purifying feeling than the one that a person feels when he gets acquainted with a great work of art.
We know that loaded guns must be handled with care. But we do not want to know that we must treat the word in the same way. The word can both kill and make evil worse than death.
There is a well-known trick of an American journalist who, in order to increase the subscription to his magazine, began to print in other publications the most brazen attacks on himself from fictitious persons: some printed him out as a swindler and perjurer, others as a thief and murderer, and still others as a debauchee on a colossal scale. He did not skimp on paying for such friendly advertisements, until everyone thought - yes, it’s obvious that this is a curious and remarkable person when everyone shouts about him like that! - and began to buy up his own newspaper.
"Life in a Hundred Years"
I ... think that I know the Russian person in his very depths, and I do not put myself in any merit for this. I did not study the people by conversations with St. Petersburg cabbies, but I grew up among the people, on the Gostomel pasture, with a cauldron in my hand, I slept with him on the dewy grass of the night, under a warm sheepskin coat, and on the Panin’s swaying crowd behind circles of dusty manners ...
Between these two colliding titans - science and theology - there is a stunned public, quickly losing faith in the immortality of man and in any deity, quickly descending to the level of a purely animal existence. Such is the picture of the hour illuminated by the radiant midday sun of the Christian and scientific era!
"Isis Unveiled"
Sit down, I'm glad to see you. Cast away all fear
And you can keep yourself free
I give you permission. You know one of these days
I was elected king by the people,
But it's all the same. They confuse my thought
All these honors, greetings, bows...
"Crazy"
- What do you need abroad? - I asked him at a time when in his room, with the help of servants, his things were being packed and packed for shipment to the Varshavsky railway station.
- Yes, just ... to come to your senses! - He said confusedly and with a kind of dull expression on his face.
"Letters from the Road"
Is it really a matter of going through life in such a way as not to offend anyone? This is not happiness. Hurt, break, break, so that life boils. I am not afraid of any accusations, but a hundred times more than death I am afraid of colorlessness.
Verse is the same music, only combined with the word, and it also needs a natural ear, a sense of harmony and rhythm.
You experience a strange feeling when, with a light touch of your hand, you make such a mass rise and fall at will. When such a mass obeys you, you feel the power of a person ...
"Meeting"
The feeling of the Motherland should be strict, restrained in words, not eloquent, not chatty, not “waving your arms” and not running forward (to show yourself). The feeling of the Motherland should be a great ardent silence.
"Solitary"
And what is the secret of beauty, what is the secret and charm of art: in a conscious, inspired victory over torment or in the unconscious anguish of the human spirit, which sees no way out of the circle of vulgarity, squalor or thoughtlessness and is tragically condemned to appear self-satisfied or hopelessly false.
"Sentimental Remembrance"
Since my birth I have been living in Moscow, but by God I don’t know where Moscow came from, why it is, why, why, what it needs. In the Duma, at meetings, I, along with others, talk about urban economy, but I don’t know how many miles in Moscow, how many people there are, how many are born and die, how much we receive and spend, for how much and with whom we trade ... Which city is richer: Moscow or London? If London is richer, then why? And the jester knows him! And when some question is raised in the thought, I shudder and the first one starts shouting: “Submit to the commission! To the commission!
Everything new in the old way:
The modern poet
In a metaphorical outfit
Speech is poetic.
But others are not an example for me,
And my charter is simple and strict.
My verse is a pioneer boy
Lightly dressed, barefoot.
1926
Under the influence of Dostoevsky, as well as foreign literature, Baudelaire and Poe, my passion began not for decadence, but for symbolism (even then I already understood their difference). A collection of poems, published at the very beginning of the 90s, I entitled "Symbols". It seems that I was the first to use this word in Russian literature.
The run of changeable phenomena,
Past those flying, speed up:
Merge into one sunset of accomplishments
With the first gleam of gentle dawns.
From the lower life to the origins
In a moment, a single review:
In the face of a single smart eye
Take your twins.
Immutable and wonderful
Blessed Muse gift:
In the spirit of the form of slender songs,
There is life and heat in the heart of the songs.
"Thoughts on Poetry"
I have a lot of news. And all are good. I'm lucky". I am writing. I want to live, live, live forever. If you only knew how many new poems I have written! More than a hundred. It was crazy, a fairy tale, new. I am publishing a new book, completely different from the previous ones. She will surprise many. I changed my understanding of the world. No matter how funny my phrase sounds, I will say: I understood the world. For many years, perhaps forever.
K. Balmont - L. Vilkina
Man is the truth! Everything is in man, everything is for man! Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain! Human! It's great! It sounds... proud!
"At the bottom"
I'm sorry to create something useless and no one needs now. A collection, a book of poems at the present time is the most useless, unnecessary thing ... I do not mean by this that poetry is not needed. On the contrary, I affirm that poetry is necessary, even necessary, natural and eternal. There was a time when whole books of poetry seemed necessary to everyone, when they were read in full, understood and accepted by everyone. This time is past, not ours. The modern reader does not need a collection of poems!
Language is the history of a people. Language is the path of civilization and culture. Therefore, the study and preservation of the Russian language is not an idle occupation with nothing to do, but an urgent need.
What nationalists, patriots these internationalists become when they need it! And with what arrogance they sneer at the "frightened intellectuals" - as if there is absolutely no reason to be frightened - or at the "frightened townsfolk", as if they have some great advantages over the "philistines". And who, in fact, are these townsfolk, "prosperous philistines"? And who and what do the revolutionaries care about, if they so despise the average person and his well-being?
"Cursed Days"
In the struggle for their ideal, which is “freedom, equality and fraternity”, citizens must use such means that do not contradict this ideal.
"Governor"
“Let your soul be whole or split, let your understanding of the world be mystical, realistic, skeptical, or even idealistic (if you are unhappy before that), let the techniques of creativity be impressionistic, realistic, naturalistic, the content be lyrical or fabulous, let there be a mood, an impression - whatever you want, but, I beg you, be logical - may this cry of the heart be forgiven me! – are logical in design, in the construction of the work, in syntax.
Art is born in homelessness. I wrote letters and stories addressed to a distant unknown friend, but when a friend came, art gave way to life. Of course, I'm not talking about home comfort, but about life, which means more than art.
"We are with you. Diary of love"
An artist can do nothing more than open his soul to others. It is impossible to present him with predetermined rules. He is still an unknown world, where everything is new. We must forget what captivated others, here it is different. Otherwise, you will listen and not hear, you will look without understanding.
From Valery Bryusov's treatise "On Art"
Well, let her rest, she was exhausted - they exhausted her, alarmed her. And as soon as it's light, the shopkeeper will rise, she will begin to fold her goods, she will grab a blanket, she will go, pull out this soft bedding from under the old woman: she will wake the old woman, raise her to her feet: it's not light, it's good to get up. It's nothing you can do. In the meantime - grandmother, our Kostroma, our mother, Russia!
"Whirlwind Rus'"
Art never speaks to the crowd, to the masses, it speaks to the individual, in the deep and hidden recesses of his soul.
Mikhail Andreevich Osorgin (Ilyin) (1878 - 1942)
How strange /.../ How many cheerful and cheerful books there are, how many brilliant and witty philosophical truths - but there is nothing more comforting than Ecclesiastes.
Babkin dared, - read Seneca
And, whistling carcasses,
Take it to the library
In the margins, noting: "Nonsense!"
Babkin, friend, is a harsh critic,
Have you ever thought
What a legless paraplegic
Light chamois is not a decree? ..
"Reader"
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A critic's word about a poet must be objectively concrete and creative; the critic, while remaining a scientist, is a poet.
"Poetry of the word"
Only great things are worth thinking about, only great tasks should be set by the writer; set boldly, without being embarrassed by your personal small forces.
“It’s true, there are both goblin and water ones here,” I thought, looking in front of me, “or maybe some other spirit lives here ... A mighty, northern spirit that enjoys this wildness; maybe real northern fauns and healthy, blond women roam in these forests, eating cloudberries and lingonberries, laughing and chasing each other.
"North"
You need to be able to close a boring book...leave a bad movie...and part with people who don't value you!
Out of modesty, I will be careful not to point out the fact that on the day of my birth the bells were rung and there was a general rejoicing of the people. Evil tongues associated this jubilation with some great holiday that coincided with the day of my birth, but I still don’t understand what else is there to do with this holiday?
That was the time when love, good and healthy feelings were considered vulgar and a relic; no one loved, but all were thirsty and, like poisoned ones, fell to everything sharp, tearing apart the insides.
"The Road to Calvary"
- Well, what's wrong, - I say to myself, - at least in a short word for now? After all, exactly the same form of farewell to friends exists in other languages, and there it does not shock anyone. The great poet Walt Whitman, shortly before his death, said goodbye to readers with a touching poem “So long!”, Which means in English - “Bye!”. The French a bientot has the same meaning. There is no rudeness here. On the contrary, this form is filled with the most gracious courtesy, because here the following (approximately) meaning is compressed: be prosperous and happy until we see each other again.
"Live Like Life"
Switzerland? This is a mountain pasture for tourists. I've traveled all over the world myself, but I hate those ruminant bipeds with a Badaker for a tail. They chewed through the eyes of all the beauties of nature.
"Island of Lost Ships"
Everything that I wrote and will write, I consider only mental rubbish and do not respect my literary merits. And I wonder and wonder why apparently smart people find some meaning and value in my poems. Thousands of poems, whether mine or those poets whom I know in Russia, are not worth one chanter of my bright mother.
I am afraid that Russian literature has only one future: its past.
Article "I'm afraid"
For a long time we have been looking for such a task, similar to lentils, so that the combined rays of the work of artists and the work of thinkers directed by it to a common point would meet in a common work and could ignite and turn even the cold substance of ice into a fire. Now such a task - a lentil that guides together your stormy courage and the cold mind of thinkers - has been found. This goal is to create a common written language...
"Artists of the World"
He adored poetry, tried to be impartial in his judgments. He was surprisingly young at heart, and perhaps even in mind. He always looked like a child to me. There was something childish in his clipped head, in his bearing, more like a gymnasium than a military one. He liked to portray an adult, like all children. He loved to play the “master”, the literary bosses of his “humil”, that is, the little poets and poetesses who surrounded him. Poetic children loved him very much.
Khodasevich, "Necropolis"
Me, me, me What a wild word!
Is that one over there really me?
Did mom love this?
Yellow-gray, semi-gray
And omniscient like a snake?
You have lost your Russia.
Did you resist the elements
Good elements of gloomy evil?
No? So shut up: took away
Your fate is not without a reason
To the edge of an unkind foreign land.
What's the point of groaning and grieve -
Russia must be earned!
"What You Need to Know"
I never stopped writing poetry. For me, they are my connection with the time, with the new life of my people. When I wrote them, I lived by those rhythms that sounded in the heroic history of my country. I am happy that I lived in these years and saw events that had no equal.
All the people sent to us are our reflection. And they were sent so that we, looking at these people, correct our mistakes, and when we correct them, these people either change too or leave our lives.
In the wide field of Russian literature in the USSR, I was the only literary wolf. I was advised to dye the skin. Ridiculous advice. Whether a painted wolf or a shorn wolf, he still does not look like a poodle. They treated me like a wolf. And for several years they drove me according to the rules of a literary cage in a fenced yard. I have no malice, but I am very tired ...
From a letter from M. A. Bulgakov to I. V. Stalin, May 30, 1931.
When I die, my descendants will ask my contemporaries: "Did you understand Mandelstam's poems?" - "No, we did not understand his poems." "Did you feed Mandelstam, did you give him shelter?" - "Yes, we fed Mandelstam, we gave him shelter." "Then you are forgiven."
Maybe go to the Press House - there is one sandwich with caviar and a debate - "about the proletarian choral reading", or to the Polytechnic Museum - there are no sandwiches, but twenty-six young poets read their poems about the "locomotive mass". No, I will sit on the stairs, shivering from the cold and dream that all this is not in vain, that, sitting here on the step, I am preparing the distant sunrise of the Renaissance. I dreamed both simply and in verse, and the result was boring iambs.
"The extraordinary adventures of Julio Jurenito and his students"
According to the ranking of the Internet database Index Translationum by UNESCO, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov are the most frequently translated Russian writers in the world! These authors are ranked second, third and fourth respectively. But Russian literature is also rich in other names who have made a huge contribution to the development of both Russian and world culture.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Not only a writer, but also a historian and playwright, Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a Russian writer who made his name in the post-Stalin era and the debunking of the cult of personality.
In some way, Solzhenitsyn is considered the successor of Leo Tolstoy, since he was also a great truth-seeker and wrote large-scale works about people's lives and social processes that took place in society. Solzhenitsyn's works were based on a combination of autobiographical and documentary.
His most famous works are The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. With the help of these works, Solzhenitsyn tried to draw the attention of readers to the horrors of totalitarianism, which modern writers have not yet written about so openly. Russian writers that period; wanted to tell about the fate of thousands of people who were subjected to political repression, were sent to camps innocent and were forced to live there in conditions that can hardly be called human.
Ivan Turgenev
Turgenev's early work reveals the writer as a romantic who felt nature very subtly. And the literary image of the “Turgenev girl”, which has long been presented as a romantic, bright and vulnerable image, is now something of a household name. At the first stage of his work, he wrote poems, poems, dramatic works and, of course, prose.
The second stage of Turgenev's work brought the author the most fame - thanks to the creation of the "Notes of a Hunter". For the first time, he honestly portrayed the landowners, revealed the theme of the peasantry, after which he was arrested by the authorities, who did not like such work, and sent into exile to the family estate.
Later, the writer's work is filled with complex and multifaceted characters - the most mature period of the author's work. Turgenev tried to reveal such philosophical themes as love, duty, death. At the same time, Turgenev wrote his most famous work, both here and abroad, called "Fathers and Sons" about the difficulties and problems of relations between different generations.
Vladimir Nabokov
Creativity Nabokov completely runs counter to the traditions of classical Russian literature. The most important thing for Nabokov was the play of the imagination, his work became part of the transition from realism to modernism. In the author's works, one can distinguish the type of a characteristic Nabokov's hero - a lonely, persecuted, suffering, misunderstood person with a touch of genius.
In Russian, Nabokov managed to write numerous stories, seven novels (Mashenka, The King, the Queen, the Jack, Despair, and others) and two plays before leaving for the United States. From that moment on, the birth of an English-language author takes place, Nabokov completely abandons the pseudonym Vladimir Sirin, with which he signed his Russian books. Nabokov will work with the Russian language only once more - when he will translate his novel Lolita, which was originally written in English, for Russian-speaking readers.
It was this novel that became the most popular and even notorious work of Nabokov - not too surprising, because it tells about the love of a mature forty-year-old man for a teenage girl of twelve years. The book is considered quite shocking even in our free-thinking age, but if there are still disputes about the ethical side of the novel, then it is perhaps simply impossible to deny Nabokov's verbal skill.
Michael Bulgakov
Bulgakov's creative path was not at all easy. Deciding to become a writer, he abandons his career as a doctor. He writes his first works, "Fatal Eggs" and "Diaboliad", having settled down to work as a journalist. The first story evokes rather resonant responses, since it resembled a mockery of the revolution. Bulgakov's story "The Heart of a Dog", which denounces the authorities, was generally refused to be published and, moreover, the manuscript was taken away from the writer.
But Bulgakov continues to write - and creates the novel "The White Guard", which is based on a play called "Days of the Turbins". The success did not last long - in connection with another scandal over the works, all performances based on Bulgakov were removed from shows. The same fate would later befall Bulgakov's latest play, Batum.
The name of Mikhail Bulgakov is invariably associated with The Master and Margarita. Perhaps it was this novel that became the work of a lifetime, although it did not bring him recognition. But now, after the death of the writer, this work is also a success with foreign audiences.
This piece is like nothing else. We agreed to designate that this is a novel, but which one: satirical, fantastic, love-lyrical? The images presented in this work amaze and impress with their uniqueness. A novel about good and evil, about hatred and love, about hypocrisy, money-grubbing, sin and holiness. At the same time, during the life of Bulgakov, the work was not published.
It is not easy to remember another author who could so deftly and aptly expose all the falsehood and dirt of the bourgeoisie, the current government and the bureaucratic system. That is why Bulgakov was subjected to constant attacks, criticism and bans from the ruling circles.
Alexander Pushkin
Despite the fact that not all foreigners associate Pushkin with Russian literature, unlike most Russian readers, it is simply impossible to deny his legacy.
The talent of this poet and writer truly knew no bounds: Pushkin is famous for his amazing poems, but at the same time he wrote excellent prose and plays. Pushkin's work has received recognition not only now; his talent was recognized by others Russian writers and the poets of his contemporaries.
The theme of Pushkin's work is directly related to his biography - the events and experiences that he went through in his life. Tsarskoye Selo, Petersburg, time in exile, Mikhailovskoye, Caucasus; ideals, disappointments, love and affection - everything is present in the works of Pushkin. And the most famous was the novel "Eugene Onegin".
Ivan Bunin
Ivan Bunin is the first writer from Russia to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The work of this author can be divided into two periods: before emigration and after.
Bunin was very close to the peasantry, the life of the common people, which had a great influence on the author's work. Therefore, among it, the so-called village prose is singled out, for example, "Dry Valley", "Village", which became one of the most popular works.
Nature also plays a significant role in Bunin's work, which inspired many great Russian writers. Bunin believed: she is the main source of strength and inspiration, spiritual harmony, that every person is inextricably linked with her, and in her lies the key to unraveling the mystery of being. Nature and love have become the main themes of the philosophical part of Bunin's work, which is mainly represented by poetry, as well as novels and short stories, for example, "Ida", "Mitina's Love", "Late Hour" and others.
Nikolay Gogol
After graduating from the Nizhyn Gymnasium, Nikolai Gogol's first literary experience was the poem "Hans Küchelgarten", which was not very successful. However, this did not bother the writer, and he soon began working on the play "Marriage", which was published only ten years later. This witty, colorful and lively work smashes modern society to smithereens, which has made prestige, money, power its main values, and left love somewhere in the background.
Gogol was deeply impressed by the death of Alexander Pushkin, which affected others as well. Russian writers and artists. Shortly before this, Gogol showed Pushkin the plot of a new work called "Dead Souls", so now he believed that this work was a "sacred testament" to the great Russian poet.
Dead Souls has become an excellent satire on Russian bureaucracy, serfdom and social ranks, and this book is especially popular among readers abroad.
Anton Chekhov
Chekhov began his creative activity by writing short essays, but very bright and expressive. Chekhov is best known for his humorous stories, although he wrote both tragicomic and dramatic works. And most often foreigners read Chekhov's play called "Uncle Vanya", the stories "The Lady with the Dog" and "Kashtanka".
Perhaps the most basic and famous hero of Chekhov's works is the "little man", whose figure is familiar to many readers even after the "Station Master" by Alexander Pushkin. This is not a single character, but rather a collective image.
Nevertheless, Chekhov’s little people are not the same: one wants to sympathize, to laugh at others (“The Man in the Case”, “Death of an Official”, “Chameleon”, “Scumbag” and others). The main problem of this writer's work is the problem of justice ("Name Day", "Steppe", "Leshy").
Fedor Dostoevsky
Dostoevsky is best known for his works Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov. Each of these works is famous for its deep psychology - indeed, Dostoevsky is considered one of the best psychologists in the history of literature.
He analyzed the nature of human emotions, such as humiliation, self-destruction, murderous rage, as well as states that lead to insanity, suicide, and murder. Psychology and philosophy are closely linked in Dostoyevsky's portrayal of his characters, intellectuals who "feel ideas" in the depths of their souls.
Thus, Crime and Punishment reflects on freedom and inner strength, suffering and madness, illness and fate, the pressure of the modern urban world on the human soul, and raises the question of whether people can ignore their own moral code. Dostoevsky, together with Leo Tolstoy, are the most famous Russian writers in the whole world, and Crime and Punishment is the most popular of the author's works.
Lev Tolstoy
With whom do foreigners associate famous Russian writers So it is with Leo Tolstoy. He is one of the undeniable titans of world fiction, a great artist and person. Tolstoy's name is known all over the world.
There is something Homeric in the epic scope with which he wrote War and Peace, but unlike Homer, he depicted war as a senseless massacre, the result of the vanity and stupidity of the leaders of the nation. The work "War and Peace" became, as it were, a kind of result of everything that Russian society experienced during the period of the 19th century.
But the most famous all over the world is Tolstoy's novel called "Anna Karenina". It is eagerly read both here and abroad, and readers are invariably captivated by the story of the forbidden love of Anna and Count Vronsky, which leads to tragic consequences. Tolstoy dilutes the narrative with a second storyline - the story of Levin, who devotes his life to his marriage to Kitty, housekeeping and God. Thus the writer shows us the contrast between Anna's sin and Levin's virtue.
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Should you read fiction? Maybe this is a waste of time, because such an activity does not bring income? Perhaps this is a way to impose other people's thoughts and program them for certain actions? Let's answer the questions in order...
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In Russia, literature has its own direction, different from any other. The Russian soul is mysterious and incomprehensible. The genre reflects both Europe and Asia, therefore the best classical Russian works are unusual, amaze with sincerity and vitality.
The main character is the soul. For a person, the position in society, the amount of money is not important, it is important for him to find himself and his place in this life, to find truth and peace of mind.
The books of Russian literature are united by the traits of a writer who possesses the gift of the great Word, who has completely devoted himself to this art of literature. The best classics saw life not flatly, but multifaceted. They wrote about the life of not random destinies, but expressing being in its most unique manifestations.
Russian classics are so different, with different destinies, but they are united by the fact that literature is recognized as a school of life, a way of studying and developing Russia.
Russian classical literature was created by the best writers from different parts of Russia. It is very important where the author was born, because this determines his formation as a person, his development, and it also affects writing skills. Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoevsky were born in Moscow, Chernyshevsky in Saratov, Shchedrin in Tver. Poltava region in Ukraine is the birthplace of Gogol, Podolsk province - Nekrasov, Taganrog - Chekhov.
The three great classics, Tolstoy, Turgenev and Dostoevsky, were absolutely different people, had different destinies, complex characters and great talents. They made a huge contribution to the development of literature, writing their best works, which still excite the hearts and souls of readers. Everyone should read these books.
Another important difference between the books of Russian classics is the ridicule of the shortcomings of a person and his way of life. Satire and humor are the main features of the works. However, many critics said that this was all slander. And only true connoisseurs saw how the characters are both comical and tragic at the same time. Books like this always touch my soul.
Here you can find the best works of classical literature. You can download Russian classic books for free or read online, which is very convenient. 
We present to your attention the 100 best books of Russian classics. The complete list of books includes the best and most memorable works of Russian writers. This literature is known to everyone and recognized by critics from all over the world.
Of course, our list of top 100 books is just a small part of the best works of the great classics. It can be continued for a very long time.
One hundred books that everyone should read in order to understand not only how they used to live, what were the values, traditions, priorities in life, what they aspired to, but to find out in general how our world works, how bright and pure a soul can be and how valuable it is for a person, for the formation of his personality.
The top 100 list includes the best and most famous works of Russian classics. The plot of many of them is known from the school bench. However, some books are difficult to understand at a young age, and this requires wisdom that is acquired over the years.
Of course, the list is far from complete and can be continued indefinitely. Reading such literature is a pleasure. She not only teaches something, she radically changes lives, helps to realize simple things that we sometimes do not even notice.
We hope you enjoyed our list of classic Russian literature books. Perhaps you have already read something from it, but something not. A great occasion to make your personal list of books, your top books that you would like to read.
It was really difficult to write material devoted to contemporary Russian writers. I thought for a long time how to determine whether the author is the best or not, and what determines the writer as the best? In the end, I realized that this is not the number of awards or the frequency of mentions on the Internet, but the opinion of readers. And the only way to get a really up-to-date list is to interview people.
That is exactly what I did. Based on the results of the survey, I made this list. Of course, I could not collect all the authors here, but singled out only the 5 most frequently mentioned ones. Have something to add? Feel free to write in the comments!
Tatiana Tolstaya
It is possible to list the activities and regalia of Tatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya for a very long time. What is definitely worth knowing is that you and I were lucky to become contemporaries of a man who was included in the rating of "The 100 Most Influential Women of Russia".
Biography:
According to Tatyana Tolstaya herself, she began to write after undergoing eye surgery. Then she had to lie with a bandage over her eyes for a whole month, and this was the starting point, because it was impossible to read. Then Tatyana began to invent plots for her first stories.
The very first story “They sat on the golden porch ...”, published in the magazine, brought fame to the writer and was recognized as one of the best literary debuts of the 1980s. Later, she wrote about 20 more stories and became a member of the Writers' Union of the USSR.
To date, Tatyana Tolstaya is a laureate of prestigious awards in the field of culture, her bibliography includes more than 20 novels and collections of short stories, and it seems to me that she will not stop there.
Where to start:
It is better to get acquainted with the work of Tatyana Tolstaya in order, then you can follow the entire path of development of a wonderful author. Picking up a collection of short stories “They sat on the golden porch ...”, you will immediately understand whether this is “your” author. If you want to immediately plunge into the wonderful world of her novels, read "Kys".
Zakhar Prilepin
This author can be safely called a phenomenon of modern Russian literature. Starting with stories about the Chechen war, in which he himself participated, Prilepin became a master of the realistic novel, laying the foundation for modern Russian military prose.
Biography:
Even before the institute, Zakhar Prilepin was taken away by the army, after which he studied at the police school and served in the riot police. At the same time, the future writer studied at the Faculty of Philology of the NSU. Lobachevsky, but even before graduation he was sent to Chechnya. Upon his return, Prilepin completed his studies and left the service, taking a job as a journalist.
The first works of the author were published in newspapers and magazines and quickly became popular. In 2014 he was included in the list of one hundred people of the year according to the Russian Reporter magazine. Today Zakhar Prilepin is one of the most discussed and controversial writers and public figures. His participation in the conflict in Ukraine and support for the Crimean events caused a sharp reaction in society. Awarded "For the courage shown" by the Cross of Volunteers of Donbass.
Where to start:
If you want to smoothly get to know not only Prilepin the author, but also Prilepin the man, it is better to start with the novel about Chechnya "Patologies" and the collection of short stories "Boots full of hot vodka". If you want to immediately understand the full power of Prilepin's style and get acquainted with the most powerful prose of his bibliography today, start with the full-fledged novel The Abode.
Victor Pelevin
An author who does not tolerate half measures - either you love him or not. Pelevin's work cannot be perceived selectively, highlighting favorite and least favorite books. But no one can deny the influence of Pelevin's work on modern Russian literature.
Biography:
The main motives of Pelevin's work can be traced already in his first steps in literature. While studying at the institute, he, together with his institute friend Victor Culle, founded a publishing house, the first work of which was 3 volumes of the mystic Castaneda. In the future, Pelevin began to work as a journalist and prepared publications on Eastern mysticism. Then the first story "Sorcerer Ignat and people" was published.
Glory to Victor came two years after the release of the collection "Blue Lantern", awarded a number of literary awards.
Where to start:
There is an opinion that it is necessary to dive into Pelevin’s work smoothly, starting with his early novels and stories, for example, “The Yellow Arrow” and “The Hermit and the Six-fingered”. Undertaking to read something from major novels, you run the risk of forever joining the side of those who do not consider Pelevin a good author.
Dina Rubina
Another female author who writes far from women's literature. At the same time, her prose is strikingly different from other authors on this list. In the case of Dina Rubina, we are dealing with deeply philosophical and measured prose about people, life and love.
Biography:
Dina Rubina began writing short stories as a child. The story "The Restless Nature" was published in the magazine "Youth" in 1971, when the writer was only 17 years old. Fame came to her in 1977, after the publication of the story "When will it snow? ..". Since then, Rubina's works have received 8 adaptations, her books have been translated into different languages of the world, and the writer herself has received several prestigious literary awards.
Where to start:
Dina Rubina does not change her style over time, so you can start getting acquainted with her work from any book. It doesn't matter if it's one of the best novels - "The Camera Rolls! .." or the first novel "Here Comes the Messiah!", in any case, you will enjoy reading it.
Ludmila Ulitskaya
Rounding out our list is another woman who has won 16 literary prizes around the world, including the Austrian State Prize for European Literature and the Russian Booker. By the way, Ulitskaya became the first woman to win this award.
Biography:
Fame for Lyudmila Ulitskaya was brought by two films shot according to her scripts - “Liberty Sisters” and “A Woman for All”. After that, the story "Sonechka" was recognized as the best translated book of the year in France and received the prestigious Medici Prize.
Lyudmila's bibliography includes more than 20 publications, 9 films were shot based on her scripts. Today Ulitskaya takes an active civic position. She established a fund to support humanitarian initiatives, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hospice Assistance Fund.
Where to start:
The easiest way to understand and feel the prose of Lyudmila Ulitskaya is after reading the novel "The Case of Kukotsky". It was he who was awarded the Russian Booker Prize in 2001, as well as the Italian Penne Prize in 2006.
With the departure of Ray Bradbury, the world literary Olympus has become noticeably more empty. Let's remember the most outstanding writers from among our contemporaries - those who still live and create for the joy of their readers. If someone is not included in the list, then add in the comments!1. Gabriel José de la Concordia "Gabo" Garcia Marquez(b. March 6, 1927, Aracataca, Colombia) - the famous Colombian prose writer, journalist, publisher and politician; recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. Representative of the literary direction of "magic realism". World fame brought him the novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (Cien años de soledad, 1967).
2. Umberto Eco(b. January 5, 1932, Alessandria, Italy) is an Italian scientist-philosopher, medievalist historian, specialist in semiotics, literary critic, writer. The most famous novels are The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum.
3. Otfried Preusler(b. October 20, 1923) - German children's writer, by nationality - Lusatian (Lusatian Serb). The most famous works: "Little Baba Yaga", "Little Ghost", "Little Water" and "Krabat, or Legends of the Old Mill".
4. Boris Lvovich Vasiliev(born May 21, 1924) is a Soviet and Russian writer. Author of the story "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" (1969), the novel "Not on the Lists" (1974), etc.
5. Ion Druta(b. 09/03/1928) - Moldavian and Russian writer and playwright.
6. Fazil Abdulovich Iskander(03/06/1929, Sukhum, Abkhazia, USSR) - an outstanding Soviet and Russian prose writer and poet of Abkhaz origin.
7. Daniil Aleksandrovich Granin(b. January 1, 1919, Volsk, Saratov province, according to other sources - Volyn, Kursk region) - Russian writer and public figure. Knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, Hero of Socialist Labor (1989), President of the Society of Friends of the Russian National Library; Chairman of the Board of the International Charitable Foundation. D. S. Likhachev.
8. Milan Kundera(b. April 1, 1929) is a modern Czech prose writer, living in France since 1975. He writes in both Czech and French.
9. Thomas Transtromer(b. April 15, 1931 in Stockholm) - the largest Swedish poet of the XX century. Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the fact that his brief, translucent images give us a renewed view of reality."
10. Max Gallo(b. January 7, 1932, Nice) - French writer, historian and politician. Member of the French Academy
11. Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa(b. 03/28/1936) - Peruvian-Spanish prose writer and playwright, publicist, politician, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010.
12. Terry Pratchett(b. April 28, 1948) is a popular English writer. The most popular is his cycle of satirical fantasy about the Discworld. The total circulation of his books is about 50 million copies.
13. Yuri Vasilievich Bondarev(b. 03/15/1924) is a Russian Soviet writer. Author of the novel "Hot Snow", the story "Battalions ask for fire", etc.
14. Stephen Edwin King(b. September 21, 1947, Portland, Maine, USA) is an American writer who works in a variety of genres, including horror, thriller, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, drama.
15. Viktor Olegovich Pelevin(born November 22, 1962, Moscow) is a Russian writer. The most famous works: "The Life of Insects", "Chapaev and Emptiness", "Generation "P""
16. Joanne Rowling(b. July 31, 1965, Yate, Gloucestershire, England) is a British writer, author of a series of Harry Potter novels, translated into more than 65 languages and sold (as of 2008) in more than 400 million copies.
