Hey! With influential writers like Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anton Chekov and Vladimir Nabokov, Russia has gifted the world with Literature, making them household names all over the world. Their novels and short stories are among the best classics around the globe being translated into many languages. The best feature of these Russian writers is the great story line, artistic prowess, originality and the tendency to engage readers to think deeply along with a personal reflection about the most important questions one has to face in life. All these books of Russian authors have stood the test of time making one reflect and grow as a person.
Russian Literature originated in the Middle Ages undergoing a great change known as the golden age as far as poetry, prose and drama and Romanticism was concerned with astounding writers like VasilyZhukovsky and Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin introduced a certain level of artistry to Russian literature, his best work is ‘Eugene Onegin’ a novel written in the form of verse. Nikolai Gogol was the First Russian novelist of esteem followed by internationally famous writers like Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Anton Chekhov, a short story writer went on to become a leading dramatist.
The beginning of the twentieth century saw an emergence of Russian poetry also known as the ‘Silver Age’ with poets like Alexander Blok, Anna Akhmatova and Sergei Yesenin among many others. Although this period was known for its poetry, but some writers like AleksandrKuprin, FedorSologub and Aleksey Remizov were excellent novelists and short story writers. Ivan Bunin won the Nobel Prize as an excellent novelist and short-story writer. Writers like Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and other notable novelists opposed Soviet ideology by writing about conditions in the gulag camps so were banned from publishing their works and prosecuted for being anti-Soviet elements.
The end of the twentieth century saw novelist Vladmir Sorokin, short story writer Victor Pelevin and poet Dmitry Prigov gain popularity for their works. The 21st century saw writers who differed from their earlier counterparts as far as realism was concerned. Maxim Gorky was a leading author who laid the foundation of Socialist Realism in his work ‘The Mother’. Another successful work of Russian Literature is the novel ‘How the Steel Was Tempered’ by NikolayOstrovsky that was printed in several languages and sold millions of copies. The protagonist in the novel is dedicated to political causes thus serving as an inspiration to the youth round the globe. Many acclaimed novels of imminent writers have either been staged or filmed and translated into many languages.
In Russia children’s literature and science fiction were also widely read. KorneyChukovsky, AgniaBarto and SamuilMarshak were renowned authors of children’s books while GrigoryAdamov, Vladimir Obruchev and Alexander Belyayev stuck to science fiction.
Russian writers have thus remarkably contributed to the literary world with five Russian authors winning the Nobel Prize over the years. Russia is rightly known as “the world’s most reading nation” being the fourth largest producer of books in the world.
Hey! With influential writers like Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anton Chekov and Vladimir Nabokov, Russia has gifted the world with Literature, making them household names all over the world. Their novels and short stories are among the best classics around the globe being translated into many languages.