Russian literature refers to the literature of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and its

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followin ...

s and to

Russian-language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living Eas ...

literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were composed. By the Age of Enlightenment, literature had grown in importance, and from the early 1830s, Russian literature underwent an astounding golden age in poetry, prose and drama.

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

permitted a flowering of poetic talent:

Vasily Zhukovsky Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (russian: Василий Андреевич Жуковский, Vasiliy Andreyevich Zhukovskiy; – ) was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19t ...

and later his protégé

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

came to the fore. Prose was flourishing as well.

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

was one of the most important poets and novelists. The first great Russian novelist was Nikolai Gogol. Then came

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...

, who mastered both short stories and novels. Fyodor Dostoevsky and

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

soon became internationally renowned. Other important figures of Russian realism were

Ivan Goncharov Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov (, also ; rus, Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Гончаро́в, r=Iván Aleksándrovich Goncharóv, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ ɡənʲtɕɪˈrof; – ) was a Russian novelist best known for his ...

Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin ( rus, Михаи́л Евгра́фович Салтыко́в-Щедри́н, p=mʲɪxɐˈil jɪvˈɡrafəvʲɪtɕ səltɨˈkof ɕːɪˈdrʲin; – ), born Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov and known during ...

and

Nikolai Leskov Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (russian: Никола́й Семёнович Леско́в; – ) was a Russian novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and journalist, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique w ...

. In the second half of the century Anton Chekhov excelled in short stories and became a leading dramatist. The beginning of the 20th century ranks as the Silver Age of Russian poetry. The poets most often associated with the "Silver Age" are

Konstantin Balmont Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont ( rus, Константи́н Дми́триевич Бальмо́нт, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ bɐlʲˈmont, a=Konstantin Dmitriyevich Bal'mont.ru.vorb.oga; – 23 December 1942) was a Rus ...

Valery Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov ( rus, Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbrʲusəf, a=Valyeriy Yakovlyevich Bryusov.ru.vorb.oga; – 9 October 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, drama ...

Alexander Blok Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; uk, А́нна Андрі́ївна Горе́нко, Ánna Andríyivn ...

Nikolay Gumilyov Nikolay Stepanovich Gumilyov ( rus, Никола́й Степа́нович Гумилёв, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ɡʊmʲɪˈlʲɵf, a=Nikolay Styepanovich Gumilyov.ru.vorb.oga; April 15 NS 1886 – August 26, 1921) was a poe ...

, Sergei Yesenin,

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...

, and

Marina Tsvetaeva Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (russian: Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈtaɪvə; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is considered among some of the greatest in twentieth century Russia ...

. This era produced some first-rate novelists and short-story writers, such as

Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (russian: link=no, Александр Иванович Куприн; – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''A ...

, Nobel Prize winner

Ivan Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga; – 8 November 1953) was the first Russian writer awarded the ...

Leonid Andreyev Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (russian: Леони́д Никола́евич Андре́ев, – 12 September 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian liter ...

Fyodor Sologub Fyodor Sologub (russian: Фёдор Сологу́б, born Fyodor Kuzmich Teternikov, russian: Фёдор Кузьми́ч Тете́рников, also known as Theodor Sologub; – 5 December 1927) was a Russian Symbolist poet, novelist, transl ...

Yevgeny Zamyatin Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin ( rus, Евге́ний Ива́нович Замя́тин, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ zɐˈmʲætʲɪn; – 10 March 1937), sometimes anglicized as Eugene Zamyatin, was a Russian author of science fictio ...

Alexander Belyaev Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (russian: Алекса́ндр Рома́нович Беля́ев, ; – 6 January 1942) was a Soviet Russian writer of science fiction. His works from the 1920s and 1930s made him a highly regarded figure in Russia ...

Andrei Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андр� ...

and

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

. After the Revolution of 1917, Russian literature split into Soviet and

white émigré White Russian émigrés were Russians who emigrated from the territory of the former Russian Empire in the wake of the Russian Revolution (1917) and Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and who were in opposition to the revolutionary Bolshevik commun ...

parts. While the Soviet Union assured universal literacy and a highly developed book printing industry, it also enforced ideological censorship. In the 1930s

Socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is c ...

became the predominant trend in Russia. Its leading figures were Nikolay Ostrovsky, Alexander Fadeyev and other writers, who laid the foundations of this style. Ostrovsky's novel ''

How the Steel Was Tempered ''How the Steel Was Tempered'' (russian: Как закалялась сталь, ''Kak zakalyalas' stal) or ''The Making of a Hero'', is a socialist realist novel written by Nikolai Ostrovsky (1904–1936). With 36.4 million copies sold, it is ...

'' has been among the most popular works of Russian Socrealist literature. Some writers, such as Mikhail Bulgakov,

Andrei Platonov Andrei Platonov (russian: Андре́й Плато́нов, ; – 5 January 1951) was the pen name of Andrei Platonovich Klimentov (russian: Андре́й Плато́нович Климе́нтов), a Soviet Russian writer, philosopher, pla ...

and

Daniil Kharms Daniil Ivanovich Kharms (russian: Дании́л Ива́нович Хармс; – 2 February 1942) was an early Soviet-era Russian avant-gardist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist. Early years Kharms was born as Daniil Yuvach ...

were criticized and wrote with little or no hope of being published. Various ''émigré'' writers, such as poets

Vladislav Khodasevich Vladislav Felitsianovich Khodasevich (russian: Владисла́в Фелициа́нович Ходасе́вич; 16 May 1886 – 14 June 1939) was an influential Russian poet and literary critic who presided over the Berlin circle of Russian e ...

Georgy Ivanov Georgy Vladimirovich Ivanov (russian: Гео́ргий Влади́мирович Ива́нов; in Puki Estate, Seda Volost, Kovno Governorate – 26 August 1958 in Hyères, Var, France) was a leading poet and essayist of the Russian emigrati ...

and Vyacheslav Ivanov; novelists such as

Gaito Gazdanov Gaito Gazdanov (russian: Гайто́ (Гео́ргий) Ива́нович Газда́нов, ''Gaito'' 'Georgii'Ivanovich Gazdanov''; os, Гæздæнты Бæппийы фырт Гайто, ''Gæzdænty Bæppijy fyrt Gajto''; 5 December ...

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...

and Bunin, continued to write in exile. Some writers dared to oppose Soviet ideology, like Nobel Prize-winning novelist

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repres ...

and

Varlam Shalamov Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov (russian: Варла́м Ти́хонович Шала́мов; 18 June 1907 – 17 January 1982), baptized as Varlaam, was a Russian writer, journalist, poet and Gulag survivor. He spent much of the period from 1 ...

, who wrote about life in the gulag camps. The Khrushchev Thaw brought some fresh wind to literature and poetry became a mass cultural phenomenon. This "thaw" did not last long; in the 1970s, some of the most prominent authors were banned from publishing and prosecuted for their anti-Soviet sentiments. The end of the 20th century was a difficult period for Russian literature, with few distinct voices. Among the most discussed authors of this period were

Victor Pelevin Victor Olegovich Pelevin ( rus, Виктор Олегович Пелевин, p=ˈvʲiktər ɐˈlʲɛɡəvʲɪtɕ pʲɪˈlʲevʲɪn; born 22 November 1962) is a Russian fiction writer. His novels include ''Omon Ra'' (1992), ''The Life of Insects ...

, who gained popularity with short stories and novels, novelist and playwright

Vladimir Sorokin Vladimir Georgiyevich Sorokin (russian: link=no, Влади́мир Гео́ргиевич Соро́кин; born 7 August 1955) is a contemporary postmodern Russian writer and dramatist. He has been described as one of the most popular writers ...

, and the poet

Dmitri Prigov Dmitri Aleksandrovich Prigov (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович При́гов, 5 November 1940 in Moscow – 16 July 2007 in MoscowNobel Prize in literature laureates. As of 2011, Russia was the fourth largest book producer in the world in terms of published titles. A popular folk saying claims Russians are "the world's most reading nation".

Early history

Old Russian literature consists of several masterpieces written in the Old East Slavic (i.e. the language of Kievan Rus', not to be confused with the contemporaneous Church Slavonic nor with modern Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian). The main type of Old Russian historical literature were

chronicles Chronicles may refer to: * ''Books of Chronicles'', in the Bible * Chronicle, chronological histories * ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis * ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', the collected works of Raphael Holinshed * '' The Idh ...

, most of them anonymous. Anonymous works also include ''

The Tale of Igor's Campaign ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' ( orv, Слово о пълкѹ Игоревѣ, translit=Slovo o pŭlku Igorevě) is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language. The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campai ...

'' and '' Praying of Daniel the Immured''.

Hagiographies A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

(russian: жития святых, ''zhitiya svyatykh'', "lives of the saints") formed a popular

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

of the Old Russian literature. '' Life of Alexander Nevsky'' offers a well-known example. Other Russian literary works include '' Zadonschina'', '' Physiologist'', '' Synopsis'' and '' A Journey Beyond the Three Seas''.

Bylina A ( rus, были́на, p=bɨˈlʲinə; pl. ) is an Old Russian oral epic poem. Byliny narratives are loosely based on historical fact, but greatly embellished with fantasy or hyperbole. The word derives from the past tense of the verb ' ...

s – oral folk epics – fused Christian and pagan traditions. Medieval Russian literature had an overwhelmingly religious character and used an adapted form of the Church Slavonic language with many South Slavic elements. The first work in colloquial

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, the autobiography of the archpriest

Avvakum Avvakum Petrov (russian: link=no, Аввакум Петров; 20 November 1620/21 – 14 April 1682) (also spelled Awakum) was an Old Believer and Russian protopope of the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square who led the opposition to Patriarch N ...

, emerged only in the mid-17th century.

18th century

After taking the throne at the end of the 17th century, Peter the Great's influence on the Russian culture would extend far into the 18th century. Peter's reign during the beginning of the 18th century initiated a series of modernizing changes in Russian literature. The reforms he implemented encouraged Russian artists and scientists to make innovations in their crafts and fields with the intention of creating an economy and culture comparable. Peter's example set a precedent for the remainder of the 18th century as Russian writers began to form clear ideas about the proper use and progression of the Russian language. Through their debates regarding versification of the Russian language and tone of Russian literature, the writers in the first half of the 18th century were able to lay foundation for the more poignant, topical work of the late 18th century.

Satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...

Antiokh Dmitrievich Kantemir Antiochus or Antioch Kantemir or Cantemir (russian: Антиох Дмитриевич Кантемир, ''Antiokh Dmitrievich Kantemir''; ro, Antioh Cantemir; tr, Antioh Kantemiroğlu; french: Antioche Cantemir; 8 September 1708 – 31 Mar ...

, 1708–1744, was one of the earliest Russian writers not only to praise the ideals of Peter I's reforms but the ideals of the growing Enlightenment movement in Europe. Kantemir's works regularly expressed his admiration for Peter, most notably in his epic dedicated to the emperor entitled ''Petrida''. More often, however, Kantemir indirectly praised Peter's influence through his satiric criticism of Russia's “superficiality and obscurantism,” which he saw as manifestations of the backwardness Peter attempted to correct through his reforms. Kantemir honored this tradition of reform not only through his support for Peter, but by initiating a decade-long debate on the proper syllabic versification using the Russian language. Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky, a poet, playwright, essayist, translator and contemporary to Antiokh Kantemir, also found himself deeply entrenched in Enlightenment conventions in his work with the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...

and his groundbreaking translations of French and classical works to the Russian language. A turning point in the course of Russian literature, his translation of Paul Tallemant's work ''Voyage to the Isle of Love'', was the first to use the Russian vernacular as opposed the formal and outdated Church-Slavonic. This introduction set a precedent for secular works to be composed in the vernacular, while sacred texts would remain in Church-Slavonic. However, his work was often incredibly theoretical and scholarly, focused on promoting the versification of the language with which he spoke. While Trediakovsky's approach to writing is often described as highly erudite, the young writer and scholarly rival to Trediakovsky, Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov, 1717–1777, was dedicated to the styles of

French classicism 17th-century French literature was written throughout the ''Grand Siècle'' of France, spanning the reigns of Henry IV of France, the Regency of Marie de Medici, Louis XIII of France, the Regency of Anne of Austria (and the civil war called the F ...

. Sumarokov's interest in the form of

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...

mirrored his devotion to the westernizing spirit of Peter the Great's age. Although he often disagreed with Trediakovsky, Sumarokov also advocated the use of simple, natural language in order to diversify the audience and make more efficient use of the Russian language. Like his colleagues and counterparts, Sumarokov extolled the legacy of Peter I, writing in his manifesto ''Epistle on Poetry'', “The great Peter hurls his thunder from the Baltic shores, the Russian sword glitters in all corners of the universe”. Peter the Great's policies of westernization and displays of military prowess naturally attracted Sumarokov and his contemporaries.

Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; russian: Михаил (Михайло) Васильевич Ломоносов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ , a=Ru-Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov.ogg; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and wr ...

, in particular, expressed his gratitude for and dedication to Peter's legacy in his unfinished ''Peter the Great'', Lomonosov's works often focused on themes of the awe-inspiring, grandeur nature, and was therefore drawn to Peter because of the magnitude of his military, architectural and cultural feats. In contrast to Sumarokov's devotion to simplicity, Lomonosov favored a belief in a hierarchy of literary styles divided into high, middle and low. This style facilitated Lomonosov's grandiose, high minded writing and use of both vernacular and Church-Slavonic. The influence of Peter I and debates over the function and form of literature as it related to the Russian language in the first half of the 18th century set a stylistic precedent for the writers during the reign of Catherine the Great in the second half of the century. However, the themes and scopes of the works these writers produced were often more poignant, political and controversial. Alexander Nikolayevich Radishchev, for example, shocked the Russian public with his depictions of the socio-economic condition of the serfs. Empress Catherine II condemned this portrayal, forcing Radishchev into exile in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

. Others, however, picked topics less offensive to the autocrat.

Nikolay Karamzin Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Empire, Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best ...

, 1766–1826, for example, is known for his advocacy of Russian writers adopting traits in the poetry and prose like a heightened sense of emotion and physical vanity, considered to be feminine at the time as well as supporting the cause of female Russian writers. Karamzin's call for male writers to write with femininity was not in accordance with the Enlightenment ideals of reason and theory, considered masculine attributes. His works were thus not universally well received; however, they did reflect in some areas of society a growing respect for, or at least ambivalence toward, a female ruler in Catherine the Great. This concept heralded an era of regarding female characteristics in writing as an abstract concept linked with attributes of frivolity, vanity and pathos. Some writers, on the other hand, were more direct in their praise for Catherine II. Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, famous for his odes, often dedicated his poems to Empress Catherine II. In contrast to most of his contemporaries, Derzhavin was highly devoted to his state; he served in the military, before rising to various roles in Catherine II's government, including secretary to the Empress and Minister of Justice. Unlike those who took after the grand style of Mikhail Lomonosov and Alexander Sumarokov, Derzhavin was concerned with the minute details of his subjects.

Denis Fonvizin Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin (russian: Денис Иванович Фонвизин; —) was a playwright and writer of the Russian Enlightenment, one of the founders of literary comedy in Russia. His main works are two satirical comedies, one of th ...

, an author primarily of comedy, approached the subject of the

Russian nobility The Russian nobility (russian: дворянство ''dvoryanstvo'') originated in the 14th century. In 1914 it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members (about 1.1% of the population) in the Russian Empire. Up until the February Revolutio ...

with an angle of critique. Fonvizin felt the nobility should be held to the standards they were under the reign of Peter the Great, during which the quality of devotion to the state was rewarded. His works criticized the current system for rewarding the nobility without holding them responsible for the duties they once performed. Using satire and comedy, Fonvizin supported a system of nobility in which the elite were rewarded based upon personal merit rather than the hierarchal favoritism that was rampant during Catherine the Great's reign. Image:Sumarokov by A.Losenko.jpg,

Alexander Sumarokov Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov (russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Сумаро́ков; , Moscow – , Moscow) was a Russian poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia, thus assisting Mikhail Lomonos ...

Image:Vladimir Borovikovsky 001 (portrait of Gavrila Derzhavin).jpg,

Gavrila Derzhavin Gavriil (Gavrila) Romanovich Derzhavin ( rus, Гаврии́л (Гаври́ла) Рома́нович Держа́вин, p=ɡɐˈvrilə rɐˈmanəvʲɪtɕ dʲɪrˈʐavʲɪn, a=Gavrila Romanovich Dyerzhavin.ru.vorb.oga; 14 July 1743 – 20 ...

DenisFonvizin2.jpg,

Image:Radishchev color.jpg,

Alexander Radishchev Alexander Nikolayevich Radishchev (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Ради́щев; – ) was a Russian author and social critic who was arrested and exiled under Catherine the Great. He brought the tradition of radicali ...

Image:Tropinin karamzin.JPG,

Image:Ivan Krylov.jpg,

Ivan Krylov Ivan Andreyevich Krylov (russian: Ива́н Андре́евич Крыло́в; 13 February 1769 – 21 November 1844) is Russia's best-known fabulist and probably the most epigrammatic of all Russian authors. Formerly a dramatist and journali ...

Golden Age

The 19th century is traditionally referred to as the "Golden Era" of Russian literature.

permitted a flowering of especially poetic talent: the names of

and later that of his protégé

came to the fore. Pushkin is credited with both crystallizing the literary Russian language and introducing a new level of artistry to Russian literature. His best-known work is a novel in verse, ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...

'' (1833). An entire new generation of poets including

(also known for the novel ''

A Hero of Our Time ''A Hero of Our Time'' ( rus, Герой нашего времени, links=1, r=Gerój nášego vrémeni, p=ɡʲɪˈroj ˈnaʂɨvə ˈvrʲemʲɪnʲɪ) is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839, published in 1840, and revised in 1841. It ...

'', 1841),

Yevgeny Baratynsky Yevgeny Abramovich Baratynsky (russian: Евге́ний Абра́мович Бараты́нский, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈbraməvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈtɨnskʲɪj, a=Yevgyeniy Abramovich Baratynskiy.ru.vorb.oga; 11 July 1844) was lauded by Alexan ...

, Konstantin Batyushkov,

Nikolay Nekrasov Nikolay Alexeyevich Nekrasov ( rus, Никола́й Алексе́евич Некра́сов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈkrasəf, a=Ru-Nikolay_Alexeyevich_Nekrasov.ogg, – ) was a Russian poet, writer, critic and publi ...

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (russian: Граф Алексе́й Константи́нович Толсто́й; – ), often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy, was a Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. He is considered to be the most ...

, Fyodor Tyutchev and

Afanasy Fet Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet ( rus, Афана́сий Афана́сьевич Фет, p=ɐfɐˈnasʲɪj ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈfʲɛt, a=Ru-Afanasiy Afanas'yevich Fyet.oga), later known as Shenshin ( rus, Шенши́н, p=ʂɨnˈʂɨn, a=Ru-Afa ...

followed in Pushkin's steps. Prose was flourishing as well. The first great Russian novel was '' Dead Souls'' (1842) by Nikolai Gogol. The realistic school of fiction can be said to have begun with

, mainly remembered for his novel ''

Oblomov ''Oblomov'' ( ru , link=no, Обломов; ) is the second novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, first published in 1859. Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is the central character of the novel, portrayed as the ultimate incarnation of the superfluous man, ...

'' (1859), and

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

and

soon became internationally renowned to the point that many scholars such as

F. R. Leavis Frank Raymond "F. R." Leavis (14 July 1895 – 14 April 1978) was an English literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for much of his career at Downing College, Cambridge, and later at the University of York. Leavis ra ...

have described one or the other as the greatest novelist ever.

is known for his grotesque satire, and the satirical chronicle '' The History of a Town'' (1870) and the family saga ''

The Golovlyov Family ''The Golovlyov Family'' (russian: Господа Головлёвы, translit=Gospoda Golovlyovy; also translated as ''The Golovlevs'' or ''A Family of Noblemen: The Gentlemen Golovliov'') is a novel by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, written in the ...

'' (1880) are considered his masterpieces.

is best remembered for his shorter fiction and for his unique ''

skaz Skaz ( rus, сказ, p=ˈskas) is a Russian oral form of narrative. The word comes from '' skazátʹ'', "to tell", and is also related to such words as ''rasskaz'', "short story" and ''skazka'', "fairy tale". The speech makes use of dialect and sla ...

'' techniques. Late in the century Anton Chekhov emerged as a master of the short story as well as a leading international dramatist. Other important 19th-century developments included the fabulist

; non-fiction writers such as the critic

Vissarion Belinsky Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky ( rus, Виссарион Григорьевич БелинскийIn Belinsky's day, his name was written ., Vissarión Grigórʹjevič Belínskij, vʲɪsərʲɪˈon ɡrʲɪˈɡorʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʲɪˈlʲinskʲ ...

and the political reformer

Alexander Herzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...

; playwrights such as

Aleksandr Griboyedov Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (russian: Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов, ''Aleksandr Sergeevich Griboedov'' or ''Sergeevich Griboyedov''; 15 January 179511 February 1829), formerly romanized as Alexander Sergueevich Gr ...

Aleksandr Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original ...

Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin Aleksandr Vasilyevich Sukhovo-Kobylin (russian: Александр Васильевич Сухово-Кобылин) (, Moscow - , Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France), was a Russian philosopher and playwright, chiefly known for his satirical plays critici ...

and the satirist

Kozma Prutkov Kozma Petrovich Prutkov (russian: Козьма́ Петро́вич Прутко́в) is a fictional author invented by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (1817-1875) and his cousins, the brothers Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov (1821-1908), (1830-1884) and ...

(a collective pen name). Image:Bryullov portrait of Zhukovsky.jpg,

Image:Griboyedov.jpg,

Alexander Griboyedov Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (russian: Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов, ''Aleksandr Sergeevich Griboedov'' or ''Sergeevich Griboyedov''; 15 January 179511 February 1829), formerly romanized as Alexander Sergueevich Gr ...

Image:Kiprensky Pushkin.jpg,

Image:Fyodor Tyutchev.jpg, Fyodor Tyutchev Image:Портрет Гоголя.jpg, Nikolai Gogol Image:Herzen ge detail.jpg,

Image:Ivan Goncharov(2).jpg,

Image:Mikhail lermontov.jpg,

Image:A.K.Tolstoy by Repin.jpg, A. K. Tolstoy Image:Turgenev by Repin.jpg,

Image:Fet by Repin.jpg,

Image:Nikolay Gay. Portrait of the Poet Nikolay Nekrasov.jpg,

Nikolai Nekrasov Nikolay Alexeyevich Nekrasov ( rus, Никола́й Алексе́евич Некра́сов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈkrasəf, a=Ru-Nikolay_Alexeyevich_Nekrasov.ogg, – ) was a Russian poet, writer, critic and publi ...

Image:Dostoevskij 1872.jpg,

Image:Wassilij Grigorjewitsch Perow 003.jpg,

Alexander Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 origina ...

Image:Kramskoj - saltykov-schedrin.jpg, Mikhail Saltykov-Schedrin Image:Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930) - Portrait of Leo Tolstoy (1887).jpg,

Image:Serov Leskov.jpg,

Image:Chekhov 1898 by Osip Braz.jpg, Anton Chekhov

20th century

Silver Age

The beginning of the 20th century ranks as the

Silver Age of Russian poetry Silver Age (Сере́бряный век) is a term traditionally applied by Russian philologists to the last decade of the 19th century and first two or three decades of the 20th century. It was an exceptionally creative period in the history of ...

. Well-known poets of the period include:

, Sergei Yesenin,

Mikhail Kuzmin Mikhail Alekseevich Kuzmin (russian: Михаи́л Алексе́евич Кузми́н) ( – March 1, 1936) was a Russian poet, musician and novelist, a prominent contributor to the Silver Age of Russian Poetry. Biography Born into a noble fa ...

Igor Severyanin Igor Severyanin (russian: И́горь Северя́нин; pen name, real name Igor Vasilyevich Lotaryov: И́горь Васи́льевич Лотарёв; May 16, 1887 – December 20, 1941) was a Russian poet who presided over the circle ...

, Sasha Chorny,

Maximilian Voloshin Maximilian Alexandrovich Kirienko-Voloshin (russian: Максимилиа́н Алекса́ндрович Кирие́нко-Воло́шин; May 28, Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._May_16.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ...

, Innokenty Annensky,

Zinaida Gippius Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius (Hippius) (; – 9 September 1945) was a Russian poet, playwright, novelist, editor and religious thinker, one of the major figures in Russian symbolism. The story of her marriage to Dmitry Merezhkovsky, which laste ...

. The poets most often associated with the "Silver Age" are

Osip Mandelstam Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam ( rus, Осип Эмильевич Мандельштам, p=ˈosʲɪp ɨˈmʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mənʲdʲɪlʲˈʂtam; – 27 December 1938) was a Russian and Soviet poet. He was one of the foremost members of the A ...

and Boris Pasternak. While the Silver Age is considered to be the development of the 19th-century Russian literature tradition, some avant-garde poets tried to overturn it:

Velimir Khlebnikov Viktor Vladimirovich Khlebnikov, better known by the pen name Velimir Khlebnikov ( rus, Велими́р Хле́бников, p=vʲɪlʲɪˈmʲir ˈxlʲɛbnʲɪkəf; – 28 June 1922) was a Russian poet and playwright, a central part of th ...

David Burliuk David Davidovich Burliuk (Давид Давидович Бурлюк; 21 July 1882 – 15 January 1967) was a Russian-language poet, artist and publicist associated with the Futurist and Neo-Primitivist movements. Burliuk has been described as ...

Aleksei Kruchenykh Aleksei Yeliseyevich Kruchyonykh (russian: Алексе́й Елисе́евич Кручёных; 9 February 1886 – 17 June 1968) was a Russian poet, artist, and theorist, perhaps one of the most radical poets of Russian Futurism, a mo ...

and

. Though the Silver Age is famous mostly for its poetry, it produced some first-rate novelists and short-story writers, such as

, Nobel Prize winner

, Fedor Sologub,

Aleksey Remizov Aleksey Mikhailovich Remizov (russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ре́мизов; in Moscow – 26 November 1957 in Paris) was a Russian modernist writer whose creative imagination veered to the fantastic and bizarre. Apart fro ...

Dmitry Merezhkovsky Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky ( rus, Дми́трий Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – December 9, 1941) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious thinker, ...

and

, though most of them wrote poetry as well as prose. Image:Maxim Gorky LOC Restored.jpg,

Image:Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin 7.jpg,

Image:Gippius 1910s.jpg,

File:Andreyev by Repin 1905.jpg,

Image:Brusov1920.jpg,

Image:Andrej Belij (Petrov-Vodkin festménye).jpg,

Andrey Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андр� ...

Image:Blok.jpg,

Image:Petrov-vodkin-akhmatova.jpg,

BORIS_BESIDE_THE_BALTIC_AT_MEREKULE,_1910_by_L.Pasternak.jpg, Boris Pasternak Image:Tsvetaeva.jpg,

Image:Sergey Yesenin.jpg, Sergei Yesenin Image:Osip Mandelstam Russian writer.jpg,

Lenin era

The first years of the Soviet regime after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

of 1917, featured a proliferation of

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

literature groups. One of the most important was the Oberiu movement (1928–1930s), which included the most famous Russian absurdist

(1905–1942),

Konstantin Vaginov Konstantin Konstantinovich Vaginov (russian: Константи́н Константи́нович Ва́гинов, born ''Wagenheim'', – April 26, 1934) was a Russian poet and novelist. Biography Vaginov was born in St. Petersburg in 18 ...

(1899–1934), Alexander Vvedensky (1904–1941) and Nikolay Zabolotsky (1903–1958). Other famous authors experimenting with language included the novelists

Yuri Olesha Yury Karlovich Olesha (russian: Ю́рий Ка́рлович Оле́ша, – 10 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet novelist. He is considered one of the greatest Russian novelists of the 20th century, one of the few to have succeeded in wri ...

(1899–1960),

(1899–1951) and

Boris Pilnyak Boris Andreyevich Pilnyak (''né'' Vogau russian: Бори́с Андре́евич Пильня́к; – April 21, 1938) was a Russian and Soviet writer who was executed by the Soviet Union on false claims of plotting to kill Joseph Stalin and ...

(1894–1938) and the short-story writers

Isaak Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel (russian: Исаак Эммануилович Бабель, p=ˈbabʲɪlʲ; – 27 January 1940) was a Russian writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of '' Red Cavalry' ...

(1894–1940) and

Mikhail Zoshchenko Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Зо́щенко; – 22 July 1958) was a Soviet and Russian writer and satirist. Biography Zoshchenko was born in 1894, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, according to h ...

(1894–1958). The OPOJAZ group of literary critics, also known as Russian formalism, was founded in 1916 in close connection with

Russian Futurism Russian Futurism is the broad term for a movement of Russian poets and artists who adopted the principles of Filippo Marinetti's " Manifesto of Futurism," which espoused the rejection of the past, and a celebration of speed, machinery, violence ...

. Two of its members also produced influential literary works, namely

Viktor Shklovsky Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky ( rus, Ви́ктор Бори́сович Шкло́вский, p=ˈʂklofskʲɪj; – 6 December 1984) was a Russian and Soviet literary theorist, critic, writer, and pamphleteer. He is one of the major figures ass ...

(1893–1984), whose numerous books ('' A Sentimental Journey'' and '' Zoo, or Letters Not About Love'', both 1923) defy genre in that they present a novel mix of narration, autobiography, and aesthetic as well as social commentary, and

Yury Tynyanov Yury Nikolaevich Tynyanov ( rus, Ю́рий Никола́евич Тыня́нов, p=ˈjʉrʲɪj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ tɨˈnʲænəf; October 18, 1894 – December 20, 1943) was a Soviet writer, literary critic, translator, scholar and scr ...

(1893–1943), who used his knowledge of Russia's literary history to produce a set of historical novels mainly set in the

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

era (e.g., '' Lieutenant Kijé''). Following the establishment of

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

rule, Mayakovsky worked on interpreting the facts of the new reality. His works, such as "Ode to the Revolution" and "Left March" (both 1918), brought innovations to poetry. In "Left March", Mayakovsky calls for a struggle against the enemies of the Russian Revolution. The poem ''

150 000 000 ''150 000 000'' (Russian: ''Sto pyat'desyat millionov'') is a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky written in 1919–1920 and first published in April 1921 by GIZ (Gosizdat) Publishers, originally anonymously. The poem, hailing the 150-million-strong Russia ...

'' (1921) discusses the leading role played by the masses in the revolution. In the poem ''

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

'' (1924), Mayakovsky looks at the life and work at the leader of Russia's revolution and depicts them against a broad historical background. In the poem '' All Right!'' (1927), Mayakovsky writes about

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

society as the "springtime of humanity". Mayakovsky was instrumental in producing a new type of poetry in which politics played a major part.

Stalin era

In the 1930s,

Socialist Realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is c ...

became the predominant trend in Russia. Writers like those of the

Serapion Brothers The Serapion Brothers (or Serapion Fraternity, russian: Серапионовы Братья) was a group of writers formed in Petrograd, Russian SFSR in 1921. The group was named after a literary group, ''Die Serapionsbrüder'' ( The Serapion Bret ...

group (1921–), who insisted on the right of an author to write independently of political ideology, were forced by authorities to reject their views and accept socialist realist principles. Some 1930s writers, such as

, leader of Oberiu, Leonid Dobychin (1894–1936), Mikhail Bulgakov (1891–1940), author of ''

The White Guard ''The White Guard'' (russian: links=no, Белая гвардия) is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, first published in 1925 in literary journal ''Rossiya''. It was not reprinted in the Soviet Union until 1966. Background ''The White Guard'' fir ...

'' (1923) and ''

The Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' (russian: Мастер и Маргарита) is a novel by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940 during Stalin's regime. A censored version, with several chapters cut by ...

'' (1928–1940), and

, author of novels '' Chevengur'' (1928) and '' The Foundation Pit'' (1930) were attacked by the official critics as "formalists" and ideological enemies and wrote with little or no hope of being published.

Isaac Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel (russian: Исаак Эммануилович Бабель, p=ˈbabʲɪlʲ; – 27 January 1940) was a Russian writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of ''Red Cavalry'' ...

and other writers, who continued to publish their works but could not get used to the socrealist principles by the end of the 1930s, were executed on fabricated charges. After his return to Russia

was proclaimed by the Soviet authorities as "the founder of Socialist Realism". His novel ''Mother'' (1906), which Gorky himself considered one of his biggest failures, inspired proletarian writers to found the socrealist movement. Gorky defined socialist realism as the "realism of people who are rebuilding the world" and pointed out that it looks at the past "from the heights of the future's goals", although he defined it not as a strict style (which is studied in

Andrei Sinyavsky Andrei Donatovich Sinyavsky (russian: Андре́й Дона́тович Синя́вский; 8 October 1925 – 25 February 1997) was a Russian writer and Soviet dissident known as a defendant in the Sinyavsky–Daniel trial in 1965. Sinyav ...

's essay ''On Socialist Realism''), but as a label for the "union of writers of styles", who write for one purpose, to help in the development of the new man in socialist society. Gorky became the initiator of creating the Writer's Union, a state organization, intended to unite the socrealist writers. Despite the official reputation, Gorky's post-revolutionary works, such as the novel ''

The Life of Klim Samgin ''The Life of Klim Samgin'' (russian: Жизнь Клима Самгина, translit=Zhizn' Klima Samgina) is a four-volume novel written by Maxim Gorky from 1925 up to his death in 1936. It is Gorky's most ambitious work, intended to depict "all ...

'' (1925–1936) can't be defined as socrealist.

(1880–1934), author of '' Petersburg'' (1913/1922), a well-known modernist writer, also was a member of Writer's Union and tried to become a "true" socrealist by writing a series of articles and making ideological revisions to his memoirs, and he also planned to begin a study of Socialist realism. However, he continued writing with his unique techniques. Although he was actively published during his lifetime, his major works would not be reissued until the end of the 1970s. Mikhail Sholokhov (1905–1984) was one of the most significant figures in the official Soviet literature. His main socrealist work is ''Virgin Soil Upturned'' (1935), a novel in which Sholokhov glorifies the collectivization. However, his best-known and the most significant literary achievement is '' Quiet Flows the Don'' (1928–1940), an epic novel which realistically depicts the life of Don Cossacks during the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and Russian Civil War.

Nikolai Ostrovsky Nikolai Alexeevich Ostrovsky (russian: Никола́й Алексе́евич Остро́вский; uk, Мико́ла Олексі́йович Остро́вський; 29 September 1904 – 22 December 1936) was a Soviet socialist realist w ...

's novel ''

'' (1932–1934) has been among the most popular works of literary socrealism, with tens of millions of copies printed in many languages around the world. In China, various versions of the book have sold more than 10 million copies. In Russia more than 35 million copies of the book are in circulation. The book is a fictionalized autobiography of Ostrovsky's life: he had a difficult working-class childhood, became a Komsomol member in July 1919 and volunteered to join the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

. The novel's protagonist, Pavel Korchagin, represented the "young hero" of Russian literature: he is dedicated to his political causes, which help him to overcome his tragedies. Alexander Fadeyev (1901–1956) was also a well-known Socialist realism writer. His novel ''The Rout'' (1927) deals with the partisan struggle in Russia's Far East during the Russian Revolution and Civil War of 1917–1922. Fadeyev described the theme of this novel as one of a revolution significantly transforming the masses.

''Émigré'' writers

Meanwhile, ''émigré'' writers, such as poets

(1886–1939),

(1894–1958) and Vyacheslav Ivanov (1866–1949); novelists such as

Aleksei Remizov Aleksey Mikhailovich Remizov (russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ре́мизов; in Moscow – 26 November 1957 in Paris) was a Russian modernist writer whose creative imagination veered to the fantastic and bizarre. Apart from ...

, Ayn Rand,

, M. Ageyev (1898–1973),

Mark Aldanov Mark Aldanov (russian: Марк Алда́нов; Mordkhai-Markus Israelevich Landau, Mark Alexandrovich Landau, russian: Мордхай-Маркус Израилевич Ландау, Марк Алекса́ндрович Ланда́у; – Fe ...

, (1880s–1957),

(1903–1971) and

(1899–1977); and short-story

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

-winning writer

(1870–1953), continued to write in exile. During his emigration Bunin wrote his most significant works, such as his only novel ''

The Life of Arseniev ''The Life of Arseniev: Youth'' (russian: Жизнь Арсеньева. Юность) is an autobiographical novel by Nobel Prize-winning Russian author Ivan Bunin seen by many as his most important work written in emigration. It is Bunin's only ...

'' (1927–1939) and short story cycle '' Dark Avenues'' (1937–1944). While Bunin wrote about the pre-revolutionary Russia, life of the ''émigrés'' was described in Nabokov's ''

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

'' (1926)'' and The Gift'' (1938), Gazdanov's '' An Evening with Claire'' (1929) and '' The Specter of Alexander Wolf'' (1948) and Georgy Ivanov's novel ''Disintegration of the Atom'' (1938).

Later Soviet era

After the end of World War II Nobel Prize-winning Boris Pasternak (1890–1960) wrote a novel ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1945–1955). Publication of the novel in Italy caused a scandal, as the Soviet authorities forced Pasternak to renounce his 1958 Nobel Prize and denounced as an internal White emigre and a Fascist fifth columnist. Pasternak was expelled from the Writer's Union. The Khrushchev Thaw () brought some fresh wind to literature. Poetry became a mass-cultural phenomenon:

Bella Akhmadulina Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina ( rus, Бе́лла (Изабе́лла) Аха́товна Ахмаду́лина, tt-Cyrl, Белла Әхәт кызы Әхмәдуллина; 10 April 1937 – 29 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian poet, ...

(1937–2010),

Robert Rozhdestvensky Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky (russian: Ро́берт Ива́нович Рожде́ственский; 20 June 1932 – 19 August 1994) was a Soviet-Russian poet and Songwriter who broke with socialist realism in the 1950s–1960s during ...

(1932–1994),

Andrei Voznesensky Andrei Andreyevich Voznesensky (russian: link=no, Андре́й Андре́евич Вознесе́нский, 12 May 1933 – 1 June 2010) was a Soviet and Russian poet and writer who had been referred to by Robert Lowell as "one of the ...

(1933–2010), and

Yevgeny Yevtushenko Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko ( rus, links=no, 1=Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Евтуше́нко; 18 July 1933 – 1 April 2017) was a Soviet and Russian poet. He was also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, ...

(1933–2017), read their poems in stadiums and attracted huge crowds. Some writers dared to oppose Soviet ideology, like short-story writer

(1907–1982) and Nobel Prize-winning novelist

(1918–2008), who wrote about life in the

gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

camps, or

Vasily Grossman Vasily Semyonovich Grossman (russian: Васи́лий Семёнович Гро́ссман; 12 December (29 November, Julian calendar) 1905 – 14 September 1964) was a Soviet writer and journalist. Born to a Jewish family in Ukraine, then pa ...

(1905–1964), with his description of World War II events countering the Soviet official historiography (his epic novel ''

Life and Fate ''Life and Fate'' (russian: Жизнь и судьба) is a novel by Vasily Grossman, written in the Soviet Union in 1959 and published in 1980. Technically, it is the second half of the author's conceived two-part book under the same title. Alt ...

'' (1959) was not published in the Soviet Union until the Perestroika). Such writers, dubbed "

dissidents A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...

", could not publish their major works until the 1960s. But the thaw did not last long. In the 1970s, some of the most prominent authors were not only banned from publishing but were also prosecuted for their anti-Soviet sentiments, or for parasitism. Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the country. Others, such as Nobel Prize–winning poet Joseph Brodsky (1940–1996); novelists

Vasily Aksyonov Vasily Pavlovich Aksyonov ( rus, Васи́лий Па́влович Аксёнов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ɐˈksʲɵnəf; August 20, 1932 – July 6, 2009) was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He became known in the West as the autho ...

(1932–2009),

Eduard Limonov Eduard Veniaminovich Savenko ( rus, Эдуард Вениаминович Савенко, , ɨdʊˈart vʲɪnʲɪɐˈmʲinəvʲɪtɕ sɐˈvʲenkə, links=yes; 22 February 1943 – 17 March 2020), known by his pen name Eduard Limonov ( rus, Эд ...

(1943–2020),

(1925–1997), Andrei Bitov (1937–2018),

Sasha Sokolov Sasha Sokolov (born Александр Всеволодович Соколов (''Alexander Vsevolodovitch Sokolov'') on November 6, 1943, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) is a writer of Russian literature. He became known worldwide in the 1970s aft ...

(1943–) and

Vladimir Voinovich Vladimir Nikolayevich Voinovich (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Войно́вич, 26 September 1932 – 27 July 2018), was a Russian writer and former Soviet dissident, and the "first genuine comic writer" produced by the S ...

(1932–2018); and short-story writer

Sergei Dovlatov Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov (russian: link=no, Сергей Донатович Довлатов; 1941 1990) was a Soviet journalist and writer. Internationally, he is one of the most popular Russian writers of the late 20th century. Biography ...

(1941–1990), had to emigrate to the West, while

Oleg Grigoriev Oleg Grigoriev ( rus, Оле́г Евге́ньевич Григо́рьев, p=ɐˈlʲek jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪdʑ ɡrʲɪˈɡorʲjɪf, a=Olyeg Yevgyen'yevich Grigor'yev.ru.vorb.oga; 6 December 1943 – 30 April 1992) was a Russian poet and art ...

(1943–1992) and Venedikt Yerofeyev (1938–1990) "emigrated" to alcoholism, and Yury Dombrovsky (1909–1978) was murdered shortly after publishing his novel '' The Faculty of Useless Knowledge'' (1975). Their books were not published officially until the perestroika period of the 1980s, although fans continued to reprint them manually in a manner called "

samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...

" (self-publishing). Image:Ivan Bunin 1933.jpg,

Image:ANTolstoy.jpg, Aleksey Tolstoy Image:Mayakovsky-1910.jpg,

Image:Kustodiev Zamyatin.jpg,

File:Михаил-Булгаков.jpg, Mikhail Bulgakov Image:Paustovsky (cropped).jpg,

Konstantin Paustovsky Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky ( rus, Константи́н Гео́ргиевич Паусто́вский, p=pəʊˈstofskʲɪj; – 14 July 1968) was a Soviet writer nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature in 1965. Early life ...

File:Isaac_Babel.jpg,

Image:Vladimir Nabokov 1973.jpg,

Image:Ilf Petrov.jpg, Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov File:Mikhail zoschenko.gif,

File:Yury Olesha.jpg,

Yury Olesha Yury Karlovich Olesha (russian: Ю́рий Ка́рлович Оле́ша, – 10 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet novelist. He is considered one of the greatest Russian novelists of the 20th century, one of the few to have succeeded in wri ...

File:Mikhail Sholokhov 1960.jpg, Mikhail Sholokhov Image:Varlam Shalamov-NKVD-right.jpg,

Image:Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1974crop.jpg,

File:Vasily_Aksyonov_1980.jpg,

Image:Josef Brodsky crop.jpg, Joseph Brodsky File:Sergey Dovlatov 4.jpg,

Popular Soviet genres

Children's literature in the Soviet Union counted as a major genre because of its educational role. A large share of early-Soviet children's books were poems:

Korney Chukovsky Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky ( rus, Корне́й Ива́нович Чуко́вский, p=kɐrˈnʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ tɕʊˈkofskʲɪj, a=Kornyey Ivanovich Chukovskiy.ru.vorb.oga; 31 March NS 1882 – 28 October 1969) was one of the most p ...

(1882–1969),

Samuil Marshak Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (russian: link=no, Самуил Яковлевич Маршак; 4 July 1964) was a Russian and Soviet writer of Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. ...

(1887–1964) and Agnia Barto (1906–1981) were among the most read poets. "Adult" poets, such as Mayakovsky and

Sergey Mikhalkov Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov (russian: link=no, Серге́й Влади́мирович Михалко́в; 27 August 2009) was a Soviet and Russian author of children's books and satirical fables. He wrote the lyrics for the Soviet and Russ ...

(1913–2009), contributed to the genre as well. Some of the early Soviet children's prose consisted of loose adaptations of foreign

fairy-tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

s unknown in contemporary Russia. Alexey N. Tolstoy (1882–1945) wrote ''

Buratino Buratino (Russian: Буратино) is the main character of Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy's 1936 book ''The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Buratino'', which is based on the 1883 Italian novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collo ...

'', a light-hearted and shortened adaptation of

Carlo Collodi Carlo Lorenzini (24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi (), was an Italian author, humourist, and journalist, widely known for his fairy tale novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio''. Early life Co ...

's ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...

''. Alexander Volkov (1891–1977) introduced

fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and dra ...

to Soviet children with his loose translation of

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

's ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz afte ...

'', published as '' The Wizard of the Emerald City'' in 1939, and then wrote a series of five sequels, unrelated to Baum. Other notable authors include

Nikolay Nosov Nikolay Nikolayevich Nosov (russian: link=no, Николай Николаевич Носов, uk, Микола Миколайович Носов; in Kyiv – 26 July 1976 in Moscow) was a Soviet and Ukrainian children's literature writer, the ...

(1908–1976), Lazar Lagin (1903–1979), Vitaly Bianki (1894–1959) and Vladimir Suteev (1903–1993). While fairy tales were relatively free from ideological oppression, the realistic children's prose of the Stalin era was highly ideological and pursued the goal to raise children as

patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

s and communists. A notable writer in this vein was Arkady Gaydar (1904–1941), himself a Red Army commander (colonel) in

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

: his stories and plays about

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...

describe a team of

young pioneer A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically join the Young Communist League ...

volunteers who help the elderly and resist

hooligan Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a ...

s. There was a genre of hero-pioneer story that bore some similarities with Christian genre of hagiography. In the times of Khrushchov ( First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964) and of

Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and 198 ...

(in power 1966–1982), however, the pressure lightened. Mid- and late-Soviet children's books by

Eduard Uspensky Eduard Nikolayevich Uspensky (russian: link=no, Эдуард Николаевич Успенский; 22 December 193714 August 2018) was a Soviet and Russian children's writer and poet, author of over 70 books, as well as a playwright, screenwri ...

, Yuri Entin, Viktor Dragunsky bear no signs of propaganda. In the 1970s many of these books, as well as stories by foreign children's writers, were adapted into animation. Soviet

Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

, inspired by scientistic revolution, industrialisation, and the country's space pioneering, was flourishing, albeit in the limits allowed by censors. Early science fiction authors, such as

Grigory Adamov Grigory Borisovich Adamov (russian: link=no, Григорий Борисович Адамов; born Abram Borukhovich Gibs; Абрам Борухович Гибс; May 18, 1886, Kherson, then Russian Empire, now Ukraine, - June 14, 1945, Moscow, U ...

Vladimir Obruchev Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (russian: Влади́мир Афана́сьевич О́бручев; , Klepenino near Rzhev, Tver Oblast, Russian Empire – June 19, 1956, Moscow, USSR) was a Russian and Soviet geologist who specialize ...

Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (russian: link= no, Алексей Николаевич Толстой; – 23 February 1945) was a Russian writer who wrote in many genres but specialized in science fiction and historical novels. Despite having ...

, stuck to

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

and regarded

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Jules Verne as examples to follow. Two notable exceptions to this trend were early Soviet dissidents

, author of

dystopian novel Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to ...

'' We'', and Mikhail Bulgakov, who used science fiction in ''

Heart of a Dog ''Heart of a Dog'' (russian: links=no, italic=yes, Собачье сердце, Sobachye serdtse) is a novella by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. A biting satire of Bolshevism, it was written in 1925 at the height of the NEP period, when commu ...

'', '' The Fatal Eggs'' and '' Ivan Vasilyevich'' to satirize Communist ideology vs. what it is actual practice. Like the dissident writers of the future, Zamyatin and Bulgakov had serious problems with publishing their books due to

censorship in the Soviet Union Censorship in the Soviet Union was pervasive and strictly enforced. Censorship was performed in two main directions: * State secrets were handled by the General Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press (also known as Glavl ...

. Since the Khrushchev thaw in the 1950s, Soviet science fiction began to form its own style. Philosophy,

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

n and dystopian ideas became its core, and

Social science fiction Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropol ...

was the most popular subgenre. Although the view of Earth's future as that of utopian communist society was the only view that was welcome, the liberties of genre still offered a loophole for free expression. Books of brothers

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky The brothers Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky (russian: Аркадий Натанович Стругацкий; 28 August 1925 – 12 October 1991) and Boris Natanovich Strugatsky ( ru , Борис Натанович Стругацкий; 14 A ...

, and

Kir Bulychev Kir Bulychev (russian: Кир Булычёв ''Kir Bulychyov 18 October 1934 – 5 September 2003) is a pen name of Igor Vsevolodovich Mozheiko (И́горь Все́володович Може́йко), a Soviet Russian science fiction writer, ...

, among others, are reminiscent of social problems and often include

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

of contemporary Soviet society.

Ivan Yefremov Ivan Antonovich (real patronymic Antipovich) Yefremov ( ru , Ива́н Анто́нович (Анти́пович) Ефре́мов; April 23, 1908 – October 5, 1972; last name sometimes transliterated as Efremov) was a Soviet paleonto ...

, on the contrary, arose to fame with his

n views on future as well as on

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

in his

historical novels Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ...

. The Strugatskies are also credited for the Soviet's first science fantasy, the

Monday Begins on Saturday ''Monday Begins on Saturday'' (russian: Понедельник начинается в субботу) is a 1965 science fantasy novel by Soviet writers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, with illustrations by Yevgeniy Migunov. Set in a fictional to ...

trilogy. Other notable science fiction writers included Vladimir Savchenko,

Georgy Gurevich Georgy may refer to: * Georgy (given name) *Diminituve for Georgina *Georgy, the protagonist in '' Georgy Girl'' novel, film, and song * ''Georgy'' (musical), a musical from the novel ''Georgy Girl'' See also * Georgi (disambiguation) * Georgiy, a ...

, Alexander Kazantsev, Georgy Martynov, Yeremey Parnov. Space opera was less developed, since both state censors and serious writers watched it unfavorably. Nevertheless, there were moderately successful attempts to adapt space westerns to Soviet soil. The first was Alexander Kolpakov with "Griada", after came Sergey Snegov with "Men Like Gods", among others. A specific branch of both science fiction and children's books appeared in mid-Soviet era: the children's science fiction. It was meant to educate children while entertaining them. The star of the genre was Bulychov, who, along with his adult books, created children's space adventure series about

Alisa Selezneva Alisa Selezneva or Seleznyova (Russian: Алиса Селезнёва) is the main character of the series of children's science fiction books by Russian writer Kir Bulychev. The first book with Alisa Selezneva was published in 1965, and the ser ...

, a teenage girl from the future. Others include Nikolay Nosov with his books about dwarf Neznayka, Evgeny Veltistov, who wrote about robot boy Electronic, Vitaly Melentyev,

Vladislav Krapivin Vladislav Petrovich Krapivin (russian: Владислав Петрович Крапивин; 14 October 1938 – 1 September 2020) was a Russian children's books writer. Biography Vladislav Petrovich Krapivin was born in the city of Tyumen on ...

, Vitaly Gubarev.

Mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

was another popular genre.

Detectives A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

by brothers Arkady and Georgy Vayner and spy novels by

Yulian Semyonov Yulian Semyonovich Semyonov (russian: link=no, Юлиа́н Семёнович Семёнов, ), pen-name of Yulian Semyonovich Lyandres (russian: link=no, Ля́ндрес) (October 8, 1931 – September 15, 1993), was a Soviet and Russian writ ...

were best-selling,Sofya Khagi: Boris Akunin and Retro Mode in Contemporary Russian Culture

Toronto Slavic Quarterly The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and many of them were adapted into film or TV in the 1970s and 1980s.

Village prose Village Prose (russian: Деревенская проза, or Деревенская литература) was a movement in Soviet literature beginning during the Khrushchev Thaw, which included works that focused on the Soviet rural communities. ...

is a genre that conveys nostalgic descriptions of rural life.

Valentin Rasputin Valentin Grigoriyevich Rasputin (; russian: Валентин Григорьевич Распутин; 15 March 193714 March 2015) was a Russian writer. He was born and lived much of his life in the Irkutsk Oblast in Eastern Siberia. Rasputin's w ...

's 1976 novel, ''Proshchaniye s Matyoroy'' (''Farewell to Matyora'') depicted a village faced with destruction to make room for a hydroelectric plant. Historical fiction in the early Soviet era included a large share of memoirs, fictionalized or not.

Valentin Katayev Valentin Petrovich Kataev (russian: Валенти́н Петро́вич Ката́ев; also spelled Katayev or Kataiev; – 12 April 1986) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright who managed to create penetrating works discussing ...

and

Lev Kassil Lev Abramovich Kassil (russian: Лев Абрамович Кассиль; 10 July 1905 – 21 June 1970) was a Soviet and Russian writer of juvenile and young adult literature and screenwriter, depicting Soviet life, teenagers and their world, sc ...

wrote semi-autobiographic books about children's life in Tsarist Russia.

Vladimir Gilyarovsky Vladimir Alekseyevich Gilyarovsky (russian: link=no, Влади́мир Алексе́евич Гиляро́вский; 26 November 1853 – 1 October 1935), was a Russian writer and newspaper journalist, best known for his reminiscences of life ...

wrote ''Moscow and Muscovites'', about life in pre-revolutionary Moscow. There were also attempts to write an epic novel about the Revolution, similar to Leo Tolstoy's ''War and Peace'', based on the writers' own experience. Aleksey Tolstoy's '' The Road to Calvary'' (1920–1941) and Mikhail Sholokhov's '' And Quiet Flows the Don'' (1928–1940) depict Russia from the start of the Revolution to the end of the Civil War. ''The Road to Calvary'' demonstrates the victory of socialist ideas, while ''And Quiet Flows the Don'' gives a realist and a brutal image.

's and

's experimental novels ''

'' (1925–1936) and ''Moscow'' (1926–1931) trace the relationship of Russian '' intelligentsia'' with the revolutionary movement. Mikhail Bulgakov conceived to write a trilogy about the Civil War, but wrote only the first part, ''

'' (1923). The late Soviet historical fiction was dominated by World War II novels and short stories by authors such as the representatives of Lieutenant prose (such as

Vasil Bykov Vasil ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: Васил, Georgian: ვასილ) is a Bulgarian, Macedonian and Georgian masculine given name. It may refer to: *Vasil Adzhalarski, Bulgarian revolutionary, an IMARO leader of revolutionary bands * Vasil Am ...

Konstantin Simonov Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov, born Kirill Mikhailovich Simonov (russian: link= no, Константин Михайлович Симонов, – 28 August 1979), was a Soviet author, war poet, playwright and wartime correspondent, arguabl ...

, Boris Vasilyev,

Viktor Astafyev Viktor Petrovich Astafyev also spelled Astafiev or Astaf'ev (russian: Ви́ктор Петро́вич Аста́фьев; 1 May 1924 – 29 November 2001), was a Soviet and Russian writer, playwright and screenwriter. He was recognized with th ...

Boris Polevoy Boris Nikolaevich Polevoy (or Polevoi) (russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Полево́й; – 12 July 1981) was a Soviet writer. He is the author of the book '' Story of a Real Man'' about Soviet World War II fighter pilot Aleksey M ...

, among many others, based on the authors' own war experience.

Vasily Yan Vasily Yan (Russian: Васи́лий Ян; 23 December 1874 (4 January 1875), Kyiv, Russian Empire – August 5, 1954, Zvenigorod, Moscow Oblast) was a Russian writer, author of famous historic novels. Also spelled "Vassily Yan" (or "Ian") or ju ...

and Konstantin Badygin are best known for their novels on Medieval Rus, and

for writing on Russian Empire.

Valentin Pikul Valentin Savvich Pikul (russian: Валенти́н Са́ввич Пи́куль) (July 13, 1928 – July 16, 1990) was a popular and prolific Soviet historical novelist of Ukrainian-Russian heritage. He lived and worked in Riga. Pikul's novels w ...

wrote about many different epochs and countries in an

Alexander Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer. ...

-inspired style. In the 1970s there appeared a relatively independent

Village Prose Village Prose (russian: Деревенская проза, or Деревенская литература) was a movement in Soviet literature beginning during the Khrushchev Thaw, which included works that focused on the Soviet rural communities. ...

, whose most prominent representatives were

and

. Any sort of fiction that dealt with the occult, either horror, adult-oriented fantasy or magic realism, was unwelcome in Soviet Russia. Until the 1980s very few books in these genres were written, and even fewer were published, although earlier books, such as by Gogol, were not banned. Of the rare exceptions, Bulgakov in ''

Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' (russian: Мастер и Маргарита) is a novel by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940 during Stalin's regime. A censored version, with several chapters cut by ...

'' (not published in author's lifetime) and Strugatskies in ''

'' introduced magic and mystical creatures into contemporary Soviet reality to satirize it. Another exception was early Soviet writer Alexander Grin, who wrote romantic tales, both realistic and fantastic. File:Mikhail Prishvin 1900.png,

Mikhail Prishvin Mikhail Mikhailovich Prishvin (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович При́швин) (January 23 ( N.S. February 4), 1873 – January 16, 1954) was a Russian and Soviet novelist, prose writer and publicist. Prishvin defined it this wa ...

Image:Chukovsky by Repin.jpg,

File:Александр Грин.jpg, Alexander Grin Image:Alexander Belayev.jpg, Alexander Belayev File:N Ostrovskiy.jpg,

Image:Olga Bergholz.jpg,

Olga Bergholz Olga Fyodorovna Bergholz ( rus, Ольга Фёдоровна Берггольц, p=ˈolʲɡə ˈfʲɵdərəvnə bʲɪrˈɡolʲts, a=Ol'ga Fyodorovna Byerghol'cz.ru.vorb.oga; – November 13, 1975) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, playwri ...

Image:Михалков Сергей Владимирович.jpg,

File:Valentin Kataev.jpg,

Valentin Kataev Valentin Petrovich Kataev (russian: Валенти́н Петро́вич Ката́ев; also spelled Katayev or Kataiev; – 12 April 1986) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright who managed to create penetrating works discussing ...

File:Иван Ефремов 1925 cropped.jpg,

File:Fotothek df roe-neg 0006329 003 Mitglied.jpg, Alexander Fadeyev File:Константин Михайлович Симонов.jpg,

File:Boris Strugatsky Seminar 20060109 02.jpg, Boris Strugatsky

Post-Soviet era

The end of the 20th century proved a difficult period for Russian literature, with relatively few distinct voices. Although the censorship was lifted and writers could now freely express their thoughts, the political and economic chaos of the 1990s affected the book market and literature heavily. The book printing industry descended into crisis, the number of printed book copies dropped several times in comparison to Soviet era, and it took about a decade to revive. Among the most discussed authors of this period were

, who gained popularity with first short stories and then novels, novelist and playwright

, and the poet

Dmitry Prigov Dmitri Aleksandrovich Prigov (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович При́гов, 5 November 1940 in Moscow – 16 July 2007 in MoscowTatyana Tolstaya or

Lyudmila Petrushevskaya Lyudmila Stefanovna Petrushevskaya (russian: Людмила Стефановна Петрушевская; born 26 May 1938) is a Russian writer, novelist and playwright. She began her career writing and putting on plays, which were often cen ...

, and novelists

Lyudmila Ulitskaya Lyudmila Evgenyevna Ulitskaya (russian: link=no, Людмила Евгеньевна Улицкая, born February 21, 1943) is an internationally acclaimed modern Russian novelist and short-story writer who, in 2014, was awarded the prestigious A ...

or Dina Rubina have come into prominence. Short stories of

who emigrated to the USA in 1979 and died in 1990 became very popular in Russia posthumously. The tradition of the classic Russian novel continues with such authors as Mikhail Shishkin and

. Detective stories and thrillers have proven a very successful genre of new Russian literature: in the 1990s serial detective novels by

Alexandra Marinina Alexandra Marinina russian: Алекса́ндра Мари́нина (born June 16, 1957, real name Marina Anatolyevna Alekseyeva russian: Мари́на Анато́льевна Алексе́ева) is a Russian writer of detective stories. ...

, Polina Dashkova and Darya Dontsova were published in millions of copies. In the next decade

Boris Akunin Boris Akunin (russian: Борис Акунин) is the pen name of Grigori Chkhartishvili (russian: Григорий Шалвович Чхартишвили, Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili; ka, გრიგორი ჩხარტიშვ ...

who wrote more sophisticated popular fiction, e.g. a series of novels about the 19th century sleuth

Erast Fandorin Erast Petrovich Fandorin (russian: Эраст Петрович Фандорин) is a fictional 19th-century Russian detective and the hero of a series of Russian historical detective novels by Boris Akunin. The first Fandorin novel (''The Winte ...

, was eagerly read across the country. Science fiction was always well selling, albeit second to

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

, that was relatively new to Russian readers. These genres boomed in the late 1990s, with authors like

Sergey Lukyanenko Sergei Vasilyevich Lukyanenko (russian: Серге́й Васи́льевич Лукья́ненко, ; born 11 April 1968) is a Russian science fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian. His works often feature intense action-packed plots, ...

Nick Perumov Nick Perumov (russian: link=no, Ник Перумов) is the pen name of Nikolay Daniilovich Perumov (russian: link=no, Николай Даниилович Перумов; born 21 November 1963), a Russian fantasy and science fiction writer. Bi ...

, Maria Semenova,

Vera Kamsha Vera Viktorovna Kamsha (russian: Вера Викторовна Камша; born November 5, 1962 in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR) is a Russian author of high fantasy and a journalist. Biography Kamsha graduated from Lviv Polytechnic, after which she mo ...

, Alexey Pekhov, Anton Vilgotsky and Vadim Panov. A good share of modern Russian science fiction and fantasy is written in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, especially in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.H. L. Oldie Henry Lion Oldie or H. L. Oldie (russian: Генри Лайон Олди, Г. Л. Олди) is the pen name of Ukrainian science fiction and fantasy writers Dmitry Gromov and Oleg Ladyzhensky. Both authors reside in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and write i ...

, Alexander Zorich, Yuri Nikitin and Andrey Valentinov. Many others hail from

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

, including Marina and Sergey Dyachenko and Vladimir Arenev. Significant contribution to Russian horror literature has been done by Ukrainians Andrey Dashkov and Alexander Vargo. Russian poetry of that period produced a number of avant-garde greats. The members of the Lianosovo group of poets, notably

Genrikh Sapgir Genrikh Sapgir (russian: Ге́нрих Вениами́нович Сапги́р; November 20, 1928, Biysk, Altai Krai, Russia – October 7, 1999, Moscow) was a Russian poet and fiction writer of Jewish descent. Biography He was born in Bi ...

, Igor Kholin and Vsevolod Nekrasov, who previously chose to refrain from publication in Soviet periodicals, became very influential, especially in Moscow, and the same goes for another masterful experimental poet, Gennady Aigi. Also popular were poets following some other poetic trends, e.g. Vladimir Aristov and Ivan Zhdanov from ''Poetry Club'' and Konstantin Kedrov and Elena Katsuba from ''DOOS'', who all used complex metaphors which they called meta-metaphors. In St. Petersburg, members of ''New Leningrad Poetry School'' that included not only the famous Joseph Brodsky but also Victor Krivulin, Sergey Stratanovsky and Elena Shvarts, were prominent first in the Soviet-times underground – and later in mainstream poetry. Some other poets, e.g. Sergey Gandlevsky and Dmitry Vodennikov, gained popularity by writing in a retro style, which reflected the sliding of newly written Russian poetry into being consciously imitative of the patterns and forms developed as early as in the 19th century.

21st century

In the 21st century, a new generation of Russian authors appeared differing greatly from the postmodernist Russian prose of the late 20th century, which lead critics to speak about “new realism”. Having grown up after the fall of the Soviet Union, the "new realists" write about every day life, but without using the mystical and surrealist elements of their predecessors. The "new realists" are writers who assume there is a place for preaching in journalism, social and political writing and the media, but that “direct action” is the responsibility of civil society. Leading "new realists" include Ilja Stogoff,

Zakhar Prilepin Yevgeny Nikolayevich Prilepin (russian: link=no, Евге́ний Никола́евич Приле́пин; born 7 July 1975), writing as Zakhar Prilepin (russian: link=no, Захар Прилепин), and sometimes using another pseudonym, Ye ...

Alexander Karasyov Alexander Karasyov (Russian — Александр Владимирович Карасёв, transl. ''Alexandr Vladimirovich Karasev'') is a Russian writer living in St. Petersburg, Russia. Biography Alexander Karasyov was born in Krasnodar, ...

, Arkady Babchenko, Vladimir Lorchenkov and Alexander Snegiryov.

External influences

British romantic poetry

Scottish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

became a ‘people's poet’ in Russia. In Imperial times the Russian aristocracy were so out of touch with the

peasantry A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

that Burns, translated into

, became a symbol for the ordinary Russian people. A new translation of Burns, begun in 1924 by

, proved enormously popular selling over 600,000 copies.

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

was a major influence on almost all Russian poets of the Golden Era, including Pushkin, Vyazemsky, Zhukovsky, Batyushkov, Baratynsky, Delvig and, especially, Lermontov.

French literature

Writers such as

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

and

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

were widely influential. Also, Jules Verne inspired several generations of Russian science fiction writers.

Abroad

Russian literature is not only written by Russians. In the Soviet times such popular writers as

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian

Vasil Bykaŭ Vasil Uladzimiravič Bykaŭ (often spelled Vasil Bykov, be, Васі́ль Уладзі́міравіч Бы́каў, russian: Василь Влади́мирович Быков) (19 June 1924 – 22 June 2003) was a prolific Soviet and Belarus ...

, Kyrgyz

Chinghiz Aitmatov Chinghiz Torekulovich Aitmatov (as transliterated from Russian; ky, Чыңгыз Төрөкулович Айтматов, translit=Chynggyz Törökulovich Aytmatov; 12 December 1928 – 10 June 2008) was a Kyrgyz author who wrote mainly in Russia ...

and Abkhaz Fazil Iskander wrote some of their books in Russian. Some renowned contemporary authors writing in Russian have been born and live in Ukraine (

Andrey Kurkov Andrey Yuryevich Kurkov ( uk, Андрій Юрійович Курков; russian: Андре́й Ю́рьевич Курко́в; born 23 April 1961 in Leningrad, USSR) is a Ukrainian author and public intellectual who writes in Russian. He is ...

H. L. Oldie Henry Lion Oldie or H. L. Oldie (russian: Генри Лайон Олди, Г. Л. Олди) is the pen name of Ukrainian science fiction and fantasy writers Dmitry Gromov and Oleg Ladyzhensky. Both authors reside in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and write i ...

, Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko) or Baltic States (Garros and Evdokimov,

Max Frei Max Frei (russian: Макс Фрай) is the pen name of Svetlana Yuryevna Martynchik (russian: Светла́на Ю́рьевна Марты́нчик; uk, Світлана Юріївна Мартинчик) (born 1965 in Odesa, Ukrainian SSR, ...

). Most Ukrainian fantasy and science fiction authors write in Russian, which gives them access to a much broader audience, and usually publish their books via Russian publishers such as

Eksmo Eksmo (russian: Эксмо) is one of the largest publishing houses in Russia. Eksmo and AST (which it later acquired in 2012) together publish approximately 30% of all Russian books. Established in 1991 as a small book-selling company, Eksmo gr ...

, Azbuka and AST. A number of prominent Russian authors such as novelists Mikhail Shishkin, Rubén Gallego, Julia Kissina,

Svetlana Martynchik Max Frei (russian: Макс Фрай) is the pen name of Svetlana Yuryevna Martynchik (russian: Светла́на Ю́рьевна Марты́нчик; uk, Світлана Юріївна Мартинчик) (born 1965 in Odesa, Ukrainian Sovie ...

and Dina Rubina, poets Alexei Tsvetkov and Bakhyt Kenjeev, though born in USSR, live and work in

West Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, North America or

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Themes in Russian books

Suffering, often as a means of redemption, is a recurrent theme in Russian literature.

in particular is noted for exploring suffering in works such as ''

Notes from Underground ''Notes from Underground'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform Russian: ; also translated as ''Notes from the Underground'' or ''Letters from the Underworld'') is a novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in the journal ''Epoch'' in 186 ...

'' and ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Преступление и наказание, Prestupléniye i nakazániye, prʲɪstʊˈplʲenʲɪje ɪ nəkɐˈzanʲɪje) is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. ...

''. Christianity and Christian symbolism are also important themes, notably in the works of Dostoyevsky,

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

and

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

. In the 20th century, suffering as a mechanism of evil was explored by authors such as Solzhenitsyn in ''

The Gulag Archipelago ''The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation'' (russian: Архипелаг ГУЛАГ, ''Arkhipelag GULAG'') is a three-volume non-fiction text written between 1958 and 1968 by Russian writer and Soviet dissident Aleksandr So ...

''. A leading Russian literary critic of the 20th century

, in his book, ''Zoo, or Letters Not About Love'', wrote, "Russian literature has a bad tradition. Russian literature is devoted to the description of unsuccessful love affairs."

Russian Nobel laureates in Literature

References

Bibliography

* Brunson, M. (2016).
Russian Realisms: Literature and Painting, 1840–1890
' (NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies). DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. * Grigoryan, B. (2018).
Noble Subjects: The Russian Novel and the Gentry, 1762–1861
' (NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies). DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. * Terras, Victor (1985). ''Handbook of Russian Literature''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press *

External links

Encyclopedia of Soviet Writers
*
Maxim Moshkov's E-library of Russian literature
(in Russian)
Contemporary Russian Poets Database
(in English)
Contemporary Russian Poets in English translation

* ttp://www.professorandy.com/RussianLiterature.shtml Information and Critique on Russian Literature
History of Russian literature
Brief summary

by the Slavic Reference Service
Search Russian Books
(in Russian)

* ttp://refleksiya-absurda.ru/ Russian literary magazine "Reflection of the Absurd"
Публичная электронная библиотека Е.Пескина
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russian Literature