Why read Russian Literature
Russian literature seems to be precisely the type of material that people will hardly find time or patience for these days. In today’s world, all people seem to be after, is instant gratification. Why read long, heavy novels when I can just open Instagram, YouTube, or Facebook? Why bother? There is always something new on Netflix.
For a very long time, I was not big on reading fiction. For over two decades, I have been working with refugees and have come in contact with plenty of human suffering and misery. Outside work, I read non-fiction and for entertainment, I usually preferred the positive and the uplifting. Fiction in general, and specifically Russian literature did not seem very attractive, or at least that is how I rationalized not touching it. But as a fluent Russian speaker, I kept consistently hearing how lucky I was that I could read Russian literature in the original. So much so that eventually, I decided to give it a try.
How I went about it
I thought let’s start simple. I will read just a few pieces and then re-evaluate. I chose Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”, Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”, Pushkin’s “Evgeny Onegin”, Bulgakov’s “Master and Margarita”, and finally, two stories from Chekhov — “Ward №6” and “The Lady with the Dog”. Once I was done with these, I had a distinct sense of an unexpected addiction. I had to keep going. I ended up reading a lot more from Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Bulgakov, Chekhov, and Pushkin and continued with Turgenev, Lermontov, Goncharov, Gogol, Gorky, Bunin, Kuprin, Leskov, Ilf and Petrov, and many others. I started with the usual suspects, the works that are usually mentioned among the best that Russian literature has to offer. Then I explored further, finding gems that are barely ever mentioned. Tens of thousands of pages later, I have to admit, it was definitely worth the time and effort.
What did I learn?
Russian literature is deep, dark, and depressing. They say Russian literature consists entirely of suffering. A character is suffering. The author is suffering. Sometimes the reader is suffering. But when all three suffer, that is a masterpiece.
Russian literature is also brilliant. It is life lessons laid out, with intricate and insightful analysis of the human experience and human psyche. The Russian authors describe and break down the thinking, emotions, and actions of their characters and the state of society with incredible forcefulness and honesty by engaging in political, social, religious, ethical, and moral debates through their storytelling.
Russian literature helps us understand ourselves. Who we are, what we are capable of. Our wants and needs, but also obligations to others. The storylines are not in your usual clean-structured Hollywood-type format. You don’t always find closure, not all questions are answered, the behavior of characters can be irrational, their motivations unclear. It is a description of the real-life, pure and simple. Love, death, friendship, family, happiness, loyalty, betrayal, pain, war, exile, a never-ending list. As such, Russian literature has a way of diminishing or even erasing naivete in the reader. Reading Russian literature invites you to accept the world as it is, rather than build an illusory picture of “everything is going to be great”.
A few thoughts about common themes. A typical theme is a dead-end. Characters often find themselves in situations they do not see a way out of. There is barely any deus ex-machina in Russian literature. Good guys don’t always win, or rarely ever do. They suffer much but achieve little. Another typical concept is that of unnecessary individuals, people who do not fit in. Characters such as Onegin, Bazarov, Pechorin, and even Raskolnikov often feel they are superior to the people around them, they feel alienated, and they fail to adjust or to effect change in their environment. Then there is the concept of people who are confused, and purposeless, like Oblomov. They self-sabotage and are easily overwhelmed by the reality around them. And while there is an occasional glimpse of hope, it is crushed, mercilessly, by reality. And of course, tragic love. Anna Karenina and Alexey Vronsky, Nastasya Filipovna and Lev Myshkin, Tatyana Larina and Evgeny Onegin, most of the iconic love stories in Russian literature do not see a happy ending.
That said, almost every prominent piece of Russian literature seems to create an odd sense of urgency for action. Action against the unfair, the tyrannical, the cruel. In some cases, the sense is that writers argue for individual growth, while others for action to effect societal change.
There is also a sense of clear right and wrong. Despite the lack of happy endings and the pattern of tragic outcomes for the characters, Russian Literature conveys strong moral and ethical messages. The works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, in particular, emphasize the humanity of their characters, their fallibility, the difficult choices they face, and the sacrifices they have to make. The decisions they make versus what they could or should have done.
Whatever dark canvases the Russian writers created, I could not shrug off the feeling that at the end of the day, they had a strong belief in humans, in our ability to make the right choices, to do good, and to act morally. They were depicting the dark and depressing in order to guide their readers to learn from their characters and to do better. And that is the main takeaway I have had.
My recommendations
To conclude, if you have never explored Russian literature before, I recommend you give it a try. If you prefer a long read, you cannot do wrong with Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” or Bulgakov’s “Master and Margarita”. For Dostoyevsky, I would not go straight for “Crime and Punishment”, but start with “Brothers Karamazov” or my personal favorite, “The Idiot”. If you want to tackle something shorter, I recommend Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog”, Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, Dostoyevsky’s “Dream of a Ridiculous Man”, Chekhov’s “Ward №6”, “The Lady with the Dog”, “The Man in a Case”, Gogol’s “The Overcoat” and “The Nose”.
Once you are done with these, explore away. My personal favorites include Dostoyevsky’s “Demons” and “Notes from the Underground”, Gogol’s “Dead Souls”, Goncharov’s “Oblomov”, Lermontov’s “Hero of Our Time”, Bulgakov’s “White Guard”, Turgenev’s “Father and Sons”, Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” and “Cherry Orchard”, but of course, there are many, many other amazing works.
Good luck!
