Russian literature

I am Russian and i am very surprised about ur opinion. I thought, u didn't like our literature.

I wanna give advice for western readers. "Crime and Punishment " and "The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevskiy. It's stories about humans soul. Clear to everyone.

Also Mikhail Bulgakov is very good too. "Master and Margaritta" my favorite book. "Notes of a Young Doctor" Is awesome storybook. Also British made serial based on the book imdb.com/title/tt2164430/

Why is ur grammar so hard

What do u mean? Is it hard to read? I am sorry. I am learning english.

he probably means hard to learn, i suppose

we know all about those books, some of the highest-esteemed in the western world. the west loves russian literature

I think he was asking why it's so difficult to learn Russian grammar.

Also, why did you think we didn't like your literature? Russian literature is the best.

Russian literature doesn't translate well to English. Literally and culturally.

Russia has a longer background steeped in darkness and hardship. Therefore everything they do is always wrapped in some fucking irony or philosophy about how much the world sucks.

>"Crime and Punishment " and "The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevskiy
Look at the first line of covers on this picture.
Do you guys really not know how big these are worldwide?

Shalamov's Kolyma Tales is the greatest collection of short stories written in the 20th century.

One of my favorite authors is Dostoesvsky. Crime and Punishment imo gives an extraordinary view of the true human soul. The Idiot is also a favorite of mine. I haven't read too much of other Russian authors other than him and a little of Pushkin. Recommendations are much appreciated

This. Bestselling contemporary Russian author who keeps predicting all social and political changes in Russia (some say he is a high ranking gov official)

foyles.co.uk/witem/fiction-poetry/snuff,victor-pelevin-andrew-bromfield-9781473213036

this book written in 2011 redicted the whole West-Ukraine-Russia conflict

Looks really interesting! Do you know the authors background?

some quotes from the official biography:

Victor Olegovich Pelevin was born in Moscow to Zinaida Semenovna Efremova, an English teacher, and Oleg Anatolyevich Pelevin, a teacher at the military department of Bauman University.

In 1979 Pelevin graduated from an elite high school with a special English program

He then attended the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI) graduating with a degree in electromechanical engineering in 1985.

Pelevin served in the Russian Air Force.

He has been to Nepal, South Korea, China and Japan. While he does not call himself a Buddhist, he is engaged in Buddhist practices. Pelevin has repeatedly said that despite the fact that his characters use drugs, he is not an addict even though he has experimented with mind-expanding substances in his youth.

Pelevin is not married.

Pelevin is known for not being a part of the literary crowd, rarely appearing in public or giving interviews and preferring to communicate on the internet. When he gives interviews he talks more about the nature of mind rather than his writings. This gave grounds to various rumours. For instance, that the writer does not exist and Pelevin is actually a name of a group of authors or even a computer. Alexander Gordon (journalist) on "Private Screening" questioned the very existence of the writer Pelevin. In May 2011 it was reported that Pelevin will personally attend the award ceremony SuperNatsBest, it would have been the first appearance of the writer in public. He did not come.

Pelevin has permitted all of his texts in Russian predating 2009 (except P5) to be published on the Internet for non-commercial use. Some novels are also available as audio files in Russian.

bulgakov is le dark and depressing russian, but actually has a sense of humor so i was able to stand him

other than him I find russians pretty boring

reading this right now by some werido fascist dude who's buddies with mark ames

pretty cool look at soviet youth culture, very different from the kind of russian stuff that gets popular in the US

I love Russian lit. I've only read tbk, notes from underground, and Anna Karenina but they have all been incredible. Reading oblomov right now and it's been a pleasure!

yeah, he is a cult figure in Russian underground culture

became a famous author, got jailed for preparing an armed pro-Russian uprising in Kazakstan, formed a radical party who were Putin's ultimate enemies for many years, supported Donbass rebellion etc

though many people still remember him for his early story on how he sucked a black cock in the USA, lel

picrelated - Limonov now

Any reason why some reviews state that the translated version of the book is awful? Not necessarily the original version of the story but whoever translated it did a bad job apparently.

I know that everytime you translate a book that the true ideas get a little saturated and sometimes sayings in one language might not have the full impact that they have in another but it can't be that bad can it?

Russian literature are among of the greatest achievements in human history when it comes to art

I've read the basic ones, Dosto, Tolstoy, Turgueniev, Gogol, Bulgakov, Tchekov and Goncharov, missing Lermontov, Puchkin and Górki tho, and the poets. But all these ones are fundamental to the western literature world, Tolstoy by himself would jsutify this position, his humanistic way of crafting characters is only rivaled by Shakespeare.

That being said I have 0 knowledge about contemporary russian authors

Also check the Russian composers if you don't know them, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Mussorgsky, Rismky-Korsakov, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich are all geniuses

youtube.com/watch?v=8HhQdQ14lF0

But most, if not all, of poetry is untranslatable user. Why do you say that?

Tell me more about the Russian underground culture, it sounds weird and fascinating

Just read TBK and Notes, what should I read next?

My friend is a literature major and I've read more Russian lit than he has. That should clue you in.

Japanese and Russian literature are both part of western literature

yeah sounds like your friend goes to a shitty college

I AM COME FROM SEX.

Senpai he went to Notre Dame and I went to an engineering school

>Have you read any of it?
yes all the meme authors, tolstoy, dosto, gogol etc.
>What are your impressions and opinions?
that russian literature is absolutely based and the best thing to come out of the country
>Have you read any contemporary Russian authors?
no
>Finally, do you consider it an important part of the western literature world, or just some exotic literature like Japanese or Indian authors?
in my opinion it's far less exotic than japanese or colonial literature. actually less exotic than even south american lit. then again im finnish, russia is a lot closer to us than to most

Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, and Solzhenitsin are all very very well known in the west.

only russian lit ive read is dostoyevsky

russian authors are viewed as significantly closer to the west than asian or Indian authors

there are only two women writers in a list of 100. Veeky Forums is pathetic

women should write better then

Hi, it's russian comrade again. I am pleasantly surprised about ur view at literature of my country. I thought, u read only english literature.

What about school curriculum? We are read only our literature. It's nood good, coz the most part of russian literature isn't for kids.
We havent books like "The Catcher in the Rye" or "Tom Sawyer" or "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".

I started read at 5-6 years. I am very like "Harry Potter"(it's favorite book for russian kids) and "The Wizard of Oz". I'm didn't read literature in highshool (only in 3 last years). I'm didnt understand our literature. What can give u "Crime and Punishment" in 15 years?

Now I'm understand how it's great and high. Now i'm start read school curriculum.

Also, in Russia we have a Meme. It is fashionable to be an intellectual. And kids 14-20 reading alternative and hating classic literature. Addicted to atheism.
Chack Palahniuk, Richard Dawkins, Bukowski and another

"Thus Spoke Zarathustra" "The God Delusion" "1984+ Animal farm" on the picture. Meme-books.

Another picture i'll try to translate:

Alisa Mezhenskaya:
Finally, something is wrong in my head a little bit. For example, when i'm reading books, i don't understand they meaning whole meaning, not deep! Point is that, when i am reading, about every 5 minute, I get distracted again and again by one thought. " Goodness gracious! I'm reading books! I'm such a good fellow! I'm reading books nowadays-i'm elite!" from high society

another picture

Reminder that Tolstoy was a complete and utter hack.

To the Anons whove read C&P as well as Stirner did you notice how he could have resolved his internal struggle by de spooking?

where were you when russian lit dies

I was at home reading pynchon when pjotr ring

"tolstoy is kill"

"no"

is this guy any good?

Yes, he is also a kind of a prophet. Some of his early dystopian stories have become a reality in Putin's Russia.

this, for example

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyubery

this is one of the most famous perestroika underground musicians and his most famous song (basically every kid knew it):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yegor_Letov

youtube.com/watch?v=2ift8T7eVEo

youtube.com/watch?v=2ift8T7eVEo

Since Letov is considered a prominent poet for his lyrics, here is an English translation of the song I posted above, I found it on the web, I'ts not too good but gives you the idea:

Everything Is Going According to the Plan

Bepcии: #1#2
The key to our borders has been broken in two
And Our Father Lenin has withered away --
He's decayed into mold and wild honey.
And the Perestroika is still going and going according to plan.
And the mud has turned into bare ice, and everything is going according to plan.

And my destiny wants some rest.
I've promised it not to join the game of war.
But on my army cap, there is a hammer and a sickle and a star
How touching -- a hammer, a sickle and a star.
The wild lantern of anticipation is flailing
And everything is going according to plan.

And they fed my wife to the crowds.
With the fist of the world they pounded in her chest.
With worldwide liberty they tore her flesh.
So bury her in Christ - and everything shall go according to plan.

Only our grandfather Lenin was a good leader[*]
All the other ones are such shit.
All the others are enemies and such fucking assholes.
Over the homeland, the land of our fathers, an insane snow was falling.
I bought a "Korea" magazine[**] -- they have it good too.
They have Comrade Kim Il-sung, they have the same as we do.
I am sure that they have the same thing and everything is going according to plan.

Well, when we get communism it'll all be fucking great.
It will come soon, we just have to wait.
Everything will be free there, everything will be an upper.
We'll probably not even have to die.
I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that everything is going according to the plan.

[*]According to Yegor Letov, this part mocks political views of an average Soviet citizen. - Nimbie
[**] "Korea" was a propagandist magazine from North Korea, published in Russian and distributed in USSR. - Nimbie

You mean Shakespeare.

>Goodness gracious! I'm reading books! I'm such a good fellow! I'm reading books nowadays-i'm elite!
Fits the western stereotype for contemporary russian folk desu
Can't even ask what went wrong

>what went wrong
Market economy and freedom of speech.

I've actually considered learning Russian a couple times before just so I could read their literature, because it seems to be far ahead of the degenerate Anglosphere. I blame this on what I assume to be two factors:

1. The general cultural isolation from the rest of the world
2. The richness of Russian grammar could make for a lot more interesting writing through nuance

>Also learn Russian because it's based
I did enough that I could read the Cryllic script and understand some basic words, but I decided it would ultimately be pointless to put so much effort into a language and barely be able to find any original Russian language PDFs I could read.

I'm aware that Russia basically has an entire industry of pirating but I'm too stupid to find anything.

>Whenever i meet Russians they seem retarded however
I guess a lot of it is the media and English websites in general painting them as "lel crazy slavic farmers who capture every event on their dashboard cams," which probably has some truth to it. At least if you come across a smart Russian they seem to truly fulfill the word.

>I did enough that I could read the Cryllic script and understand some basic words, but I decided it would ultimately be pointless to put so much effort into a language and barely be able to find any original Russian language PDFs I could read.

You only have to search "title + author + cкaчaть(download)" and you'll find what you're looking for. I started learning Russian two years ago and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to find material to study.

you've probably already read it, especially if you're a dostoevsky fan, but notes from underground is pretty wild. great blend of insanity and clarity, the casual style makes it relatively easy to read even when it rambles (which it does)

probably crime and punishment

Thanks. If I can get a good collection of PDFs going I might seriously try getting into the language more.

Is it just me or is late-Soviet/post-Soviet literature the absolute worst? Almost every work I've read from a late-Soviet or post-Soviet author seems to rely on the crutch of using the Soviet ideology, and some form of ironic or twisted criticism on it, as the basis of their work(s). It seems as though it is almost impossible for the writers who have spent their childhoods in the Soviet Union or the years following its collapse to not write about it; Like they cannot distinguish or write a story separate of those themes.

Japanese canon suffers a lot of the same issues considering the Meiji Restoration and the end of World War II, but at least, instead of jaded criticism, there is a strange sense of loss to most of that generation-and-place's writers that reflects a unique angle to their zeitgeist.

Oh i read Omon Ra, it was pretty funny/dark.

There is an insane amount of Russian on the internet. It's the second language after English I'm pretty sure.

Pretty much any pdf of any classic literature you would want is there. And there's lots of other stuff as well

It is well worth it to learn, the perspective some Russians have on the West is also very interesting

is that him wearing a scouter?

Pleb-tier.

Read Kuprin and enjoy. Tolstoy without heavy brain and more true to life. Touching, accurate and sincere author of his time.

>Sorokin
>Pleb-tier
but

I want to learn Russian, I never learned a language before, what is the best way to learn Russian?

Plain language, no prognostic value. Very pseud thing, trust me.

this book is fucking gold. I was just messing about and learning the alphabet and reading some short stories and stuff online and I decided to get that book because it was hailed in a couple places as the best one, and it really is.

You don't even strictly need to do the exercises, just reading it thoroughly and repeatedly will do the trick to at least be able to read the language. You should always be reading texts as well, even if you aren't understanding them it will imprint and then one day you'll find you know what's being said.

Speaking it is entirely different. It would be immensely difficult to become fluent without just living among Russian speakers

The Idiot is beyond amazing.

For those who want to read something more than just world aknowleged names:

1. Goncharov
2. That guy.
3. Soljenitsyn
4. Leskov
5. Shishkin

Stay patrician.

but
>implying you would yield

Some other authors who deserve more attention:
- Venedikt (Y)erofeyev
-Sergei Dovlatov
-Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky

Nigga, just read if you want to :DD

>Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky

Google can't process this name, that's why so little read his works.

Also worth noting that, like Gogol, he was actually Ukranian

Well, language is the thing that matters. Nabokov was ethnic Russian, but he is an American novelist.

I live in a nordic country

if anyone ever mentions literature in a context that isn't harry potter and popular crime thrillers, some of the first authors to pop up are Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky

they're probably the first thing anyone interested in "serious literature" picks up

also Dostoyevskys biggest works are available as convenient paperbacks ("pocket books") in probably every bookstore - this is saying something, shitty bookstores tend to have very shitty selections of classic books unless you order them

contemporaries, tho... yeah, you'll need to find someone deeper into literature to hear about them

So i just finished Crime and Punishment and I feel like I'm missing something. This is my first Russian novel as well as my first Dostoevsky. I am not trying to start a shitfit but it seemed like a good book with an good theme albeit one which had far more text than was necessary to get the point across (for instance i feel like everything involving Pyotr Petrovich Luzhin could have disappeared without effecting much else). Though is see everyone praise it and I feel like I'm missing something important especially due to the massive effects it has had on a lot of people.
I really do want to see what everyone else sees

Agreed. It's fantastic. I'm using this, duolingo and memrise for vocab, learnrussian.rt.com to practice grammatical ideas in context as well as basic listening, and finally just reading everything in the language I can get my hands on

No shit. Russia got seriously fucked by the soviets. Modern russian literature is a joke
>Pelevin
>Sorokin
>some meme genre fiction and YA writers
There was Gorchev, who wrote in slightly surrealistic, yerofeev style. But it's mostly the same postsoviet whining, and he is now dead without writing anything of merit. There was Masodov, who is well worth reading for prose alone. But they are not translated anyway.

Luzhin is there to make a point that being an egoist is bad, baaaad! Don't you miss this important fact!

I find it really sad that post-communist countries (and here I mean European Eastern Block + Yugoslavia) have developed an awful community that is conformist, and if you aren't part of it you are mocked and ridiculed.
The new atheism has gotten a status of religion, and youth is trying to replace the titoist ideals with consumerism, hedonism and 'antifa'.
Classical education needs to make a comeback, the Prussian system is terrifying.
But Russian's are, at least, reading somewhat good books, and your contemporary writers are on my reading list. Bosnia's youth are preoccupied reading shit YA, romance and so on.
I enrolled in a Writer Group (amateurs, that critique and improve on eachother) and the director told me "It's bad, girls come here with romantic novels and we're sick of them, but if we deny them we are seen as anti-education."
She said that what I wrote (some half-existensialist shit story) is miles ahead of what she usually gets.
I'm really sad now.

Solid humblebrag. Didn't even see it coming.

I would never. :^)

Herzegovina has a lot of Franciscans and wherever they are you'll have people reading. That region has a lot of people our age who read a lot, it's much more common than in many other regions.

Dostoevsky was a very sloppy genius, that's all. It's okay to be critical of a great work of literature.

C&P is mostly for the ideas.

crime and punishment is essential. the part where raskolnikov has the dream about the mare being whipped and beaten to death before his own helpless, childhood eyes made me burst into tears because i had similar dreams as a child. dostoevsky's notes was a massive wake up call of sorts, i'm always surprised at how well he can capture the human mind. we all have underground man and raskolnikov in us, and he paints them so well and with such intensity and focus that he ends up creating characters that may as well exist in reality.

haven't read many russians, but i'm looking to finish crime and punishment and maybe move to:
dead souls
hero of our time
master and margarita
a day in the life of...
pale fire/ada, or ardor
brothers k
death of ivan illych

any recs? only read some dostoyevsky, turgenev, chekhov, etc. real basics. love the russian themes of family and religion.

Twelve Chairs. Both funny and nabo approved.

Yes. And Golden Calf.

Tell me some on Gogol, used to see threads on Dead Souls alot here. Oppinions? Fun facts?

notre Dame is a sports team masquerading as a college the academics are a joke

Is Notes From Underground one of the most convoluted stories ever written? It was definitely the most convoluted thing I've ever read.

It's pretty straightforward, isn't it? He rambles with 'us' (the way he sees us) and then recalls about the time that he felt something for a hooker, and how he never was liked.