From the reign of the Tsars to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond,
this short story has long occupied a central place in Russian culture. Included
are pieces from many of the acknowledged masters of Russian literature
alongside tales by long-suppressed figures. They offer a representation of an
enduring form of Russian literature.From the reign of the Tsars in the early 19th century to the collapse of
the Soviet Union and beyond, the short story has long occupied a central place
in Russian culture. Included are pieces from many of the acknowledged masters
of Russian literature - including Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and
Solzhenitsyn - alongside tales by long-suppressed figures such as the
subversive Kryzhanowsky and the surrealist Shalamov. Whether written in
reaction to the cruelty of the bourgeoisie, the bureaucracy of communism or the
torture of the prison camps, they offer a wonderfully wide-ranging and exciting
representation of one of the most vital and enduring forms of Russian
literature.
