Questions tagged [russian-language]
Questions about works of literature that were originally written in the Russian language, regardless of whether they were written or published in Russia or elsewhere.
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War and Peace: Russian troop movements in part 2, chapters 7 and 8
I was reading War and Peace and became a bit confused about troop movements during the Kutuzov's fallback to Vienna. I wanted to check my understanding and hopefully resolve some contradictions I see.
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Which literary movement do Pushkin's Little Tragedies belong to?
Some say Pushkin quit Romanticism in year 1825. To which literary movement do his Little Tragedies (1830) belong to, then?
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Source of three Icelandic kennings quoted (in Russian) in poem of Martynov?
The Russian poem Songs of the skalds (Песни скальдов), by Leonid Martynov, 1967, plays on the kennings used in Icelandic skaldic poetry, and quotes three rather complex kennings — translated into ...
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Why is War and Peace not considered an epic?
The plot of War and Peace involves more than 500 characters. More than 200 of them are real historical figures put to life on the pages of Tolstoy’s novel. The novel is set 60 years before Tolstoy's ...
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What is the significance of the money given to Liza in Notes from Underground?
At the end of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, the following occurs (from Wikipedia):
After all this, he still acts terribly toward her, and, before she
leaves, he stuffs a five ruble note ...
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How did Leo Tolstoy approve Maude's English translation of War and Peace? Did he speak good English already?
It is widely known that Maude's English translation of War and Peace was approved by Tolstoy himself. How did Tolstoy approve it, and did he know and speak English?
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Why did Russian corpses rot in "War and Peace", but not French?
I am not sure if I understand this clearly but why? "Must be the grub" and what's the grub?
Part IV, chapter 8, from the 2009 Penguin translation by Anthony Briggs:
I’ll tell you one thing, ...
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Does the original Russian prose in The Foundation Pit by Andrey Platonov sound unusual/unconventional to Russian speakers?
I am reading Robert Chandler, Elizabeth Chandler and Olga Meerson's translation, specifically the 2009 revised version, of Platonov's 'The Foundation Pit', and it has struck me that the prose sounds ...
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"Hamlet" reference in "Crime and Punishment": translator's invention?
I am reading Pevear & Volokhonsky's translation of Crime and Punishment. In part II, chapter 6, Raskolnikov is at the "Crystal Palace" restaurant, where he runs into the clerk Zamyotov ...
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Which of Leo Tolstoy's stories are appropriate for children?
I am aware that Tolstoy wrote stories specifically for children. However, I would also like to know which of his other stories of his vast bibliography are suitable (i. e. age appropriate) for ...
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Marxist reading of Gogol's "The Overcoat"?
The Wikipedia page about Gogol's short story "The Overcoat" is full of [citation needed] notices. The following sentence in particular caught my eye:
A Marxist reading of the text would ...
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Why does Wikipedia claim that "Death and the Penguin" was set in 1996 - 1997?
The Wikipedia article on Death and the Penguin claims that the story is set in 1996 - 1997. However, when Viktor was in the Chief's office,
On the upper shelf lay a folder with several typed sheets ...
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Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, the “lost” chapter 10 in German
Is there a German translation of chapter 10 of Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin? The English one is available in ISBN 9780691019048."
Pushkin destroyed chapter X of Eugene Onegin, leaving only the ...
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Did it really cost $800 to fly from Kyiv to Rome in 1996?
At one point, the Chief needed to flee the country. He sent Viktor to retrieve his plane ticket, which cost "$750 at exchange rate or $800 in cash". His exact itinerary was Kyiv-Larnaca-Rome....
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Leonid Andreyev novel about man pretending to be crazy in order to get away with murder
I have read a story by Leonid Andreyev many years ago. I would like to read it again but I don't know where / how to find it.
The story is about a guy that one day decides to kill his friend. His ...
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Is the "wall of solitude" a reference to Pink Floyd's "The Wall"?
Death and the Penguin contains the following quote:
He thought suddenly of Nina and her saying that they had been seeing Sergey off at the station. So he had, after all, gone to Moscow, without so ...
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Were mines common in Ukraine?
In Death and the Penguin, Viktor and Sergey hear an explosion and go to investigate:
"What's up, Vanya?" Sergey enquired.
"The old story," said the caretaker... "Local man. ...
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Why did the Chief stop in Cyprus on his way to Rome?
Follow-up to: Did it really cost $800 to fly from Kyiv to Rome in 1999?
In Death and the Penguin, the Chief flew from Kyiv to Rome with a stop in Larnaca, Cyprus.
I'm slightly confused as to why he ...
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Why did Misha give Viktor and Sonya New Year's gifts?
In Death and the Penguin, Misha non-Penguin left New Year's Presents (from "Grandfather Frost") under their tree. I'm slightly confused by this; was Christmas not celebrated at this point? ...
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Is there any special significance in Dr. Rutenspitz's last words to Mr. Golyadkin?
Throughout The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, there had been hints that maybe Mr. Golyadkin Jr., the double, was a product of Mr. Golyadkin Sr.'s imagination — and that it was either a way to signify ...
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What is a District Militiaman?
When Viktor had to leave town for a few days, he had no one to watch his penguin, so he called the "district militiaman" and asked him to check on him while he was gone.
What, exactly, was a ...
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What is a State Duma Deputy?
In Death and the Penguin, Viktor interviews the State Duma Deputy Aleksandr Yakornitsky. (He is also referred to simply as a "State Deputy").
I'm aware that the State Duma is the lower ...
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Was "Fyodor in Crime" a reference to Dostoevsky?
In Death and the Penguin, the newspaper editor told Viktor to contact Fyodor from Crime for some information to help him with his writing.
Is this a subtle reference to Crime and Punishment by Fyodor ...
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Why would a government official boast to a reporter about illegal trips to Chernobyl?
Related: What is a State Duma Deputy?
In Death and the Penguin, Viktor interviewed a politician who, among other things, boasted about his trips to Chernobyl (even knowing that he was a reporter). ...
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Is there a difference between Russian and English speaking cultures in the sense of rhythm when reciting poetry?
It may a vague question, but I haven't found any data on this myself.
I am Russian and I've heard a lot of reading of Russian poetry, since my childhood (poetry reading by heart is a staple assignment ...
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Mystifying reference in "Anna Karenina"
I encountered this mystifying aside (bolded) in the text of Anna Karenina. I assumed it might be a biblical reference, but upon checking, it doesn't seem that the biblical Rebecca was a slave. A quick ...
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What is the main idea and the main problem of Dostoyevsky's Demons?
What is the main idea and the main problem of Dostoyevsky's novel Demons? I have tried to identify one main idea and the main problem of the novel, but in the end nothing came out.
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How did Denisov reappear in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace?
In 1807 Major Denisov got court-martialed for stealing food, threatening and insulting chief quartermaster, and thrashing two officials even dislocating the arm of one of them. All of this happens ...
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What is the narrative device that involves using inconsequential elements in the story?
I’m looking for the narrative device that, as opposed to Chekhov’s gun, involves purposely including accounts of events or things in the narrative that are inconsequential to the main story. This ...
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Viktor Erofeyev "The Akimuds": Animal motif
In the SF/Fantasy/political satire "The Akimuds" by Viktor Erofeyev, selfsame Akimuds (sort of a stand-in for God, Jesus and the angels) claim they are ducks. Now, "doves" would ...
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Allusion in Nabokov's Pnin
In chapter 3, section 6 of Nabokov's Pnin, the main character is carrying a reference work "mainly devoted to Tolstoyana" across the Waindell campus when he drops it by accident:
Pnin, on ...
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Was Dostoyevsky atheist or Christian?
We see atheist and Christian heroes in Dostoyevsky's books. In many cases the works of an author reflect elements of their own life. However, the extent to which this occurs vary by author. Especially,...
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What is the significance of the Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov?
In The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan tells a long story to Alyosha about the Grand Inquisitor. I have been trying to grasp its meaning for some time, but what is the significance of that story?
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What was the first picaresque novel in Russian literature?
Lazarillo de Tormes, published simultaneously in Alcalá de Henares, Burgos and Antwerp in 1554, is generally considered the first picaresque novel. The Wikipedia article about the picaresque novel ...
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Is there a meaning to Koroviev 's nickname?
In Master and Margarita, Koroviev (or Korovyev) is part of Woland's entourage. In various scenes, he is called by his nickname - Fagot:
The magician sat down. ' Tell me, my dear Fagot,' Woland ...
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Why did Pierre want to assassinate Napoleon?
Pierre’s friend Andrei was shown to have great respect for Napoleon, as his view on historic events being the will of a few important people is embodied best by Napoleon. While lying wounded on the ...
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Why do readers dislike Vronsky in the early part of the novel?
Anna Karenina, the first novel of Count Leo Tolstoy is about the life of Anna (mainly) and her lover Vronsky (I know it is not possible to say what the novel is about but for this particular ...
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Are any of the countries in Hard to Be a God based specifically on particular real-life countries?
Arkanar, Irukan, Soan, ... there are several countries mentioned and given at least some description and fleshing out in the book. Are any of these intended to be direct parallels of specific real-...
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How do Pierre and Natasha "lie to each other" in 'War and Peace'?
Simone de Beauvoir writes in The Second Sex (emphasis mine)
Lawrence adds that to merit this devotion, man must be authentically
invested with a higher purpose; if his project is but a sham, the
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Narrator in The Idiot
I'm struggling to understand the narrator in The Idiot. He seems like an omniscient narrator, talking of characters in third person. But, in Chapter I of Part One, while describing know-it-alls, the ...
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What does it mean to look like "a hair-dresser's assistant"?
In the 1st Chapter, Part I of Dostoevsky's The Idiot (Eva Martin's translation) you can find the following passage, in which Rogojin is describing the first time he saw Nastasia Philipovna:
I was ...
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Use of "pounds" instead of "roubles" in passage of "The Idiot"
In the 1st Chapter, Part I of Dostoevsky's The Idiot (Eva Martin's translation) you can find the following passage:
These men generally have about a hundred pounds a year to live on (...)
In this ...
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Why is Russian literature considered part of Western culture when so much of Russia is in the East?
Russia is a country that straddles both the East and West, and is culturally very diverse.
Why and how did so much of Russian literature become part of the Western Canon?
To put it another way, why ...
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Original Russian text of this review of Crime and Punishment
In the introduction to Constance Garnett's translation of Crime and Punishment, she quotes this Russian critic:
In the words of a Russian critic, who seeks to explain the feeling
inspired by ...
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Is there a good English translation of "Foundations of Geopolitics" by Aleksandr Dugin?
This book is fairly geopolitically significant, because it describes a lot of the recent events in the world as driven by Russia and Russian disinformation campaigns.
I'm looking for an English copy ...
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Short story in Russian about time travel and changing the history of WW2
I remember when I was a child (probably about 40 years ago), I read some story in a Russian book (I think its original language was Russian).
The story is as follows: a man read some documentary book ...
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Brodsky's "two-liner" in his essay "Less than One"
In his 1976 essay Less than One, Joseph Brodsky writes:
For the beginning I had better trust my birth certificate, which states that I was born on May 24, 1940, in Leningrad, Russia, much as I abhor ...
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The Brothers Karamazov - When was Russia saved before?
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book VI, Chapter 3
And how suprised men would be if I were to say that from these meek
monks, who yearn for solitary prayer, the salvation of Russia will
...
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The Brothers Karamazov - What is the "Chain bridge"?
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book X, Chapter IV
I say this only to you. I am not at all anxious to fall into the
clutches of the secret police and take lessons at the Chain bridge.
...
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What does the last sentence in chapter 2 of Crime and Punishment really mean?
The sentence I'm referring to is this one.
‘And what if I am wrong,’ he cried suddenly after a
moment’s thought. ‘What if man is not really a scoundrel,
man in general, I mean, the whole race ...
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