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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Is there anything that definitely confirms that Svidrigailov actually committed murder in "Crime and Punishment?"
Is there any proof that Svidrigailov actually committed murder in Crime and Punishment, of either Philip (his servant) or Marfa Petrovna (his wife)?
By proof, I mean either a nuanced passage I might ...
JNat♦
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1
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Was Nabokov's Pale Fire intended to be read non-linearly, i.e. jumping to each line reference?
Did Vladimir Nabokov ever indicate on record whether he intended Pale Fire to be read non-linearly, i.e. jumping to each line reference?
A friend and I read the book together last summer. He read the ...
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What was a "prince" in Dostoevsky's times, i.e. mid-late 19th century?
In Dostoevsky's The Idiot, the main character is Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin. Sometimes the word "prince" almost seems an honorary title, e.g.
"Here you all are now," the prince began, "looking ...
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Why is Pechorin a hero of our time?
In Mikhail Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time (Герой нашего времени), the main hero is Grigory Pechorin, a cynical noble army man, an example of superfluous Byronic hero.
The title of the novel has to ...
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How did the Strugatsky Brothers' experience with Soviet literary publishing censorship reflect on their books?
It's well known that the Strugatsky brothers were affected by the censors overseeing the publishing of their work.
How did those experiences reflect in their books?
The question is about the ...
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3
answers
637
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What is the significance of the anisotropic highway and the skeleton of a fascist chained to a machine gun?
In the beginning of Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's novel Hard to Be a God, the protagonist, Anton, goes down a country road, disobeying a "wrong way" sign, and finds a skeleton of a fascist chained to ...
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503
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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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1
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Is there evidence of anti-Semitism in Dostoyevsky's books?
It's well known that Dostoyevsky as a person didn't like Jews.
But is there clear evidence of that in his books?
Ideally, I'd prefer evidence of things that arise above things that were commonplace ...
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2
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How old was Tatiana during the main events of "Eugene Onegin"?
Eugene Onegin is a novel in verse, by the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The main characters are Eugene Onegin, a young and bored man, and Tatiana, an even younger girl who falls in love with ...
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Political allegory in Lukyanenko's Watch series?
The Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko describes the often bloodless struggle between the Night Watch and the Day Watch. It's a sort of cold war in which each side is only permitted to attack members ...
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What does Dostoyevsky mean by 'propaganda' in Crime and Punishment?
I am wondering about what Dostoyevsky means by the word 'propaganda' in part six, chapter four of Crime and Punishment. None of the meanings that I understand make sense in the context of the book. ...
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1
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How much "self-editing" did Nabokov do when his Russian novels were translated into English?
Several of Nabokov's early, Russian-language novels were translated into English in the 1960s, either by Nabokov himself (Despair), or by translators under his guidance (including his son Dmitri). To ...
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13
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2
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What is the significance of the "suffocation scene" at Tchermashnya in Brothers Karamazov?
I'm re-reading The Brothers Karamazov and was struck again by a strange scene whose meaning isn't immediately clear to me.
In "Lyagavy", Part 3, Book 8, Chapter 2 of The Brothers Karamazov, ...
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2
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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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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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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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1
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209
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How do they decide who to save/bring to Earth in Hard to Be a God?
In Hard to Be a God, the main character (Anton/Rumanta) falls in love with Kira and decides to take her with him back to Earth.
Since their task is to be as undercover as possible, it’s obvious that ...
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Why did the doctor give Count Bezukhov cream of tartar?
In War and Peace, Count Bezukhov's doctors gave him Cream of Tartar after his stroke. What purpose did that serve? I haven't been able to find anything about medical benefits of cream of tartar that ...
12
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Is there symbolism in Vronsky going bald in Anna Karenina?
As I am reading Anna Karinina I notice how as the story continues Vronsky is going bald.
As characters meet him it is noted how he tries to hid his increasing baldness. For instance when Dolly goes ...
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In The Bet, why does the lawyer willingly stay fifteen years instead of five years for no extra reward?
In The Bet by Anton Chekhov, the lawyer voluntarily accepts to stay in prison for 15 years, instead of the original agreed upon 5 years. Here's the relevant passage:
"The death sentence and the ...
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1
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Did Pushkin ever deliberately copy the style of anyone else?
Beginning, or less talented, writers often consciously or subconsciously imitate the style of earlier creators.
Are any works by Pushkin (past the age of 20) known to copy someone else's style, ...
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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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1
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Did the Strugatsky brothers ever comment on "predicting" the Kasparov-Karpov World Chess rivalry?
In the foundational novel of their Noon universe, Noon, XXII century (Полдень, XXII век), published in 1961, the Strugatsky brothers "predicted" the notorious Kasparov-Karpov World Chess ...
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555
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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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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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Why does the narrator of "Master and Margarita" say that Caribbean are fiction?
Bulgakov describes the appearance of the Archibald Archibaldovich (chief of the security of the MASSOLIT restaurant) in quite a peculiar way:
At midnight there appeared a vision in this hell. On ...
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Is this mistake in Tolstoy's original, or just this translation?
I am reading the Vintage edition of War & Peace with the translation by Pevear & Volokhonsky. In Volume II, part I, chapter 11, the farewell dinner for Nikolai at the Rostov's is held on "the ...
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What word was used for "anisotropic" in the original Russian text of "Hard to Be a God"?
In the beginning of Hard to Be a God, there is the matter of the skeleton chained to a machine gun.
"An anisotropic road," Anton explained. Anka stood with her back to
him. "Traffic can move only ...
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1
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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 was Crime and Punishment originally published?
I know that Crime and Punishment was originally published in "The Russian Messenger". I read that it was a Monthly journal. But how exactly was Crime and Punishment formatted in its initial release? ...
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What details does the "Without Weapons" / "A Man from a Distant Star" stage play add to the lore of "Hard to be a God"?
It appears that Strugatsky brothers have written a stage adaptation of Hard to be a God, named Without Weapons or A Man from a Distant Star. Wikipedia claims that the play "reveals previously unknown ...
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What ticked off Soviet bosses about "Inhabited Island"?
Нет, конечно. Насколько я помню, мы ничего об этом Супермене и не знали тогда. Я уже писал, что Максим был нашим ответом начальству: не хотите серьезной литературы? Пожалуйста! Вот вам залипуха о ...
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Is Frou-Frou's death a foreshadowing of Anna's in Anna Karenina?
The only thing Vronsky loves more than Anna is Frou-Frou his horse.
In the race he rides her too hard, she falls, and her back breaks. He kicks her in a rage trying to get her up and then shoots her ...
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What is the relevance of the essays in Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'?
War and Peace is regularly interspersed with essays -- something that I have not seen anywhere else in literature. How significant are these essays? They obviously help in exploring the themes and ...
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Had people related the work of Gogol before "The Nose"?
In The Nose, an opera by Demitri Shostakovich, Shostakovich combines many of Nikolai Gogol's stories, including The Nose, for which the opera is named, into a single story. Had previous critics or ...
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Why do peasants in 19th century Russian literature often have Greek names?
Why do peasant characters in 19th century Russian literature so often have Greek names? (e.g. "Agafon" and "Platon" in Anna Karenina).
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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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In "Hard to Be a God", are "Sergei Kozhin", "George Lenny", "Sabine Kruger" real historical references?
The main character's internal monolog at one point reads:
You just want to kill. Yes, I do. And are you capable of it?
... the only thing I regret is killing her in vain. So they've almost ...
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What concept of love does Tolstoy suggest in Anna Karenina?
I know one of the characteristics of realistic works is they are mostly formulated as some independent studies of the life of society but, at the same time, I realise that the dominant approach to art ...
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Should this word in Hard to Be a God be translated as "arbalest" or "crossbow"?
In this answer edit, someone changed my translation of a word "арбалет" as used in Strugatsky's Russian text of Hard to be a God from the one I used ("arbalest") to "crossbow".
In the context of ...
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What does Father Gur mean by "And then you'll be given back!"?
During the dinner at the king's palace, Rumata has a conversation with Father Gur, the poet. Rumata offers him a copy of the poets work, in exchange for a promise to write something new:
“Very well ...
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Does the text support the theory that Arata the Hunchback killed this character?
The obvious implication from the text of Hard to Be a God is that
at the very least, Anton blames Don Reba and that triggers his meltdown. (this gets more obvious in the play based on the book).
...
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What parallels can be drawn between Don Reba and Beria?
From the afterword of Hard to be a God:
On the advice of I. A. Efremov, we renamed the Minister of the Defense of the Crown Don Reba (he had previously been Don Rebia—an overly simple anagram, in 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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0
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How culturally mixed were the Earth ambassadors in Hard to Be a God?
Anton, aka "Don Rumata of Estor", is Russian.
Pashka, aka "Don Hug, first groom of the chamber of his lordship the Duke of Irukan", is Russian.
Alexander Vassilevitch, aka "Don Kondor, Supreme Judge ...
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Was Pyotr Stepanovich in "Demons" really connected to the international?
In the noval Demons (by Dostoyevsky), there was a character, named Pyotr Stepanovich Verkhovensky, who claimed that he was connected to the international.
Did Dostoyevsky mention anywhere in the book ...
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In the song "Ja is Playing Jazz" (Джа играет джаз), who is Ja?
While listening to Splean's last album Ключ к шифру (The Key to the Cipher) again, I've wondered about a particular line from the song "Джа играет джаз" ("Ja is Playing Jazz"):
Сегодня Джа играет ...
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1
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Why doesn't Anka like to be called Anetchka?
From the prologue of Hard to Be a God:
"You know, Anetchka--" said Pashka.
"Don't you call me Anetchka," Anka cut in abruptly. She could not stand to be called by any other name than Anka.
Now I ...
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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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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
...
