35
votes
Use of "pounds" instead of "roubles" in passage of "The Idiot"
According to Wikipedia, Eva Martin's translation was published in 1915. At this period, it is likely that few British readers would have a reason to know the value (in Sterling) of the Russian Rouble ...
- 2,271
30
votes
Accepted
How did Leo Tolstoy approve Maude's English translation of War and Peace? Did he speak good English already?
Tolstoy was born into the Russian aristocracy and thus had the benefit of paid tuition as a young man. He was interested in languages and so, given the opportunity to learn them, he did. In fact he ...
- 23.3k
20
votes
Accepted
What was a "prince" in Dostoevsky's times, i.e. mid-late 19th century?
Something like a duke, and the title wasn't all that special.
The English word "prince" is translated from the Russian "knyaz (князь)", which could be used either to denote a ...
- 74.4k
17
votes
Is there anything that definitely confirms that Svidrigailov actually committed murder in "Crime and Punishment?"
Nothing proves it. The closest are Dunya's accusations, including her knowledge that he both discussed poison with her, AND went to get that poison.
"...Не твой револьвер, а Марфы Петровны, которую ...
- 4,645
15
votes
Accepted
Did the Strugatsky brothers ever comment on "predicting" the Kasparov-Karpov World Chess rivalry?
Apparently, this was a coincidence
Googling took me to LiveJournal, where someone was wondering about the same thing. According to the guy over there, Karpov was only 11 when the book was originally ...
- 8,504
15
votes
Accepted
Why do peasants in 19th century Russian literature often have Greek names?
Firstly, why there are Greek names in Russia. Russia, being a Christian Orthodox country, had strong historical and cultural connections with Greece. So, many Russian names are of Greek origin. Most ...
- 1,305
15
votes
Accepted
Meaning of the "quips" from Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita
Here is the same paragraph in Russian:
Произошло подсчитывание, пересыпаемое шуточками и прибаутками Коровьева, вроде «денежка счет любит», «свой глазок — смотрок» и прочего такого же."
[link]
...
- 1,170
14
votes
Accepted
Why is Pechorin a hero of our time?
It's intended to be ironic.
In his preface to the second edition, Lermontov criticises the readers who - like you - took the title at face value and interpreted it to mean Pechorin was really being ...
- 74.4k
14
votes
Accepted
Short story in Russian about time travel and changing the history of WW2
After intensive search I found it.
Writer: Sever Gansovsky.
Story: Demon of history (1967).
And I found Russian text: Демон истории.
- 501
14
votes
Accepted
How old was Tatiana during the main events of "Eugene Onegin"?
Some parts of the text suggest she was thirteen ...
I found this article, which summarises an analysis by Russian sexologist A. Kotrovsky and columnist E. Tchernych and concludes that Tatiana was ...
- 74.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Was Dostoyevsky atheist or Christian?
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, author of such works as Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, was a devout Orthodox Catholic from a very young age. He is reported to have, at a young age, ...
- 6,281
12
votes
What does Dostoyevsky mean by 'propaganda' in Crime and Punishment?
The word "propaganda" at that time was not understood the way we tend to understand it today.
It is more or less safe to understand it based on its etymology, i.e. based on the verb "...
- 1,170
12
votes
Accepted
Original Russian text of this review of Crime and Punishment
I googled for "мудрость сердца" (the wisdom of the heart) and "достоевский" and found a book "Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. His life and works" (comp. V. Pokrovsky), and ...
- 810
12
votes
How did Leo Tolstoy approve Maude's English translation of War and Peace? Did he speak good English already?
In his critique of Shakespeare, Tolstoy wrote:
For a long time I could not believe in myself, and during fifty years, in order to test myself, I several times recommenced reading Shakespeare in every ...
- 3,509
11
votes
Is there evidence of anti-Semitism in Dostoyevsky's books?
I'm not well acquainted with most of Dostoevsky's writings, but The House of the Dead stands out as a controversial case. In it, we see the character Isay Fomitch Bumstein, who worked as both a ...
- 6,042
11
votes
Accepted
Leonid Andreyev novel about man pretending to be crazy in order to get away with murder
This story was surprisingly difficult to find: partly because Andreyev apparently wrote quite a number of stories about murderers and/or lunatic asylums, partly because there are so many different ...
- 74.4k
11
votes
Accepted
What does the last sentence in chapter 2 of Crime and Punishment really mean?
When Rodion says he could be wrong, he means his words for the previous sentence:
Hurrah for Sonia! What a mine they've dug there! And they're making
the most of it! Yes, they are making the most ...
- 1,305
11
votes
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How was Crime and Punishment originally published?
It was published during 1866 in the issues 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12. Dostoyevsky was still writing the novel in 1866 during the publication and finished it only in November or December.
January issue ...
- 1,305
11
votes
Accepted
The Brothers Karamazov - When was Russia saved before?
What exactly is he referring to?
He's most probably referring to the events in Russian history when Russia was on a brink of ceasing to exist as a state. There were a number of grave moments ...
- 1,170
10
votes
Accepted
What word was used for "anisotropic" in the original Russian text of "Hard to Be a God"?
The original Russian version does not use any made-up or composite word for "anisotropic". "Anisotropic" is a real world present in English language; it is used in science, as well as technology. ...
- 8,504
10
votes
Accepted
Should this word in Hard to Be a God be translated as "arbalest" or "crossbow"?
We don't know whether it was an arbalest or a crossbow.
To quote (for the lack of a better source) Wikipedia:
A large weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod ("bow").
Emphasis mine
Taking ...
- 8,504
10
votes
Accepted
Is this mistake in Tolstoy's original, or just this translation?
It is indeed end of November in the actual Russian text and all my research so far shows that this is a genuine author's mistake.
"Он исписал альбомы девочек стихами и нотами и, не простившись ни с ...
- 1,170
9
votes
Accepted
How do they decide who to save/bring to Earth in Hard to Be a God?
They don't bring anyone to Earth.
The persons of interest - scientists, astronomers, medics, artisans, poets, you name it - are not sent to Earth. They are re-routed to kingdoms that value their ...
- 8,504
9
votes
Accepted
Why doesn't Anka like to be called Anetchka?
All three of them are trying to seem more grown up than they really are.
Running from their boarding school? With crossbows blazing? That doesn't sound like trying to be more grown up than they ...
- 8,504
9
votes
Accepted
How much "self-editing" did Nabokov do when his Russian novels were translated into English?
Nabokov sometimes used translations into English as an opportunity to touch up his work, but sometimes he didn't. Below are a few case studies.
Maybe the best example of Nabokov making changes is ...
- 1,124
9
votes
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Does the text support the theory that Arata the Hunchback killed this character?
Not really, unless you're willing to allow a lot of stretches and assumptions.
We could scrape a motivation for Arata to have ordered the abduction.
Firstly, it could be argued he had the motive: he ...
- 8,504
9
votes
Accepted
Are any of the countries in Hard to Be a God based specifically on particular real-life countries?
Original Authorial Intent:
"Three Musketeers"-ish pre-Age-of-Discovery kinda-Spain-cum-Russia-or-France (sans muskets).
Based on Boris Strugatsky's "Commentaries to the past" (...
- 4,645
9
votes
In the song "Ja is Playing Jazz" (Джа играет джаз), who is Ja?
Jah is a god of Rastafari.
He is often mentioned is late- / post-soviet era songs. For example "Джа на нашей стороне" by Гражданская Оборона or "Единственный дом (Джа даст нам всё)"...
- 1,305
9
votes
Accepted
What is the narrative device that involves using inconsequential elements in the story?
I think what you are looking for is Literary Naturalism. This began as a reaction to the prevailing mode of Romanticism (and later aestheticism and Decadence) of the nineteenth-century period and was ...
- 2,176
9
votes
Accepted
The Brothers Karamazov - What is the "Chain bridge"?
Where the translator (Constance Garnett) used “secret police”, the Russian text is “Третьего отделения” (tretyego otdeleniya) meaning “third section”, that is, the Third Section of His Imperial ...
- 60.7k
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