Best Russian Short Stories

by Thomas Seltzer (Editor)

A very comprehensive anthology of the Russian short stories in the English language, which gives a fair notion of the achievement in that field. Contains over 20 stories written by various Russian authors, including, "The Gentleman from San Francisco" by 1933 Nobel Prize winner Bunin, and stories by Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Saltykov, Korolenko, Garshin, Chekhov, Sologub, Potapenko, Semyonov, Gorky, Artzybashev, Kuprin, Andreyev, and others.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Russia, Russian Literature, Literature, Ebooks

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1917

About the author

Thomas Seltzer was a Russian-American translator, editor and book publisher. Born in Russia, Thomas Seltzer moved to the United States with his family as a young child. He attended the University of Pennsylvania on scholarship and graduated in 1897, going on to do post-graduate work at Columbia University. In addition to speaking his native Russian, Seltzer was conversant in Polish, Italian, German, Yiddish, and French and it was his language skills that led him to a career as a translator.

Reviews

[Sarah Far · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستانهایی عجیب از بیشتر نویسندگان گمنام روسیه‌!!!
از 16 داستان، فقط 6 نویسنده ش برای ما آشناست.
اما عجیب که قلم اون نویسندگان تقریبا نا آشنا خیلی خیلی خوبه!

پیشنهاد میکنم حتما بخوونید!
در ایران این کتاب با نام "یک شب پاییزی" ترجمه شده!

[Anusha Narasimhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given that I'm a Russian literature newbie, this collection was helpful in exploring Russian authors from the golden age through short stories. I found the introduction which talked about the authors and their style of writing quite helpful. It made me gauge what to expect from the stories and also appreciate them better.

You can read this here: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13437/...

[Swati · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this anthology. The introduction to this collection was interesting and helpful in gaining insight into Russian literature, the writing style, and the authors. Would recommend everyone to read the introduction if you are reading this book.

Here's a list of the stories I liked the most (in no particular order) -

1. The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin
2. The Cloak by Nikolai Gogol
3. God Sees the Truth, But Waits by Leo Tolstoy
4. The Signal by Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin
5. The Bet by Anton Chekhov
6. Dethroned by I.N. Potapenko
7. Her Lover by Maxim Gorky
8. Lazarus by Leonid Andreyev
9. The Outrage by Aleksandr Kuprin

You can find the ebook at Project Gutenberg

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this anthology was great. I had never really read any works by any of the authors mentioned before and would have to credit this collection of short stories as my first introduction to Russian literature. Below is the list of the short stories that are included in this anthology - I put a ♥ next to my favorite ones.
The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin - A poor man begs an old woman for her secret to winning games. Shows how poor people can be possessed by greed if they have the opportunity to.
♥The Cloak by Nikolai Gogol - An insignificant person saves up his money for a new cloak. He gets a new one, but it gets stolen. He dies soon afterwards, but haunts people and takes their cloaks.
♥The District Doctor by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev - A doctor visits a young woman who he falls in love with. She, knowing that she will die soon, falls in love with him, just so she can love someone before she dies. She dies, and the doctor is seen recollecting this story to another one of his patient (sort of like Vertigo, if you get what I mean).
♥The Christmas Tree and the Wedding by Fyodor Dostoevsky - A man settles himself a marriage with a girl when she is around 10 or 11, knowing that when she does get married, the husband will get a lot of money. Another man witnesses him being cold and cruel to him, later on he sees the man getting married to the girl.
♥God Sees the Truth, but Waits by Leo Tolstoy - A man is accused of murdering someone and goes to jail, although he is innocent. Years later, a man shows up in the jail who is the actual murderer. He pleads guilty but by the time the innocent man is allowed out of jail, he is already dead.
How a Muzhik Fed Two Officials by Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov - Two officials find themselves on an island, but they know so little that they can't survive on an island, even though it has plenty of food. So a Muzhik (peasant) has to cook for them, and later he makes a vessel for them to ride back home. The best part about the story is the last bit, about how the police officers give peasant some money and a beer, and then he sets off happily. The two officials basically knew nothing, the peasant had to do everything for them, and he felt grateful for the little amount of money that he got!
The Shades, a Phantasy by Vladimir G. Korolenko - I wasn't very interested in this story. It was about Socrates in Athens, and it raised quite a few thought-provoking points though.
♥The Signal by Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin - The ending is terrifying. That is all I can say.
The Darling and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - A woman who is always in need of some love. She is without an opinion if she doesn't have anyone to love, basically. However, she becomes a widow a few times. Finally, she falls in love with a little boy who treats as her own son. I felt that there was supposed to be some significance in the last line, but I didn't get it.
♥The Bet by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - A banker offers 2 million for the 15-year imprisonment of a lawyer. The story is somewhat an allegory to capital punishment, which is the subject matter in the beginning of the story. I thought it was a nice story because it shows how life is worth living - the end is particularly intense.
Vanka by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - A young boy who works as an apprentice sends a letter to his grandfather, saying that he wants to escape. This story definitely makes you feel sympathetic with the poor, but it doesn't seem to do much else.
Hide and Seek by Fiodor Sologub - A little girl named Lelechka loves to play hide-and-seek with her mom, who loves her very much. One of the women who works at the house makes up a lie and says that the fact that Lelechka hides is a very bad omen. Lelechka's mom is told this, and she becomes absolutely terrified whenever Lelechka says tiu tiu! Soon afterwards, Lelechka slowly dies of a fever, and her mom goes mad.
♥Dethroned by I.N. Potapenko - A story for two woman as they try to get the latest style of dress to show off at the annual ball. The two woman are extremely shallow, but I thought it made many connections to real life.
The Servant by S.T. Semyonov - A story of Gerasim, a poor man looking for a job. One of his friends finds a job for him, but when Gerasim realizes that in the process of getting a new job, someone else is going to get fired and be left with nothing, he decides not to take the job.
One Autumn Night by Maxim Gorky - A man, cold and alone, is comforted by the hugs and kisses of an abused woman.
Her Lover by Maxim Gorky - A woman has people write letters between her and her imaginary lover because she is really lonely.
♥Lazarus by Leonid Andreyev - A chilling story of a man who rose from the dead and inflicted a horrible fate on all who looked into his eyes.
The Revolutionist by Mikhail Artsybashev - A guy watches a bunch of people get executed.
♥The Outrage by Aleksandr Kuprin - A group of thieves tries to convince at group of Jewish lawyers that they are not associated with the recent Jewish pogroms as the newspapers say they do. The story is very clever because at one moment you start to feel like you can trust the thieves, and then...

The collection is available to read online for free thanks to Project Gutenberg.

[Alireza · Rating 4 out of 5]

یک مجموعه‌ داستان‌های کوتاه از نویسندگان روسی که به نظرم گردآورنده انتخاب‌های خوبی برای این مجموعه داشته
من خودم غیر از یکی دوتا داستان که خیلی تمثیلی و خارج از فضای زندگی مردم عادی روسیه بود، بقیه رو واقعا دوست داشتم
داستان‌ها به شکلی هستند که حال و هوای خواننده رو عوض می‌کنند و احساسات رو تحریک می‌کنند، چه میخواد داستان طنز باشه چه تراژیک
بیشتر از همه هم داستان «درخت کریسمس و عروسی» داستایوفسکی برام جالب بود ولی داستان‌هایی که از گوگول، گورکی، چخوف و تولستوی هم اینجا بودن انتخاب‌های خیلی خوبی بودن

[Jordi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indeed these are some of the very best short stories from Russian literature, which I have loved since I was a little girl. Gogol with his wittiness, Chekhov with his brutal satires, and Gorky's beautiful descriptions; it just does not get any better.

I will admit that loving the Russian novel is rather difficult, for it is a commitment that many are not willing to make; you enter into a contract to learn of excruciating detail of each character; some that are of great significance, and some that are merely a trifle and make no effect on the novel. They are long and require a sharp memory, and very very rich vocabulary. The Russian short story though, is so very easy to fall in love with and dedicate a lifelong commitment to. These stories offer social commentary, history, political criticisms, and such beauty in prose, all in a small number of pages bursting with readers' enjoyment.

The Russian short story writer offers you the inside story of those whom you are not; but it isn't a story someone else is telling you about those strangers, no, it is those very strangers telling you their story themselves. Each story is original, organic, and extremely painfully honest to a point that your tears may be jerked out of your sockets. What you will find here, my friend, you will not anywhere else. These stories are sincere and will touch your heart. Don't forget that the Russian writer did not have the luxury of expressing exactly what he thought, being under censorship from one regime or another over centuries, and therefore we get these painful- and weirdly enough, funny- stories, with much a hint about one or two things not clearly stated in the storyline.

I must get my hands on a Gogol and Chekhov short story collections!

Favorite quotes:

"I am not in the position to sacrifice the necessary in the hope of winning the superfluous"

"obeying the praiseworthy custom of attacking those who cannot bite back"

"his snuff box, adorned with the portrait of some general, though what general is unknown, for the place where the face should have been had been rubbed through by the finger and a square bit of paper had been pasted over it."

"make yourself some gaiters out of it, because stockings are not warm. The Germans invented them in order to make more money."

"It is glorious weather, not a breath of wind, clear, and frosty; it is a dark eight, but the whole village, its white roofs and streaks of smoke from the chimneys, the trees silvered with hoar-frost, and the snowdrifts, you can see it all. The sky scintillates with bright twinkling stars, and the Milky Way stands out so clearly that it looks as if it had been polished and rubber over with snow for the holidays..."

"in our present state of culture, hunger of the mind is more quickly satisfied than hunger of the body."

"She was a tallish, powerfully built brunette, with black, bushy eyebrows and a large coarse face as if carved out by a hatchet-- the bestial gleam of her dark eyes, her thick bass voice, her cabman-like gait and her immense muscular vigor, worthy of a fishwife, inspired me with horror."

"and surrounded by darkness and empty waste, man trembled hopelessly before the dread of the Infinite"

[Fahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

گورکی فلسفه ی خوش بینانه ی خود را نسبت به انسان و انسانیت در این داستان به خوبی نشان داده است؛این که انسان ها اگرچه ممکن است سقوط کنند ، اما کمتر انسانیت خود را از دست می دهند و در تنگناهای زندگی به یاری هم می آیند.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection offers a nice variety of writing styles, some of the stories are outstanding

[Trang Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always been fascinated by short stories, and this anthology reinforces my love for this genre even more. I can't think of a short story in this collection that I don't like, except for Dostoevsky's, but I've never been impressed by his dry writing style. Normally "best" is a bit presumptuous, but I don't think the short stories here can get any better, from Gogol's wittiness, Chekhov's wicked satire, Gorky's supreme talent for narrative, Turgenev's humanity to other talented writers I don't know (Garshin, Sologub, Semyonov etc). Yes, Russian stories are gritty and depressing but I don't find it so oppressive. They just go straight to the matter and don't shy from showing the madness of the world they're living in. As said by Murakami, writing a short story is like planting a garden. That means the Russian writers are gardeners at the top of their field.

[Erin!]

My favorites:
Aleksandr Pushkin, “The Queen of Spades” (#1 in the book and in my ranking)
Anton Chekhov, “The Darling”
Anton Chekhov, “The Bet”
Leonid Andreyev, “Lazarus”
Leonid Andreyev, “The Red Laugh”

[Nickolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been the start for my latest infatuation of collections of short stories. I’ve wanted to read Tolstoy but, like most, have been completely intimidated by size of his novels, however Anna Karenina, and War and Peace have been on my to read list since I was in High School. I thought this would be a good introduction to Russian literature and I was definitely right. I find classic Russian writing deliciously grim and depressing at times and after reading the stories with the aid of the Introduction at the beginning of the book, you really understand the psyche of the Russian mind in 18 and 1900’s.

When I was younger I attempted to read Ayn Rands ‘We the Living’ and Upton Sinclair’s ‘The Jungle’ and failed miserably because I was thrown off by all the Slavic names of all the characters. At the time it was hard for me to remember who was who in the stories and I couldn't draw an attachment to them being of such low intelligence at the time. I definitely found this not to be an issue with this collection, mostly probably because they are short stories and therefore have fewer characters and also being in my golden years of life, I’ve become more familiar with various names of the world.

Re-looking through the titles of these stories, apart from maybe Lazarus, which is an interesting idea of Lazarus being risen from the dead, more or less a zombie, depressing everyone he meets, I can’t think of a single one I didn’t like. They are often focussing on the struggle of the common worker, the bureaucrats and the bourgeois lack of appreciation for the common man, peasantry, military brutality, greed and corruption, the non Hollywood happy ending hopelessness in life, death, more death, the dedication and integrity of one’s work. The majority of these having some kind of moral message that I get, but have parables that I may have missed not being Russian in the 1800’s or ever.

From here I find I have found the confidence to press on with more meatier Russian works, but will continue to read various collections of short stories both Russian and not, and make my way into tackling some of the big hitters such as Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Melville, etc. which I've been putting off for so long.

[Saima · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection from the best Russian writers. The stories I enjoyed the most were:
"The Queen of Spades" by Pushkin
"The Cloak" by Gogol
"The Christmas Tree and the Wedding" by Dostoyevsky
"The Signal" by Garshin
"Hide and Seek" by Sologub
"The Bet" by Anton Chekhov
"Dethroned" by Ignatii Potapenko
"Her Lover" by Maxim Gorky

[Bettie]

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13437

[Anna Pouryaghoub · Rating 4 out of 5]

«چه شب‌های بی‌معنی و چه روزهای بی‌حاصل و کسالت‌باری را می‌گذرانیم! قماربازی دیوانه‌وار و پرخوری و مستی و وراجی دائمی و مکرر، کارهای بیهوده و صحبت های هرزه بهترین زمان و بهترین نیروی آدم را تلف می‌کنند و دست آخر زندگی بی‌سر و ته و دست و بال شکسته و مزخرفی را باید گذراند و فرار از آن هم دیگر ممکن نیست و درست مثل این است که باید در تیمارستان یا زندان به سر برد.»
- بانو با سگ ملوس اثر آنتوان چخوف

کتاب را با شگفتی داستان شنل گوگول شروع کردم و آخر با داستان تلخ و شاید کمی امیدوار کننده چجوف به پایان رساندم. از خواندن چنین کتابی به شدت راضی‌ام؛ توانستم با نویسندگان روسی بیشتری که تا به حال حتی اسمشان هم به گوشم نخورده بود، آشنا شوم و چند داستانی نیز باب میل سلیقه بنده بود—اینطور نیست که بقیه را دوست نداشتم، چرا اتفاقا از این وسعت ژانر های مختلف لذت بردم، غمگین شدم، و تحت تاثیر قرار گرفتم.
صادقانه بگویم تنها مشکل کتاب ویرایش متنش است که متاسفانه به خوبی صورت نگرفت؛ متن ترجمه شده خانم جهان بیگلری نیز در بعضی از داستان ها کاملا زیبا و در بعضی دیگر دچار نقص های کوچکی بود که آن چندان قابل توجه نیست. مشکل از انتشارات کوله پشتی هست و در واقع، کتاب بنده قدیمی و چاپ اول آن بوده و امیدوارم که در چاپ های بعد این مشکلات را اصلاح کرده باشند.
در هر حال از تجربه خواندن این کتاب بسیار خوشحالم و حتما به همه پیشنهادش می‌کنم!

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here are 20 of the best Russian short stories, from Pushkin to Bunin. I was finally able to check off some of the stories I've always meant to read but for one reason or another had never actually had a chance to spend time with, like Pushkin's "The Queen of Spades" or Gogol's "The Cloak". I knew the stories going into them, but having not read them previously I was excited by just how poetic they were. Being the first two stories in the collection I knew I had found a great collection. Some authors were new to me entirely (Garshin, Sologub, Potapenko, Semyonov); some authors I had previously read (Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorky); and others I knew by reputation only (Andreyev and Bunin). Pretty impressive collection for anyone studying or interested in Russian literature.

Favorites: "The Cloak" (Gogol), "The Signal" (Garshin) and "Lazarus" (Andreyev).

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book deserves a review, because I would like to point to the fact that a few of the stories were really touching and left a really deep aftereffect. And there were actually many that would deserve 5*.

It's difficult to rate a collection of stories written by different authors because the sentiment varies. As a whole, the book is a great cut through Russian literature. It served as my first touch with the hot blooded, cold minded writers and it helped me to identify a few that I shall discover closer. The strongest appreciation I felt for Cechov's strong and unique characters.

The only aspect I did not feel comfortable with was a gloomy feeling that I felt from each of the stories, every single one. Oh I like you my beautiful, sad friend. But tell me about at least one happy memory of yours.

[Mary Mcclain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really interesting collection of Russian short stories... but read the preface first so you understand why they were selected to show how both literature and the Russian society progressed over this time period. Understanding the context made a big difference to me. Sort of a mini-class on Russian lit.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed collection - I really enjoyed Gogol's "The Cloak", Saltykov's "How a Muzhik Fed Two Officials", and Korolenko's "The Shades, a Phantasy" but disliked Andreyev's "Lazarus" and Artzybashev's "The Revolutionist". The others fell in between. This collection did give me a good sampling of classic Russian authors, including several I had never heard of before.

[Colin Rush · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the stories are very good, there must be something lost in translation, as they are often dry and rambling. Also, this is not a happy book. These stories range from sad irony to outright depressing. Not that it is a bad thing, but don't read this expecting happy endings.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was first published in 1917. It is a collection of some of the best short stories from classic Russian literature. I found the stories interesting and well-worth reading. There is a good range of short stories from well-known Russian writers such as Pushkin, Gogol, Chekhov, Dostoyevsky, and Tolstoy, providing a variety of writing styles.

My favorites were:
The Cloak by Nikolay V. Gogol
The Signal by Vsevolod M. Garshin
The Darling by Anton P. Chekhov
The Servant by S.T. Semyonov
Her Lover by Maxim Gorky

[Maria-Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εκτός από 3 ιστορίες, όλες οι άλλες αριστουργήματα. Αποκορύφωμα ο Λάζαρος.

[Michael Huang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a few classics. But overall, the collection reflects a quaint society some 200 years ago: you know, gambler, people with rigid thoughts etc.

[Ernest · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew very little of Russian literature, and I was very satisfied with this collection of Russian short stories. I now understand why so many authors have cited the realism of Russian writers.

A few of the nineteen stories in the collection really stood out to me, specifically Gogol's "The Cloak [Overcoat:]", Chekhov's "The Bet", Andreyev's "Lazarus", and Artzybashev's "The Revolutionist".

Also, I recommend re-reading the introduction in the beginning of the book after you have read the short stories. The author/translator does a great job of describing the significance of the selections and how they tie together to give readers a survey of Russian literary traditions.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like getting a master's in short stories. All the greats back to back. Interesting to see their writing styles and thoughts laying together in one place, leaning against each other. Tolstoy, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Gorky. And Chekhov and a variety of others I never knew. One of the best World War 1 stories, or fragments of one, by LN Andreyev, and another by him about the revolution. Each one, though different, writes with such clarity and fullness of thought. Their styles are classic and I wonder if anyone can write like that anymore. One of the best Modern Library used book finds I've made. I'll keep this around.

[Abby]

"Best" is a bit presumptuous, I'd say, but these are certainly all fantastic stories.

I've heard tell of the fundamental depression in the Russian author's psyche, but I don't find it so oppressive. They just go straight to the heart of the matter and ask, "Why?" At the close of the Russian imperial period, they had several good reasons to wonder what the hell the world had come to.

Favorites are hard to choose, but I found "Lazarus" the most fascinating, "Queen of Spades" the most amusing, "Vanka" most beautiful, and "One Autumn Night" just sticks with you.

[Santanu Dutta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a superb compilation of good classic Russian literature short stories and short novels. I already have put reviews on three that I read as small books. The Overcoat, The Queen Of Spades, and Christmas Tree and a Wedding. This collection bears stories even surpassing the styles and humanity as,we see in Queen if Spades and Christmas Tree.
I should define my best fav sequence as under.
1. Hide and Seek by Sologub 5x
2. The Darling by Chekhov 5x
3. One Autumn Night by Gorky 5x
4. Her lover by Gorky 4.5 x
5. The Overcoat by Gogol 5x

[Suzanne Auckerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Downloaded this book from Gutenberg Press--that such a great site. While I had read many of these stories before, they were so much more meaningful after being there, seeing their museums, the monuments, churches and parks. The Russian people endure. They love their country, but their expectations for personal happiness are low. They enjoy the good times and know they will have to endure the bad. Several times I heard people say we know the low oil price will hurt the economy as well as the economic sanctions. We will get through it.

[manyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

stories I've enjoyed so far:

The Cloak by Nikolai Gogol
The District Doctor by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev
The Christmas Tree and the Wedding by Fyodor Dostoevsky - the writing was rather dry, although I do think it just might be the little things lost in translation
God Sees the Truth, but Waits by Leo Tolstoy
The Shades, a Phantasy by Vladimir G. Korolenko - story was kind of bland, but it raised some thought-provoking questions
The Bet by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
Dethroned by I.N. Potapenko
Lazarus by Leonid Andreyev
The Revolutionist by Mikhail Artsybashev
The Outrage by Aleksandr Kuprin

[Manuj Khurana]

I am a fan of classic russian literature and this collection further reinforced my love for it.If you haven't been exposed yet, this is the best collection to get a flavor. Features almost all the big wigs of Russian literary scene. For my spiritual inclination, loved 'God knows the truth, but waits' by Tolstoy the most. However, its hard to discount any of the stories - each riveted me with its unique style and plot.

[Kseniya Melnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got my copy from a used bookstore in Homer, Alaska; it's from 1925 (the Modern Library). The original copyright is by Boni & Liveright, Inc., from 1917. The introduction by Seltzer is great, and so is the selection of stories. Leonid Andreyev's "The Red Laugh" is mind-blowing. And-not least importantly-the book has that great old book smell! Love it.