Best Russian Literature (512 books)

For more specific lists, see:
Greatest Russian Novels of All Time
Best Russian (Soviet 1917-1991) Literature
Best Post-WWII Soviet Lit
Best Books by Russian Female Writers

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All Votes Add Books To This List

1	Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.29 avg rating — 1,073,669 ratings score: 95,092, and 962 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.39 avg rating — 384,470 ratings score: 70,626, and 717 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 4.10 avg rating — 928,320 ratings score: 66,740, and 680 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov 4.28 avg rating — 418,155 ratings score: 61,589, and 629 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 4.17 avg rating — 364,914 ratings score: 53,836, and 551 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.21 avg rating — 216,273 ratings score: 37,010, and 384 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 3.87 avg rating — 942,407 ratings score: 32,969, and 341 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol 3.98 avg rating — 95,990 ratings score: 24,257, and 256 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Notes from Underground, White Nights, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, and Selections from The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.19 avg rating — 78,469 ratings score: 23,674, and 247 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin 4.10 avg rating — 70,653 ratings score: 22,879, and 240 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 100,902 ratings score: 20,217, and 216 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak 4.01 avg rating — 102,771 ratings score: 18,288, and 195 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy 4.14 avg rating — 221,380 ratings score: 18,067, and 192 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov 4.11 avg rating — 64,074 ratings score: 17,863, and 190 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 3.98 avg rating — 124,829 ratings score: 17,057, and 181 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov 4.37 avg rating — 31,979 ratings score: 15,894, and 168 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.31 avg rating — 62,402 ratings score: 14,479, and 155 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov 4.08 avg rating — 71,974 ratings score: 13,849, and 147 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	We by Yevgeny Zamyatin 3.88 avg rating — 112,035 ratings score: 12,877, and 138 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov 4.14 avg rating — 42,560 ratings score: 11,635, and 126 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky 3.91 avg rating — 119,703 ratings score: 10,013, and 111 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	The Twelve Chairs by Ilya Ilf 4.39 avg rating — 24,432 ratings score: 9,272, and 102 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	The Overcoat and Other Short Stories by Nikolai Gogol 4.19 avg rating — 12,526 ratings score: 9,103, and 100 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov 3.69 avg rating — 45,215 ratings score: 8,685, and 96 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol 4.15 avg rating — 51,145 ratings score: 8,651, and 95 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 4.33 avg rating — 34,591 ratings score: 7,672, and 83 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	The Seagull by Anton Chekhov 3.91 avg rating — 37,982 ratings score: 7,291, and 81 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	And Quiet Flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov 4.11 avg rating — 13,208 ratings score: 6,594, and 73 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 4.26 avg rating — 17,550 ratings score: 6,169, and 68 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	The Queen of Spades and Other Stories by Alexander Pushkin 4.09 avg rating — 9,311 ratings score: 6,144, and 69 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	Diary of a Madman and Other Stories by Nikolai Gogol 4.07 avg rating — 22,313 ratings score: 5,995, and 67 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy 4.17 avg rating — 28,229 ratings score: 5,920, and 66 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova by Anna Akhmatova 4.42 avg rating — 7,541 ratings score: 5,711, and 64 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy 3.86 avg rating — 35,430 ratings score: 5,685, and 64 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	The Captain's Daughter by Alexander Pushkin 3.85 avg rating — 28,187 ratings score: 5,502, and 64 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	The Complete Short Novels by Anton Chekhov 4.47 avg rating — 11,882 ratings score: 5,428, and 61 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman 4.46 avg rating — 15,377 ratings score: 5,182, and 56 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.05 avg rating — 35,618 ratings score: 5,081, and 57 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov 3.86 avg rating — 31,114 ratings score: 5,057, and 58 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov 3.71 avg rating — 24,266 ratings score: 4,845, and 56 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	The Nose by Catherine Cowan (Retold by) 3.95 avg rating — 14,054 ratings score: 4,569, and 54 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	The Double by Fyodor Dostoevsky 3.67 avg rating — 43,015 ratings score: 4,553, and 53 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	My Childhood by Maxim Gorky 4.09 avg rating — 9,087 ratings score: 4,444, and 51 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol by Nikolai Gogol 4.35 avg rating — 15,322 ratings score: 4,424, and 51 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin 3.91 avg rating — 16,253 ratings score: 4,378, and 52 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Mother by Maxim Gorky 3.97 avg rating — 19,016 ratings score: 4,060, and 47 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky 4.12 avg rating — 86,529 ratings score: 4,030, and 46 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	Moscow to the End of the Line by Venedikt Erofeev 4.03 avg rating — 13,031 ratings score: 3,852, and 43 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	Selected Poems by Marina Tsvetaeva 4.31 avg rating — 7,073 ratings score: 3,728, and 44 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 16,121 ratings score: 3,365, and 40 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.17 avg rating — 226,439 ratings score: 3,182, and 35 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	Petersburg by Andrei Bely 3.98 avg rating — 5,702 ratings score: 3,169, and 35 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol 3.73 avg rating — 14,481 ratings score: 2,987, and 36 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.03 avg rating — 40,916 ratings score: 2,926, and 33 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	Sketches from a Hunter's Album by Ivan Turgenev 3.96 avg rating — 9,040 ratings score: 2,916, and 35 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	Ward No. 6 and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov 4.30 avg rating — 11,397 ratings score: 2,910, and 35 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	Night Watch (Watch, #1) by Sergei Lukyanenko 3.97 avg rating — 45,156 ratings score: 2,859, and 32 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.07 avg rating — 336,224 ratings score: 2,837, and 33 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	Hadji Murád by Leo Tolstoy 3.85 avg rating — 15,338 ratings score: 2,589, and 30 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
60	First Love and Other Stories by Ivan Turgenev 4.11 avg rating — 2,275 ratings score: 2,543, and 32 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	The First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 4.26 avg rating — 10,189 ratings score: 2,524, and 30 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
62	Childhood, Boyhood, Youth by Leo Tolstoy 3.90 avg rating — 9,598 ratings score: 2,415, and 30 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
63	Village Evenings Near Dikanka and Mirgorod by Nikolai Gogol 4.19 avg rating — 14,883 ratings score: 2,390, and 30 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
64	The Tale of Tsar Saltan by Alexander Pushkin 4.22 avg rating — 8,316 ratings score: 2,316, and 28 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
65	Poor Folk by Fyodor Dostoevsky 3.77 avg rating — 39,095 ratings score: 2,288, and 29 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
66	Inspector and Other Plays (Applause Books) by Nikolai Gogol 4.26 avg rating — 692 ratings score: 2,263, and 28 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
67	Горе от ума by Alexander Griboyedov 4.14 avg rating — 16,743 ratings score: 2,252, and 26 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
68	The Foundation Pit by Andrei Platonov 3.78 avg rating — 6,402 ratings score: 2,235, and 26 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
69	Children of the Arbat (Arbat Tetralogy, #1) by Anatoly Rybakov 4.22 avg rating — 4,678 ratings score: 2,034, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
70	The Selected Poems by Osip Mandelstam 4.24 avg rating — 2,338 ratings score: 1,933, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
71	The Collected Stories by Alexander Pushkin 4.24 avg rating — 4,293 ratings score: 1,895, and 25 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
72	The Eternal Husband and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.15 avg rating — 2,763 ratings score: 1,854, and 23 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
73	The Slynx by Tatyana Tolstaya 3.81 avg rating — 5,634 ratings score: 1,752, and 21 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
74	The Collected Poems by Sergei Yesenin 4.31 avg rating — 5,228 ratings score: 1,710, and 22 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
75	The Insulted and Humiliated by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.25 avg rating — 24,476 ratings score: 1,706, and 21 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
76	August 1914 (The Red Wheel, #1) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 3.94 avg rating — 2,821 ratings score: 1,671, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
77	Золотой теленок by Ilya Ilf 4.43 avg rating — 9,236 ratings score: 1,662, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
78	The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years by Chingiz Aitmatov 4.33 avg rating — 8,292 ratings score: 1,628, and 21 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
79	Home of the Gentry by Ivan Turgenev 3.92 avg rating — 5,582 ratings score: 1,613, and 21 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
80	The Sebastopol Sketches by Leo Tolstoy 3.85 avg rating — 3,773 ratings score: 1,588, and 23 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
81	The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel by Isaac Babel 4.21 avg rating — 2,646 ratings score: 1,583, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
82	Buddha's Little Finger by Victor Pelevin 4.27 avg rating — 8,659 ratings score: 1,535, and 17 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
83	Five Plays: Ivanov / The Seagull / Uncle Vanya / The Three Sisters / The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov 4.17 avg rating — 6,793 ratings score: 1,504, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
84	Envy by Yury Olesha 3.69 avg rating — 3,980 ratings score: 1,490, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
85	How the Steel Was Tempered by Nikolai Ostrovsky 3.88 avg rating — 5,006 ratings score: 1,488, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
86	Today I Wrote Nothing: The Selected Writings by Daniil Kharms 4.28 avg rating — 2,432 ratings score: 1,479, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
87	Cursed Days: Diary of a Revolution by Ivan Bunin 4.19 avg rating — 1,509 ratings score: 1,440, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
88	What Is to Be Done? by Nikolai Chernyshevsky 3.55 avg rating — 3,214 ratings score: 1,364, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
89	Peter the First by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy 4.17 avg rating — 2,371 ratings score: 1,335, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
90	Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov 3.92 avg rating — 19,931 ratings score: 1,332, and 15 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
91	The Luzhin Defense by Vladimir Nabokov 3.94 avg rating — 15,998 ratings score: 1,329, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
92	Selected Poems by Alexander Blok 4.28 avg rating — 1,474 ratings score: 1,325, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
92	Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov 4.36 avg rating — 8,560 ratings score: 1,325, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
94	The Life of Insects by Victor Pelevin 3.85 avg rating — 4,811 ratings score: 1,271, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
95	Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov 4.17 avg rating — 57,406 ratings score: 1,224, and 14 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
96	The Enchanted Wanderer: Selected Tales by Nikolai Leskov 3.78 avg rating — 3,108 ratings score: 1,217, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
97	Ruslan and Ludmila by Alexander Pushkin 4.08 avg rating — 7,415 ratings score: 1,214, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
98	Diary of a Superfluous Man by Ivan Turgenev 3.85 avg rating — 4,223 ratings score: 1,170, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
99	The Bedbug and Selected Poetry by Vladimir Mayakovsky 4.20 avg rating — 3,093 ratings score: 1,148, and 14 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
100	The Four Major Plays: The Seagull / Uncle Vanya / Three Sisters / Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov 4.12 avg rating — 3,392 ratings score: 1,144, and 15 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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512 books · 2,277 voters · list created June 26th, 2008 by Heather (votes) .

Tags: author-by-country, classic, fiction, literary-fiction, location, russian, setting

1278 likes · Like

Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.

People Who Voted On This List (2277)

Heather 966 books
164 friends

Ashley 1571 books
42 friends

Robert 2010 books
27 friends

Kate 192 books
13 friends

Muphyn 3588 books
53 friends

Naomi 848 books
42 friends

Reader2007 3666 books
0 friends

Al- 677 books
66 friends

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Comments Showing 1-50 of 59 (59 new)

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message 1: by Bettie (last edited Mar 06, 2009 07:28AM) (new)

Mar 06, 2009 02:14AM

Here lies a difficult task, just how can one grade these one above another. I give the one's I have selected all joint first and would wish to re-read them all.

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message 2: by Deirdre (new)

Jul 22, 2009 04:08PM

Oops! I clicked a wrong work by mistake, Timon of Athens. I deleted it from my votes but it's still showing on the main list with zero votes. Is there any way of removing it entirely? Help!

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message 3: by Bettie (new)

Jul 23, 2009 04:51AM

It will drop to the bottom, if not entirely, within time - no worries.

:O)

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message 4: by Brianna (last edited Aug 25, 2009 02:28PM) (new)

Aug 25, 2009 02:28PM

Best list(opia) ever. Everything I haven't already read (or re-read) is going on my library list.

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message 5: by Pavel (new)

Sep 23, 2009 05:22AM

We need some votes for great russian poets of XX century, they are too underrated

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message 6: by David (new)

Oct 11, 2009 11:10AM

Lolita isn't really Russian if it was first written in English...right?

I guess it qualifies because Nabokov was Russian, but I'm still hesitant to call it "Russian".

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message 7: by Pavel (last edited Oct 12, 2009 02:06PM) (new)

Oct 12, 2009 02:05PM

David wrote: "Lolita isn't really Russian if it was first written in English...right?

I guess it qualifies because Nabokov was Russian, but I'm still hesitant to call it "Russian"."

You're right at large, David - originally it was written in English, BUT "Lolita" can be treated as "Russian" not because Nabokov was Russian, but because he, Nabokov "translated" himself the novel into Russian. In the case when a writer "transalates" his own book into his own native language it's safe to say the book was written twice in 2 languages. We read this "translation" here.(by the way "Lolita" was THE ONLY English novel of him which he "translated" into Russian himself. It shall be clear that he couldn't have any hope whatsoever at his time that this book will ever be published in his homeland)

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message 8: by Kasia (new)

Oct 12, 2009 02:15PM

Interesting...

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message 9: by [deleted user] (new)

Jul 03, 2010 09:02PM

Excellent list and am proud to have read many of these brilliant works.

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message 10: by Mystee (new)

Jul 28, 2010 08:21PM

This list has inspired me to work my way through this list of top Russian Lit...I'll be tracking my progress on my book blog. Looks like War and Peace is my first one to tackle :) Thanks for an awesome list

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message 11: by Frances Marley (new)

Aug 13, 2010 06:24AM

SUPERLATIVE

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message 12: by Capsguy (new)

Mar 08, 2011 03:12AM

There are only so many left for me to read unfortunately :(

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message 13: by umar (new)

Apr 05, 2012 09:00AM

you can rate a book on its influence on society and people.
this is how to rate books.
it always comes down to being scientific, some people enjoy this and some enjoy that you can never come to a conclusion but by setting a scale as i have mentioned above one can achieve some result as to whcih book is the best book.

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message 14: by Lisa (new)

Jul 08, 2012 04:26PM

I think War and Peace is in twice, once near the top of page 1 and then again on page 2. Different editions?

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message 15: by Lisa (new)

Jul 08, 2012 04:32PM

Lolita is in the list twice too.

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message 16: by Rahul Nath (new)

Nov 21, 2012 05:51AM

Crime and Punishment wins!! Crime and Punishment wins!! Raskolnikov is the most compelling character I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

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message 17: by Alan (new)

Jan 26, 2013 08:05AM

Lisa wrote: "Lolita is in the list twice too."

Chekhov short stories, more than twice--of course, only a small number (of a shelfload) of his short stories are translated.

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message 18: by Anna (new)

Feb 08, 2013 05:24PM

Deleted: A Clockwork Orange

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message 19: by Nermin (new)

Mar 28, 2013 07:33AM

Some of the authors in this aren't really Russian. I guess they are in this list because they wrote their books in Russian?

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message 20: by Saad (new)

Sep 06, 2013 09:41PM

Simply:
Amazing !

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message 21: by Innokis (new)

Mar 24, 2014 04:05PM

PAn Tadeusz - Polish one

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message 22: by [deleted user] (new)

Mar 28, 2014 05:09AM

Lisa wrote: "I think War and Peace is in twice, once near the top of page 1 and then again on page 2. Different editions?"

Different translations

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message 23: by Manray9 (last edited May 20, 2014 03:33PM) (new)

Apr 23, 2014 04:45PM

I am an admirer of Victor Serge, but his books on this list were written in French. In my opinion Russian literature must be written in Russian.

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message 24: by Alan (new)

Apr 24, 2014 12:28AM

I would agree, if one-fifth of War and Peace were not in French!

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message 25: by Jason (new)

May 20, 2014 12:40PM

Alan wrote: "I would agree, if one-fifth of War and Peace were not in French!"

Good point, currently reading war and peace and think it is quite strange there is so much talking in French seeing as they are at war with France.

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message 26: by Jason (new)

May 20, 2014 12:41PM

This is a great list. Gonna enjoy working through these.

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message 27: by Alan (new)

May 20, 2014 12:51PM

Jason wrote: "Alan wrote: "I would agree, if one-fifth of War and Peace were not in French!"

Good point, currently reading war and peace and think it is quite strange there is so much talking in French seeing a..."
Well, I once wrote a piece for the NYT Book Review (tho' not printed, the editor complimented--they'd published my guest Safire, linked on my website, www.habitableworlds.com --lower L): I compared Russia's independence from France--the lang of their aristocracy--with the US independence from England, the language of ours! I argued that 19C Russian and American novels have more in common--vast country, religious wanderers, individuality--than American and English (always about social position and class). You must recall that Russia depended on France for so much--their ballet (Bolshoi still tops), their language of aristocrats and government service, etc. But their lit was largely independent of France. Pushkin, closer to Byron than the Fr masters.

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message 28: by Jason (new)

May 20, 2014 01:30PM

From what I have read so far it does seem to be a class thing, something I never knew, I'm new to Russian lit. Only on my second book.

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message 29: by Karim (new)

Nov 28, 2014 09:46AM

great russian literature audiobooks pdf and epub format see more here:http://classicalnovels.blogspot.com/

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message 30: by Jason (new)

Dec 14, 2014 12:06PM

Haha, duel citizenship?

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message 31: by Paul (new)

Jan 25, 2015 06:31AM

Checked for duplicates: 3 books removed.

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message 32: by Paul (new)

Jan 25, 2015 06:54AM

Removed: #96 Absurdistan - author American, book written in English: #208 The Fixer - author American, book written in English; #251 The Freedom of Choice - author Polish/Australian, book written in English; and four novels (#242, #251, #259, #263) by Martin Cruz Smith - author American, books written in English.

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message 33: by Paul (new)

Jan 25, 2015 07:03AM

Removed four undetected duplicates.

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message 34: by Thomas (last edited Apr 29, 2015 07:14AM) (new)

Apr 29, 2015 07:14AM

A lot of non-Russian books on this list:

Vladimir Nabokov – Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov – Pnin
Vladimir Nabokov – Speak, Memory
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Vladimir Nabokov – Ada
Vladimir Nabokov - The Real Life of Sebastian Knight
Vladimir Nabokov – Lectures on Literature
Vladimir Nabokov – Signs and Symbols
Andrei Makine – Dreams of My Russian Summers
Andrei Makine – Once Upon the River Love
Andrei Makine – The Crime of Olga Arbyelina
Andrei Makine – The Woman Who Waited
Andrei Makine – Requiem for Lost Empire
Victor Serge – Unforgiving Years
Victor Serge – The Case of Comrade Tulayev
Victor Serge – Conquered City
Joseph Brodsky – Watermark
Adam Mickiewicz – Pan Tadeusz
Jostein Gaarder – Sophie’s World
Paulo Coelho – The Alchemist
Richard Wurmbrand – Tortured for Christ
Daphne Kalotay – Russian Winter
Mikhail Naimy – The Book of Mirdad
Karl Emil Franzos – Leib Weihnachtskuchen and His Child
Alina Bronsky – Broken Glass Park

None of these books was written in Russian.

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message 35: by Manray9 (new)

Apr 29, 2015 07:22AM

Thomas wrote: "A lot of non-Russian books on this list:

Vladimir Nabokov – Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov – Pnin
Vladimir Nabokov – Speak, Memory
Vladimir Nabokov – Pale Fire
Vladimir Nabokov – Ada
Vladimir Nabokov - T..."

It's a recurrent problem with these lists. I don't know if members just can't resist the urge to add something to the list or if they're simply ignorant.

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message 36: by Gregory (new)

Dec 01, 2015 11:15AM

My soul has fallen into the trap of loving Russian literature or at least the translation of Russian Literature. If only I could read it in Russian but this probably will remain a wish. But there is such a heart and passion in Russian Lit, that I could only hope our American Authors can find a way to tap into the source. I think that Latin American writers have taped into the same source of passion.

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message 37: by Gregory (new)

Dec 01, 2015 11:17AM

Alan wrote: "Jason wrote: "Alan wrote: "I would agree, if one-fifth of War and Peace were not in French!"

Good point, currently reading war and peace and think it is quite strange there is so much talking in F..."

I agree with Alan's assessment. The United States and Russia were on the frontier from the center winch was more Paris than London. I came away with this since from the book "Young Pushkin."

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message 38: by Luke (new)

Dec 04, 2015 09:42PM

Those who think they're complementing nonfiction by calling it the 'best literature': stop.

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message 39: by Zuzi (last edited Feb 27, 2016 11:44PM) (new)

Feb 27, 2016 11:34PM

Romanul adolescentului miop by Mircea Eliade
Amintiri: Eminescu, Creanga, Caragiale, Cosbuc, Maiorescu by Ioan Slavici
Suflet românesc by Dan Puric
„Procesul” Mareșalului Ion Antonescu by Ioan Dan
Pădurea spânzuraţilor by Liviu Rebreanu

not Russsian please take it off the list

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message 40: by Alan (new)

Feb 28, 2016 03:34AM

Deirdre wrote: "Oops! I clicked a wrong work by mistake, Timon of Athens. I deleted it from my votes but it's still showing on the main list with zero votes. Is there any way of removing it entirely? Help!"

Dunno, but maybe you can rename: Timon of Aleksandrov...

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message 41: by Xinyu (last edited Aug 08, 2016 05:35AM) (new)

Aug 08, 2016 05:35AM

My goal would be to read most of the first 100 books on the list

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message 42: by Quimby (new)

Dec 02, 2016 06:39PM

Pavel wrote: "We need some votes for great russian poets of XX century, they are too underrated"

suggestions?

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message 43: by Nente (new)

Apr 10, 2017 06:27AM

Added to the list description some links to more specific lists of Russian literature. I hope it's all right with you Heather.

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message 44: by Privada (last edited Feb 09, 2018 07:10PM) (new)

Feb 09, 2018 06:38PM

Added the Nobel prize winning author, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn's powerful book, '200 Years Together'. It was only very recently translated. Some are saying that it has been suppressed since he wrote it, and I have to somewhat have to agree. It takes a serious look into the relationship between the Russians and the Jews. A MUST read for anyone that loves Russian history, and that is told as honestly as his epic 'The Gulag Archipelagos'. Equally as brilliant in every respect.

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message 45: by Agnieszka (new)

May 08, 2018 07:48AM

Richard Wurmbrand: Tortured for Christ according to his bio information he's Romanian though he studied for less than one year in Russia and Romania was occupied several year by Russia.
At the end of the bio is said '...2006, he came fifth among the greatest Romanians...'

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message 46: by Agnieszka (last edited May 08, 2018 07:50AM) (new)

May 08, 2018 07:50AM

Monicaaa wrote: "Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz should not be on this list. He was Lithuanian/Polish. Although he was living in Poland occupied by the Russians, that does not qualify him for this list."

Since Pan Tadeusz is one of the most important Polish works and part of the Polish school education I agree.

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message 47: by Zuzi (new)

May 09, 2018 12:20AM

Agnieszka wrote: "Richard Wurmbrand: Tortured for Christ according to his bio information he's Romanian though he studied for less than one year in Russia and Romania was occupied several..."

i`m sorry the way you are expressing yourself is very confusing, he is Romanian, he was born in Romania so he should not be on this list it does not matter where he studied or what occupation the country was under

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message 48: by Zina (last edited Sep 07, 2020 01:17AM) (new)

Sep 07, 2020 01:15AM

Nermin wrote: "Some of the authors in this aren't really Russian. I guess they are in this list because they wrote their books in Russian?"
I mean... Yeah? You don't have to pass some sort of blood purity test for Russianness to be a major contributor to the body of the Russian literature, I think. So Aitmatov is rightfully in there and so is Babel.
That being said there are several Polish etc. authors that are in there by mistake. And as far as Nabokov is concerned - could be debated.

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message 49: by Noel (last edited May 04, 2022 01:46AM) (new)

May 04, 2022 01:28AM

Serge’s books obviously make sense because of their content, but it honestly hurts to see Lolita at number 7.

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message 50: by Manray9 (new)

May 04, 2022 07:28AM

Noel wrote: "Serge’s books obviously make sense because of their content, but it honestly hurts to see Lolita at number 7."

Lolita was written in English and hence is not Russian literature.

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