biblioprotasis

Russian Literature: Short Stories and Novellas

An introduction to classic and modern-classic Russian authors.

Marya Gavrilovna is a beautiful young woman, whose heart many men try to conquer, although she is in love with Vladimir Nikolayevitch. Since her parents do not approve of this match, the young couple decides to elope, arranging a secret meeting at a church. While Marya successfully arrives at her destination, Vladimir is caught in a savage blizzard and gets lost. In the meantime, Burmin, a military officer who has also got lost, enters the church to seek shelter and a curious twist takes place, changing everyone’s lives.

(From the collection: Tales of Belkin and Short Stories of Pushkin)

Cecily is a young lady raised within the confining rim of high society, unaware of anything that does not belong to her sphere. Her mother, Vera, feels very proud of her daughter’s stern upbringing, although she rarely questions her emotional needs. Through their acquaintances’ manipulation and social intentions, Cecily is driven into a marital commitment sooner than she expected and lives in between two worlds: her everyday life duties within the artificial, comme il faut framework, and the yearnings of her soul, where she connects with her deeper self.

Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin is a clerk, determined to save money to replace his old, ragged coat with a new, warmer one. When he finally possesses it, not only is he able to properly protect himself from the sharp Eastern cold, but he also notices a change in the previous abusive behaviour of his co-workers towards him—he feels more accepted, he is perceived differently. He is even invited to a social gathering, after which an unfortunate event brings him back to reality and validates the social shallowness he has already noticed around him.

(From the collection: Petersburg Tales and The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol)

Gerasim is a born deaf and mute serf who has been relocated from the countryside to the main estate of his mistress in Moscow to serve as a porter. Although his appearance is stout, strong, and nobody likes messing with him, his heart is pure and his soul sensitive. After the woman he is in love with is taken away, he finds consolation in the little puppy he rescues and calls Mumu. Gerasim does not feel alone anymore after having gained the dog’s friendship. However, his mistress has her own saying about it…  

We follow a young man who lives mostly in the realm of his dreams and fantasies, suffering from loneliness. One night, while walking back to his apartment, he sees a young woman crying near the river bank. Although his first attempt to make sure she is alright fails, eventually they get to meet, and find in each other’s company a deep and pure understanding. Their meetings are a treasure to him, but who can say how long a dream lasts, when reality is about to knock at the door? 

Pakhom lives with his family in the Russian countryside and he is a peasant. A discussion between his wife and her sister leads him to think that if he was to have enough land to feel economically sufficient, he would not be afraid of anything, “not even of the Devil!” Thus, begins for him a cycle of infinite seeking, expansion and greed, constantly trying to reach the unattainable illusion of material success.

Two friends, Burkin and Ivan, are conversing about reserved and solitary people, when Burking remembers the story of his co-worker Byelikov, and begins narrating it to his friend: Byelikov is a man who follows the rules to the letter and expects others to do the same. He is terrified just by the idea of committing an error and, even more, of it being discovered by the authorities. These fears lead him to live a repressed and isolated life created by self-imposed limitations that never get challenged by his social environment.

(From the collection: The Little Trilogy and The Collected Stories of Anton Chekhov)

The eccentric young lady Lyalya is spending her summer in the province of Smolensk, where she gathers with other young people. One evening, the youngest boy of the group, Tolya, narrates a folklore legend, according to which anyone who spends the night in the mill turns into a dog. Tolya, in order to prove his love for Lyalya, decides to do it. Later on, when the Civil War paints reality with its own brutal colors, Lyalya remembers this story—which somehow reproduces itself—seeking help to escape sociopolitical consequences.

(From the collection: Subtly Worded)

Ilya Borisovich Tal is a Russian émigré in Berlin, and he is a writer—or at least perceives himself as one. After showing to his acquaintance Euphratski bits of a romantic novel he is working on, the latter persuades him to publish it by directing him to the “right” people. Tal follows the advice of his friend and finally sends the completed manuscript to an émigré magazine in Paris. However, since the magazine needs financial support for future publications, Tal decides to fund his work and eventually gets his first chapter published, although not under the expected conditions.

(From the collection: A Russian Beauty and Other Stories, and The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov)

Alexandra Evgenievna reflects upon her wasted youth, remembering fragments from her childhood and the following years: growing up in Russia, during a period of high instability, terror, and pain, life for her and her family becomes equally precarious, with their only goal being having enough food to survive the day. The friendship and safety she once found in her sister Ariadna slowly fades away, due to their age gap and each one’s disposition. Eventually, Alexandra, alongside her widowed father, seeks exile in Paris, where she lives with her aunt and works to support them.

(From the collection: The Ladies from St. Petersburg)

Note: No AI was used to write this post.