Best Russian Literature
1 Crime and Punishment
by
4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 192,582 ratings
2 The Brothers Karamazov
by
4.26 of 5 stars 4.26 avg rating — 78,630 ratings
3 Anna Karenina
by
3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 184,106 ratings
4 The Master and Margarita
by
4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 60,722 ratings
5 War and Peace
by
4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 79,050 ratings
6 The Idiot
by
4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 38,191 ratings
7 Lolita
by
3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 285,361 ratings
8 Notes from Underground
by
4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 39,964 ratings
9 Dead Souls
by
3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 19,827 ratings
10 Eugene Onegin
by
4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 14,861 ratings
11 Fathers and Sons
by
3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 21,243 ratings
12 One Day in the Life of Ivan...
by
3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 36,709 ratings
13 Doctor Zhivago
by
3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 31,104 ratings
14 A Hero of Our Time
by
4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 11,075 ratings
15 Selected Stories
by
4.33 of 5 stars 4.33 avg rating — 10,992 ratings
16 The Death of Ivan Ilych
by
3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 21,505 ratings
17 We
by
3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 18,775 ratings
18 Demons
by
4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 11,011 ratings
19 Heart of a Dog
by
4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 9,155 ratings
20 The Overcoat and Other Shor...
by
4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 4,554 ratings
21 Oblomov
by
3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 6,715 ratings
22 The Cherry Orchard
by
3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 avg rating — 10,562 ratings
23 The Gulag Archipelago 1918-...
by
4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 6,246 ratings
24 The Gambler
by
3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 11,332 ratings
25 The Overcoat
by
4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 4,084 ratings
26 The Twelve Chairs
by
4.43 of 5 stars 4.43 avg rating — 5,197 ratings
27 Quiet Flows the Don
by
3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 3,388 ratings
28 The Queen of Spades and Oth...
by
4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 2,247 ratings
29 Cancer Ward
by
4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 4,812 ratings
30 Diary of a Madman and Other...
by
4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 3,921 ratings
31 The Complete Short Novels
by
4.45 of 5 stars 4.45 avg rating — 3,647 ratings
32 The Seagull
by
3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 8,902 ratings
33 Uncle Vanya
by
3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 5,494 ratings
34 The Collected Tales of Niko...
by
4.35 of 5 stars 4.35 avg rating — 4,087 ratings
35 The Kreutzer Sonata
by
3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 5,000 ratings
36 The Complete Poems
by
4.42 of 5 stars 4.42 avg rating — 2,339 ratings
37 Moscow to the End of the Line
by
4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 1,971 ratings
38 Resurrection
by
3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 4,612 ratings
39 The Nose
by
4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 3,702 ratings
40 The Double
by
3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 2,509 ratings
41 My Childhood
by
3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 1,488 ratings
42 The Captain's Daughter
by
3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 4,083 ratings
43 Night Watch (Watch, #1)
by
3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 14,738 ratings
44 The Three Sisters
by
3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 5,842 ratings
45 Tales of Belkin
by
4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 828 ratings
46 The House of the Dead
by
3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 4,437 ratings
47 Sketches from a Hunter's Album
by
3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 1,951 ratings
48 Mother
by
3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 3,372 ratings
49 Pnin
by
3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 6,960 ratings
50 Roadside Picnic
by
4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 6,934 ratings
51 Selected Poems
by
4.38 of 5 stars 4.38 avg rating — 1,544 ratings
52 The White Guard
by
4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 3,081 ratings
53 The Foundation Pit
by
3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 973 ratings
54 Hadji Murad
by
3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 2,008 ratings
55 Life And Fate
by
4.46 of 5 stars 4.46 avg rating — 1,854 ratings
56 The First Circle
by
4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 2,896 ratings
57 Petersburg
by
4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 1,353 ratings
58 The Selected Poems
by
4.38 of 5 stars 4.38 avg rating — 650 ratings
59 Ward No. 6 and Other Storie...
by
4.31 of 5 stars 4.31 avg rating — 2,430 ratings
60 The Tale of Tsar Saltan
by
4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 2,067 ratings
61 The Eternal Husband and Oth...
by
4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 923 ratings
62 Inspector and Other Plays
by
4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 199 ratings
63 Village Evenings Near Dikan...
by
4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 2,462 ratings
64 Childhood; Boyhood; Youth
by
3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 2,260 ratings
65 The Collected Poems
by
4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 949 ratings
66 Peter the First
by
4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 456 ratings
67 Poor Folk
by
3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 2,404 ratings
68 Home of the Gentry
by
3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 638 ratings
69 Envy
by
3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 802 ratings
70 Cursed Days: Diary of a Rev...
by
4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 120 ratings
71 The Day Lasts More Than a H...
by
4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 862 ratings
72 Asya/First Love
by
3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 2,641 ratings
73 The Bedbug and Selected Poetry
by
4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 910 ratings
74 August 1914: The Red Wheel - I
by
3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 867 ratings
75 The Shooting Party
by
3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 219 ratings
76 Taras Bulba
by
3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 2,405 ratings
77 Children of the Arbat (Arba...
by
4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 968 ratings
78 Farewell to Matyora
by
3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 avg rating — 134 ratings
79 The Collected Stories
by
4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 avg rating — 455 ratings
80 The Life of Insects
by
3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 1,178 ratings
81 Five Plays: Ivanov / The Se...
by
4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 2,421 ratings
82 The Enchanted Wanderer: Sel...
by
4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 290 ratings
83 Selected Poems
by
4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 259 ratings
84 Dreams of My Russian Summers
by
3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 939 ratings
85 What Is to Be Done?
by
3.28 of 5 stars 3.28 avg rating — 490 ratings
86 The Gentleman from San Fran...
by
3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 372 ratings
87 The Sebastopol Sketches
by
3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 412 ratings
88 The Slynx
by
3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 898 ratings
89 Today I Wrote Nothing: The ...
by
4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 avg rating — 459 ratings
90 The Collected Stories of Is...
by
4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 1,010 ratings
91 Two Captains
by
4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 434 ratings
92 The Four Major Plays: The S...
by
4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 848 ratings
93 Plays
by
3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 71 ratings
94 The Dream of a Ridiculous Man
by
4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 1,416 ratings
95 How the Steel Was Tempered
by
3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 avg rating — 476 ratings
96 Absurdistan
by
3.26 of 5 stars 3.26 avg rating — 8,032 ratings
97 Diary of a Superfluous Man
by
3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 431 ratings
98 The Dream Life of Sukhanov
by
3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 539 ratings
99 My Sister - Life
by
4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 84 ratings
100 Mirgorod: Four Tales by Nik...
by
4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 avg rating — 90 ratings
283 books · 1,016 voters · list created June 26th, 2008 by Heather (votes) .
 · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.


Heather
Heather
623 books
125 friends
Natasha
Natasha
2687 books
120 friends
Ashley
Ashley
691 books
25 friends
R.
R.
869 books
25 friends
Kate
Kate
186 books
13 friends
Muphyn
Muphyn
2821 books
51 friends
Naomi
Naomi
796 books
42 friends
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Suz
2126 books
19 friends

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Comments (showing 1-20 of 20) (20 new)

dateDown_arrow    newest »

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

Bettie 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.


message 2: by Deirdre (new)

Deirdre 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!


message 3: by Bettie (new)

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

:O)



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

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


message 5: by Pavel (new)

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


message 6: by David (new)

David 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".


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

Pavel 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)



message 8: by Kasia (new)

Kasia Interesting...


message 9: by Jessica (new)

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


message 10: by Mystee (new)

Mystee 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


message 11: by Frances Marley (new)

Frances Marley SUPERLATIVE


message 12: by Capsguy (new)

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


message 13: by umar (new)

umar sereni 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.


message 14: by Lisa (new)

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


message 15: by Lisa (new)

Lisa Lolita is in the list twice too.


message 16: by Jenny (new)

Jenny  Samuel This is a great list. I'm really inspired to work my way through these great works.


message 17: by The Raven (new)

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


message 18: by Alan (new)

Alan 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.


message 19: by Anna (new)


message 20: by Nermin (new)

Nermin 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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