What do you think?
Rate this book
In Plain Russian: Stories
In this collection of stories, dated from 1961 to 1974, Vladimir Voinovich tells us more about the Soviet experience than any newspaper or textbook— not the extreme reality of labor camps and KGB interrogations, but the reality of everyday life. Some of the stories were published in the Soviet Union; others, too sensitive, could only be published abroad. At the time of this publication, Voinovich was already known in this country for his brilliant satires on the Soviet army (The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin, 1977) and Soviet bureaucracy (The Ivankiad, 1977). In Plain Russian again demonstrates Voinovich's skill in depicting the Soviet system with humor and honesty.
The collection contains two comic masterpieces. The novella "By Mutual Correspondence" shows us a man charging fullspeed into the marriage trap, deluded into believing that he is a ladies' man and an artful seducer. "A Circle of Friends" is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes stinging portrait of Stalin and crew relaxing on the eve of World War II, and was originally intended as a chapter in Ivan Chonkin.
In "What I Might Have Been," we see a more serious Voinovich: a construction supervisor refuses to yield to political pressures to turn over a building before it is entirely safe. "A Distance of Half a Kilometer" investigates the impact of a man's death on those close to him, much in the tradition of Jules Romains's Death of a Nobody. "Skurlatsky, Man of Letters" is a Gogolian comedy of a ridiculous man collapsing into madness under the pressure of reality. Also included in In Plain Russian are four brief autobiographical sketches from Voinovich's army life and the texts of his courageous and bitingly critical open letters to three of the most staid Soviet institutions: the Writers’ Union, the Ministry of Communications, and the Copyright Agency.
Contents:
What I might have been --
A distance of half a kilometer --
From an exchange of letters --
A circle of friends --
Skurlatsky, man of letters. Autobiographical stories. A word from the author --
Uncle Volodya --
Major Dogadkin --
First Lieutenant Pavlenko --
Captain Kurasov. Four open letters. To Comrade Pankin of VAAP (October 2, 1973) --
To the Writers' Union (February 19, 1974) --
To the Minister of Communications (October 12, 1976) --
To the Brigantine Literary Club (November 2, 1977).
The collection contains two comic masterpieces. The novella "By Mutual Correspondence" shows us a man charging fullspeed into the marriage trap, deluded into believing that he is a ladies' man and an artful seducer. "A Circle of Friends" is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes stinging portrait of Stalin and crew relaxing on the eve of World War II, and was originally intended as a chapter in Ivan Chonkin.
In "What I Might Have Been," we see a more serious Voinovich: a construction supervisor refuses to yield to political pressures to turn over a building before it is entirely safe. "A Distance of Half a Kilometer" investigates the impact of a man's death on those close to him, much in the tradition of Jules Romains's Death of a Nobody. "Skurlatsky, Man of Letters" is a Gogolian comedy of a ridiculous man collapsing into madness under the pressure of reality. Also included in In Plain Russian are four brief autobiographical sketches from Voinovich's army life and the texts of his courageous and bitingly critical open letters to three of the most staid Soviet institutions: the Writers’ Union, the Ministry of Communications, and the Copyright Agency.
Contents:
What I might have been --
A distance of half a kilometer --
From an exchange of letters --
A circle of friends --
Skurlatsky, man of letters. Autobiographical stories. A word from the author --
Uncle Volodya --
Major Dogadkin --
First Lieutenant Pavlenko --
Captain Kurasov. Four open letters. To Comrade Pankin of VAAP (October 2, 1973) --
To the Writers' Union (February 19, 1974) --
To the Minister of Communications (October 12, 1976) --
To the Brigantine Literary Club (November 2, 1977).
299 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
About the author
Vladimir Voinovich
64 books98 followersVladimir Voinovich (rus. Владимир Николаевич Войнович) was born in what is now Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, but which at the time of his birth was Stalinabad, a city in the USSR.
Voinovich started writing and publishing poetry during the army service; he later switched to writing prose and ultimately became famous as a master of satirical depiction of the absurdity of Soviet life. However, he does not forgo real people in favor of the grand scheme of things.
Satiric fiction has never been popular under authoritarian or totalitarian regimes. Voinovich's writing and political activity (dissident) led to his expulsion from the Writer's Union (194), emigration to Germany (1980), and loss of USSR citizenship (1981; restored 10 years later).
Voinovich is a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Department of Language and Literature.
Voinovich started writing and publishing poetry during the army service; he later switched to writing prose and ultimately became famous as a master of satirical depiction of the absurdity of Soviet life. However, he does not forgo real people in favor of the grand scheme of things.
Satiric fiction has never been popular under authoritarian or totalitarian regimes. Voinovich's writing and political activity (dissident) led to his expulsion from the Writer's Union (194), emigration to Germany (1980), and loss of USSR citizenship (1981; restored 10 years later).
Voinovich is a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Department of Language and Literature.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 14, 2026
A marvellous fistful of stories and novellas from the heavyweight Soviet farceur. ‘What I Might Have Been’ is the tale of an engineer refusing to cut corners in construction that shows Voinovich’s anti-authoritarian feistiness (also shown later in his scathing ‘Letter to the Writers’ Union’); ‘From an Exchange of Letters’ is a blackly comic romp where a epistolary cad is conned into marriage with a demented medic; and ‘A Circle of Friends’ serves up some good old slaps to Uncle Joe and his hangers-on. Several autobiographical pieces from his military exploits are also included, full of the humour and vibrant character skewering of his Private Ivan Chonkin classics. Essential for devotees of Russian satire.
June 2, 2008
I'm not going to be able to finish this before its due date back at the library. I read the first essay/story. I'd like to check this out again and give it another try.
Read
March 3, 2010"i want to be honest"
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews