An Online Orthodox Books and Gifts store offering an extensive line of Eastern Orthodox Icons, Books, Gifts, Music CDs, Jewelry, Crosses, Incense, Censers, Beeswax Candles, Prayer Ropes, Greeting Cards.
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
Greatest Russian Novels of All Time
Best Russian (Soviet 1917-1991) Literature
Best Post-WWII Soviet Lit
Best Books by Russian Female Writers
1 | Crime and Punishment by 4.20 avg rating — 537,894 ratings | Rate this book |
2 | The Brothers Karamazov by 4.32 avg rating — 209,437 ratings | Rate this book |
3 | Anna Karenina by 4.04 avg rating — 570,934 ratings | Rate this book |
4 | The Master and Margarita by 4.31 avg rating — 201,484 ratings | Rate this book |
5 | War and Peace by 4.11 avg rating — 235,154 ratings | Rate this book |
6 | The Idiot by 4.18 avg rating — 110,566 ratings | Rate this book |
7 | Lolita by 3.89 avg rating — 590,608 ratings | Rate this book |
8 | Notes from Underground, White Nights, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, and Selections from The House of the Dead by 4.17 avg rating — 71,980 ratings | Rate this book |
9 | Dead Souls by 3.99 avg rating — 55,939 ratings | Rate this book |
10 | Eugene Onegin by 4.09 avg rating — 45,201 ratings | Rate this book |
11 | Fathers and Sons by 3.96 avg rating — 58,461 ratings | Rate this book |
12 | Doctor Zhivago by 4.03 avg rating — 73,067 ratings | Rate this book |
13 | One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by 3.95 avg rating — 83,659 ratings | Rate this book |
14 | A Hero of Our Time by 4.11 avg rating — 41,812 ratings | Rate this book |
15 | The Death of Ivan Ilych by 4.07 avg rating — 72,838 ratings | Rate this book |
16 | Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov by 4.35 avg rating — 34,545 ratings | Rate this book |
17 | Heart of a Dog by 4.12 avg rating — 34,029 ratings | Rate this book |
18 | We by 3.94 avg rating — 58,423 ratings | Rate this book |
19 | Demons by 4.26 avg rating — 32,693 ratings | Rate this book |
20 | Oblomov by 4.04 avg rating — 25,557 ratings | Rate this book |
21 | The Overcoat and Other Short Stories by 4.22 avg rating — 9,424 ratings | Rate this book |
22 | The Twelve Chairs by 4.42 avg rating — 17,932 ratings | Rate this book |
23 | The Gambler by 3.88 avg rating — 43,437 ratings | Rate this book |
24 | The Cherry Orchard by 3.67 avg rating — 26,165 ratings | Rate this book |
25 | The Overcoat by 4.13 avg rating — 21,865 ratings | Rate this book |
26 | The Seagull by 3.92 avg rating — 21,238 ratings | Rate this book |
27 | Diary of a Madman and Other Stories by 4.12 avg rating — 11,545 ratings | Rate this book |
28 | The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956 by 4.22 avg rating — 16,391 ratings | Rate this book |
29 | And Quiet Flows the Don by 4.05 avg rating — 9,573 ratings | Rate this book |
30 | The Queen of Spades and Other Stories by 4.13 avg rating — 7,083 ratings | Rate this book |
31 | Cancer Ward by 4.20 avg rating — 12,449 ratings | Rate this book |
32 | The Kreutzer Sonata by 3.90 avg rating — 16,394 ratings | Rate this book |
33 | The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova by 4.44 avg rating — 6,693 ratings | Rate this book |
34 | Resurrection by 4.12 avg rating — 14,683 ratings | Rate this book |
35 | The Complete Short Novels by 4.47 avg rating — 10,517 ratings | Rate this book |
36 | Uncle Vanya by 3.84 avg rating — 15,502 ratings | Rate this book |
37 | The Captain's Daughter by 3.82 avg rating — 12,593 ratings | Rate this book |
38 | The House of the Dead by 4.04 avg rating — 16,335 ratings | Rate this book |
39 | The Nose by 3.90 avg rating — 15,384 ratings | Rate this book |
40 | Life and Fate by 4.43 avg rating — 6,588 ratings | Rate this book |
41 | The Three Sisters by 3.75 avg rating — 14,337 ratings | Rate this book |
42 | My Childhood by 4.02 avg rating — 5,202 ratings | Rate this book |
43 | The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol by 4.35 avg rating — 12,772 ratings | Rate this book |
44 | Mother by 3.92 avg rating — 10,758 ratings | Rate this book |
45 | The Double by 3.70 avg rating — 14,150 ratings | Rate this book |
46 | The Queen of Spades by 3.94 avg rating — 6,663 ratings | Rate this book |
47 | Moscow to the End of the Line by 4.06 avg rating — 7,808 ratings | Rate this book |
48 | Roadside Picnic by 4.19 avg rating — 34,049 ratings | Rate this book |
49 | Petersburg by 3.97 avg rating — 4,127 ratings | Rate this book |
50 | Night Watch (Watch #1) by 3.98 avg rating — 37,597 ratings | Rate this book |
51 | Selected Poems by 4.35 avg rating — 5,785 ratings | Rate this book |
52 | The White Guard by 4.04 avg rating — 10,186 ratings | Rate this book |
53 | The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by 4.04 avg rating — 12,018 ratings | Rate this book |
54 | Sketches from a Hunter's Album by 3.93 avg rating — 6,692 ratings | Rate this book |
55 | Ward No. 6 and Other Stories by 4.32 avg rating — 10,739 ratings | Rate this book |
56 | Hadji Murad by 3.84 avg rating — 7,323 ratings | Rate this book |
57 | The First Circle by 4.22 avg rating — 7,063 ratings | Rate this book |
58 | Taras Bulba by 3.71 avg rating — 7,866 ratings | Rate this book |
59 | Inspector and Other Plays by 4.22 avg rating — 778 ratings | Rate this book |
60 | The Tale of Tsar Saltan by 4.22 avg rating — 7,127 ratings | Rate this book |
61 | First Love and Other Stories by 4.12 avg rating — 1,413 ratings | Rate this book |
62 | Village Evenings Near Dikanka and Mirgorod by 4.19 avg rating — 8,771 ratings | Rate this book |
63 | Childhood, Boyhood, Youth by 3.88 avg rating — 6,421 ratings | Rate this book |
64 | The Foundation Pit by 3.75 avg rating — 3,771 ratings | Rate this book |
65 | Today I Wrote Nothing: The Selected Writings by 4.31 avg rating — 1,840 ratings | Rate this book |
66 | Poor Folk by 3.75 avg rating — 12,609 ratings | Rate this book |
67 | The Selected Poems by 4.26 avg rating — 1,944 ratings | Rate this book |
68 | Горе от ума by 4.13 avg rating — 11,996 ratings | Rate this book |
69 | The Eternal Husband and Other Stories by 4.15 avg rating — 2,399 ratings | Rate this book |
70 | Children of the Arbat (Arbat Tetralogy, #1) by 4.18 avg rating — 3,566 ratings | Rate this book |
71 | August 1914 (The Red Wheel, #1) by 3.92 avg rating — 2,118 ratings | Rate this book |
72 | Golden Calf by 4.45 avg rating — 6,417 ratings | Rate this book |
73 | The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years by 4.33 avg rating — 3,918 ratings | Rate this book |
74 | The Collected Stories by 4.30 avg rating — 2,908 ratings | Rate this book |
75 | Invitation to a Beheading by 3.94 avg rating — 11,750 ratings | Rate this book |
76 | Home of the Gentry by 3.93 avg rating — 2,995 ratings | Rate this book |
77 | White Nights by 4.03 avg rating — 35,216 ratings | Rate this book |
78 | The Slynx by 3.81 avg rating — 3,328 ratings | Rate this book |
79 | The Collected Poems by 4.31 avg rating — 4,469 ratings | Rate this book |
80 | Envy by 3.76 avg rating — 2,699 ratings | Rate this book |
81 | The Insulted and Humiliated by 4.22 avg rating — 12,048 ratings | Rate this book |
82 | How the Steel Was Tempered by 3.81 avg rating — 2,637 ratings | Rate this book |
83 | What Is to Be Done? by 3.40 avg rating — 1,642 ratings | Rate this book |
84 | Notes from Underground by 4.16 avg rating — 59,715 ratings | Rate this book |
85 | Buddha's Little Finger by 4.26 avg rating — 4,224 ratings | Rate this book |
86 | Cursed Days: Diary of a Revolution by 4.21 avg rating — 811 ratings | Rate this book |
87 | Five Plays: Ivanov / The Seagull / Uncle Vanya / The Three Sisters / The Cherry Orchard by 4.18 avg rating — 5,500 ratings | Rate this book |
88 | Selected Poems by 4.32 avg rating — 1,304 ratings | Rate this book |
89 | The Luzhin Defense by 3.95 avg rating — 8,595 ratings | Rate this book |
90 | The Sebastopol Sketches by 3.90 avg rating — 2,109 ratings | Rate this book |
91 | Peter the First by 4.16 avg rating — 1,994 ratings | Rate this book |
92 | The Four Major Plays: The Seagull / Uncle Vanya / Three Sisters / Cherry Orchard by 4.15 avg rating — 1,827 ratings | Rate this book |
93 | Diary of a Superfluous Man by 3.84 avg rating — 1,551 ratings | Rate this book |
94 | The Enchanted Wanderer: Selected Tales by 3.94 avg rating — 1,613 ratings | Rate this book |
95 | The Life of Insects by 3.85 avg rating — 3,218 ratings | Rate this book |
96 | The Shooting Party by 3.93 avg rating — 1,174 ratings | Rate this book |
97 | Ruslan and Ludmila by 4.08 avg rating — 5,526 ratings | Rate this book |
98 | The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel by 4.25 avg rating — 2,340 ratings | Rate this book |
99 | Two Captains by 4.32 avg rating — 3,125 ratings | Rate this book |
100 | The Bedbug and Selected Poetry by 4.20 avg rating — 2,707 ratings | Rate this book |
← Previous12345Next →
500 books · 1,969 voters · list created June 26th, 2008 by Heather(votes) .
Tags: author-by-country, classic, fiction, literary-fiction, location, russian, setting
942 likes · Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.
Heather1040 books
159 friends
159 friends
Ashley1118 books
45 friends
45 friends
Rob1384 books
24 friends
24 friends
Kate188 books
13 friends
13 friends
Muphyn3270 books
56 friends
56 friends
Naomi840 books
44 friends
44 friends
Reader20072790 books
1 friend
1 friend
Al675 books
68 friends
68 friends
More voters…
Comments Showing 1-48 of 48(48 new)
message 1: by Bettie☯ (last edited Mar 06, 2009 07:28AM) (new)
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.
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!
It will drop to the bottom, if not entirely, within time - no worries.
:O)
:O)
message 4: by Brianna (last edited Aug 25, 2009 02:28PM) (new)
Best list(opia) ever. Everything I haven't already read (or re-read) is going on my library list.
We need some votes for great russian poets of XX century, they are too underrated
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'.
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)
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)
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)
Excellent list and am proud to have read many of these brilliant works.
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
There are only so many left for me to read unfortunately :(
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.
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.
I think War and Peace is in twice, once near the top of page 1 and then again on page 2. Different editions?
Crime and Punishment wins!! Crime and Punishment wins!! Raskolnikov is the most compelling character I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
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.
Chekhov short stories, more than twice--of course, only a small number (of a shelfload) of his short stories are translated.
Some of the authors in this aren't really Russian. I guess they are in this list because they wrote their books in Russian?
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
Different translations
message 23: by Manray9 (last edited May 20, 2014 03:33PM) (new)
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.
I would agree, if one-fifth of War and Peace were not in French!
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.
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.
This is a great list. Gonna enjoy working through these.
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.
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.
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.
great russian literature audiobooks pdf and epub format see more here:http://classicalnovels.blogspot.com/
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.
message 34: by Thomas (last edited Apr 29, 2015 07:14AM) (new)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.'
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.'
Those who think they're complementing nonfiction by calling it the 'best literature': stop.
message 40: by Zuzi (last edited Feb 27, 2016 11:44PM) (new)
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
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
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...
Dunno, but maybe you can rename: Timon of Aleksandrov...
message 42: by Xinyu (last edited Aug 08, 2016 05:35AM) (new)
My goal would be to read most of the first 100 books on the list
Pavel wrote: 'We need some votes for great russian poets of XX century, they are too underrated'
suggestions?
suggestions?
Added to the list description some links to more specific lists of Russian literature. I hope it's all right with you Heather.
message 45: by Privada (last edited Feb 09, 2018 07:10PM) (new)
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.
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...'
At the end of the bio is said '...2006, he came fifth among the greatest Romanians...'
message 47: by Agnieszka (last edited May 08, 2018 07:50AM) (new)
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.
Since Pan Tadeusz is one of the most important Polish works and part of the Polish school education I agree.
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
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
back to top
Anyone can add books to this list.