The 166 Greatest Works of Russian Literature
This selection of literature from Russia is based on the continuing research carried out for The Greatest Literature of All Time list and is additionally informed by the views of local readers, writers, critics and scholars.
It encompasses the greatest works of French authors in all forms, genres, cultures and periods.
Note, "Russian literature" here refers to works of authors associated with the country of Russia and its predecessors. Works of other Russian-language writers may be found on Greatest lists for their own countries and regions.
This list focuses on major creative works—such as novels, novellas, plays and collections—although some short or nonfiction writing of literary significance may also be included.Latest update: February 17, 2024
1672
The Life Written by Himself
by Avvakum, Russia
Memoir, also known as The Life of Archpriest Avvakum
1792
Poor Liza
by Nikolai Karamzin, Russia
Novella
1820
Ruslan and Ludmila
by Alexander Pushkin, Russia
Epic poem
1824
The Fountain of Bakhchisaray
by Alexander Pushkin, Russia
Poem
1825
Woe From Wit
by Alexander Griboyedov, Russia
Play
1825–1832
Eugene Onegin
by Alexander Pushkin, Russia
Novel in verse
1830
The Tales of Belkin
by Alexander Pushkin, Russia
Story collection
1831
Boris Godunov
by Alexander Pushkin, Russia
Play
1836
The Captain's Daughter
by Alexander Pushkin, Russia
Novel
1837
The Bronze Horseman
by Alexander Pushkin, Russia
Epic poem
1840
A Hero of Our Time
by Mikhail Lermontov, Russia
Novel
1842
Demon
by Mikhail Lermontov, Russia
Poem
1847
Who Is to Blame?
by Alexander Herzen, Russia
Novel
1852
Childhood
by Leo Tolstoy, Russia
Novella
A Sportsman's Sketches
by Ivan Turgenev, Russia
Story collection
1855–1963
Russian Folk Tales
by Alexander Afanasiev, Russia
Story collection
1859
Oblomov
by Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov, Russia
Novel
Home of the Gentry
by Ivan Turgenev, Russia
Novel, also known as A House of Gentlefolk
1860
The Storm
by Alexander Ostrovsky, Russia
Play
First Love
by Ivan Turgenev, Russia
Novella
1862
Fathers and Sons
by Ivan Turgenev, Russia
Novel
1864
Notes From Underground
by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russia
Novella
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District
by Nikolai Leskov, Russia
Novel
1865–1869
War and Peace
by Leo Tolstoy, Russia
1866
Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russia
Novel, originally Prestuplenie i nakazanie
The Gambler
by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russia
Novella
1870
The History of a Town
by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russia
Novel
King Lear of the Steppes
by Ivan Turgenev, Russia
Novella
1871
The Forest
by Alexander Ostrovsky, Russia
Play
1872
The Possessed
by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russia
Novel, also known as Demons or The Devils
Torrents of Spring
by Ivan Turgenev, Russia
Novel
1873
The Enchanted Wanderer
by Nikolai Leskov, Russia
Novella
1874
The Idiot
by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russia
Novel
Who Can Be Happy and Free in Russia?
by Nikolai Nekrasov, Russia
Epic poem
Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy, Russia
Novel
1878
Without a Dowry
by Alexander Ostrovsky, Russia
Play
1880
The Brothers Karamazov
by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russia
Novel, originally Brat'ya Karamazovy
The Golovlyov Family
by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russia
Novel
1881
Lefty
by Nikolai Leskov, Russia
Novel
1886
Motley Stories
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Story collection includes "The Huntsman", and others
"Vanka"
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Story
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
by Leo Tolstoy, Russia
Novella
1887
At Dusk
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Story collection, also known as In the Twilight, includes "Dreams", "A Trivial Occurrence", "A Bad Business", "At Home", "A Restless Guest", "On the Road", "Agafya", and others.
1889
The Kreutzer Sonata
by Leo Tolstoy, Russia
Novella
1891
The Duel
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Novella
1896
The Seagull
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Play
Beyond the Earth
by Konstantin Tsiolkovskiy, Russia
Novel
1899
"The Lady With the Dog"
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Story
1900
Uncle Vanya
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Play
1901
Three Sisters
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Play
Resurrection
by Leo Tolstoy, Russia
Novel
1902
The Lower Depths
by Maxim Gorky, Russia
Play
The Power of Darkness
by Leo Tolstoy, Russia
Play
1903
The Cherry Orchard
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Play, originally Vishniovy sad
1905
Summerfolk
by Maxim Gorky, Russia
Play
1907
Mother
by Maxim Gorky, Russia
Novel
1908
The Seven Who Were Hanged
by Leonid Andreyev, Russia
Novel
1912
Hadji Murat
by Leo Tolstoy, Russia
Novella
1913
Petersburg
by Andrei Bely, Russia
Novel
My Childhood
by Maxim Gorky, Russia
Memoir
1915
A Cloud in Trousers
by Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russia
Poem, originally Oblako v shtanakh
1918
The Twelve
by Alexasnder Blok, Russia
Poem
Memoirs of a Revolutionist
by Vera Figner, Russia
Memoir
1923
Chapayev
by Dmitry Furmanov, Russia
Novel
1924
The White Guard
by Mikhail Bulgakov, Russia
Novella
Cities and Years
by Konstantin Fedin, Russia
Novel
The Three Fat Men
by Yuri Olesha, Russia
Novel
The Iron Flood
by Alexander Serafimovich, Russia
Novel
1925
Heart of a Dog
by Mikhail Bulgakov, Russia
Novella
Mitya's Love
by Ivan Bunin, Russia
Novel
The Artomonov Business
by Maxim Gorky, Russia
Novel
We
by Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russia
Novel, originally My in Russian
1927
Sunset
by Isaac Babel, Russia
Play
The Twelve Chairs
by Ilya Ilf, Evgeny Petrov, Russia
Novel
Envy
by Yuri Olesha, Russia
Novel
1928
Chevengur
by Andrei Platonov, Russia
Novel
And Quiet Flows the Don
by Mikhail Sholokov, Russia
Novel, originally Tikhii Don
1929
The Bedbug
by Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russia
Play
1929–1943
Peter the Great
by Aleksey Tolstoy, Russia
Novel
1930
The Life of Arseniev: Youth
by Ivan Bunin, Russia
Novel
The Foundation Pit
by Andrei Platonov, Russia
Novel
1931
Odessa Stories
by Isaac Babel, Russia
Story collection
The Little Golden Calf
by Ilya Ilf, Evgeny Petrov, Russia
Novel
1935
Soul
by Andrei Platonov, Russia
Novella
1935
Virgin Soil Upturned
by Mikhail Sholokov, Russia
Novel
Invitation to a Beheading
by Vladimir Nabokov, Russia
Novel
1937–1945
Stories about Lelya and Minka
by Mikhail Zoshchenko, Russia
Story collection
1938
The Gift
by Vladimir Nabokov, Russia
Novel
1939
The Old Woman
by Danill Kharms, Russia
Novella
1940
The on Flows Home to the Sea
by Mikhail Sholokov, Russia
Novel
1941
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight
by Vladimir Nabokov, Russia
Novel
1943
The Fifth Seal
by Mark Aldanov, Russia
Novel
1943–1973
Before Sunrise
by Mikhail Zoshchenko, Russia
Novel
1944
Red Cavalry
by Isaac Babel, Russia
Novel
Son of the Regiment
by Valentin Kataev, Russia
Novel
The Two Captains
by Veniamin Kaverin, Russia
Novel
1946
Dark Avenues
by Ivan Bunin, Russia
Story collection
The Young Guard
by Alexander Fadeyev, Russia
Novel
1950
Nervous People and Other Satires
by Mikhail Zoshchenko, Russia
Story collection
1955
Collected Stories
by Isaac Babel, Russia
Story collection
Lolita
by Vladimir Nabokov, Russia
Novel
Lolita is the kind of book that grows thicker each time you read it. The first time you may race through the novel to take in the plot of the man who loves and loses a preadolescent girl, what he calls a "nymphet". More.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy
1957
Pnin
by Vladimir Nabokov, Russia
Novel
Doctor Zhivago
by Boris Pasternak, Russia
Novel
Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale
by Ivan Yefremov, Russia
Novel
1962
Pale Fire
by Vladimir Nabokov, Russia
Novel
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russia
Novella
1963
Requiem
by Anna Akhmatova, Russia
Poetry collection
1964
Antiworlds
by Andrey Voznesensky, Russia
Poetry collection
1965
Sofia Petrovna
by Lydia Chukovskaya, Russia
Novel
1965–2003
Alisa's Adventures
by Kir Bulychev, Russia
Novel and story series
1967
The Master and Margarita
by Mikhail Bulgakov, Russia
Novel
The ase of Comrade Tulayev
by Victor Serge, Russia
Novel
1968
Cancer Ward
by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russia
Novel
The First Circle
by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russia
Novel
1969
Ada or Ardor
by Vladimir Nabokov, Russia
Novel
The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin
by Vladimir Voinovich, Russia
Novel
1970
A Dream in Polar Fog
by Yuri Rytkheu, Russia
Novel
1971
August 1914
by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russia
Novel
1972
Roadside Picnic
by Arkady and Boris Strugatski, Russia
Novel
1973
The Gulag Archipelago
by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russia
Nonfiction
Moscow-Petushki
by Venedikt Yerofeyev, Russia
Prose poem, also known as Moscow to the End of the Line, Moscow Stations or Moscow Circles
1975
The Burn
by Vassily Aksyonov, Russia
Novel
1976
A School for Fools
by Sasha Sokolov, Russia
Novel
Yawning Heights
by Alexander Zinoviev, Russia
Novel
1977
A Part of Speech
by Joseph Brodsky, Russia
Poetry collection
What Is to Be Done?
by Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Russia
Novel
1978
Pushkin House
by Andrei Bitov, Russia
Novel
The Faculty of Useless Knowledge
by Yury Dombrovsky, Russia
Novel
Kolyma Tales
by Varlam Shalamov, Russia
Story collection
1979
It's Me, Eddie
by Eduard Limonov, Russia
Novel
1981
Compromise
by Sergei Dovlatov, Russia
Novel
1982
Rabbits and Boa Constrictors
by Fazil Iskander, Russia
Novel
Summer in Baden-Baden
by Leonard Tsypkin, Russia
Biography
1986
The Suitcase
by Sergei Dovlatov, Russia
Story collection
1990
Russian Beauty
by Victor Yerofeyev, Russia
Novel
1992
Lines of Fate
by Mark Kharitonov, Russia
Novel
The Time: Night
by Ludmila Petrushevskaya, Russia
Novella
Sleepwalker in a Fog
by Tatyana Tolstaya, Russia
Story collection
1993
The Life of Insects
by Victor Pelevin, Russia
Novel
1996
Chapayev and Pustota
by Victor Pelevin, Russia
Novel, also known as Chapayev and Void, Buddha's Little Finger, or Clay Machine-Gun
Medea and Her Children
by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Russia
Novel
1998
The Slynx
by Tatyana Tolstaya, Russia
Novel
1998–2018
The Fandorin series
by Boris Akunin, Russia
Novel series includes The Winter Queen, The Turkish Gambit, Murder on the Leviathan, The Death of Achilles, and others.
1999
The Taking of Izmail
by Mikhail Shishkin, Russia
Novel
2000
Hurramabad
by Andrei Volos, Russia
Novel
2005
Metro 2033
by Dmitry Glukhovsky, Russia
Novel
The Gold of the Rebellion
by Alexey Ivanov, Russia
Novel
2006
2017
by Olga Slavnikova, Russia
Novel
Day of the Oprichnik
by Vladimir Sorokin, Russia
Novel
Daniel Stein, Interpreter
by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Russia
Novel
2008
Cranes abd Dwarfsa
by Leonid Yuzefovich, Russia
Novel
2009
The Gray House
by Miriam Petrosyan, Russia
Novel
There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbor's Baby
by Ludmila Petrushevskaya, Russia
Story collection
2010
The Light and the Dark
by Mikhail Shishkin, Russia
Novel
2011
The Big Green Tent
by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Russia
Novel
2012
The Mountain and the Wall
by Alisa Ganieva, Russia
Novel
The Women of Lazarus
by Marina Stepnova, Russia
Novel
Laurus
by Eugene Vodolazkin, Russia
Novel
2014
The Monastery
by Zakhar Prilepin, Russia
Novel
2015
Three Apples Fell From the Sky
by Narine Abgaryan, Russia
Novel
Bride and Groom
by Alisa Ganieva, Russia
Novel
Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes
by Guzel Yakhina, Russia
Novel, also known as Zuleikha
2016
The Petrovs in and Around the Flat
by Alexey Salnikov, Russia
Novel
2017
June
by Dmitry Bykov, Russia
Novel
2019
Rock, Paper, Scissors: And Other Stories
by Maxim Osipov, Russia
Story collection
2021
Doctor Garin
by Vladimir Sorokin, Russia
Novel
