Classic Russian literature you can read online for FREE: Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol
ALEXANDER PUSHKIN
‘The Captain's Daughter’
A historical novel about the peasant uprising led by Yemelyan Pugachev that swept across Russia in the 18th century. But, more than that, it is a tale of honor, duty and love.
A young man named Petya Grinev goes to serve at a remote border fortress. On the way, a stranger helps him find his way in a heavy snowstorm. In gratitude, Grinev gives him his sheepskin coat, an act that later saves his life, for the stranger turns out to be none other than Pugachev himself.
The novel is worth reading, if only for the prophetic phrase: “God save us from seeing a Russian revolt, so senseless and merciless.”
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‘The Bronze Horseman’
The poem is dedicated to the most devastating and deadly flood in the history of St. Petersburg in 1824. The main character, an ordinary official named Yevgeny, worries about his beloved girlfriend Parasha, who lives near the coast. The flood destroys the girl's house, killing her and her family. The young man, unable to cope with his grief, goes mad…
Read this poem here.
‘Boris Godunov’
This historical play tells the story of the ‘Time of Troubles’ in Russia at the turn of the 17th century. After the death of the last tsar of the Rurik dynasty, a struggle for the throne erupted between his wife's brother, Boris Godunov, and Grigory Otrepiev, who pretended to be the miraculously surviving Tsarevich Dmitry.
Read this play here.
‘Eugene Onegin’
Tired of city life and love affairs, a young nobleman by the name of Eugene Onegin leaves for the countryside. But, his estate near Moscow is beset by passions far more intense than those of high-society St. Petersburg. Tatyana Larina, a local landowner's daughter, falls head over heels in love with Onegin. Her sister, Olga, meanwhile, is courted by Vladimir Lensky, Eugene's friend. An unexpected conflict between the friends leads them to a duel, in which Lensky dies…
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Lyrics
The late great Russian writer left behind dozens of works and several hundred poems. Pushkin's ‘K***’ (‘I Remember a Wondrous Moment’, 1825) is considered one of the best love poems in Russian. Mikhail Glinka composed a romance of the same name to its lyrics. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov set the text ‘On the Hills of Georgia Lies the Night's Gloom’ (1829) to music. Russian composer Feofil Tolstoy, meanwhile, composed a melody for the poem ‘I Loved You…’ (1929).
Read these poems here.
MIKHAIL LERMONTOV
‘Demon’
Lermontov is considered to be Russia's second-greatest poet, after Pushkin. He’s beloved for his many beautiful poems and verses in the Romantic style. His poetic fame came with his poem ‘Death of a Poet’, which he wrote upon hearing about the death of his idol, Alexander Pushkin. In it, Lermontov blames the authorities for the hero's death, which cost him his freedom – Lermontov was exiled to the Caucasus, which actually turned out to have a profound influence on his works. The mountainous landscapes, turbulent rivers and local beauties inspired many of his romantic poems, including one of his most important poems, ‘Demon’.
Read this poem here.
NIKOLAI GOGOL
‘The Government Inspector’
According to this play’s plot, a tiny town awaits the secret arrival of an official from the capital on an inspection mission. However, another poor man, who just happens to be in town and has just lost all his money on cards, is mistaken for the important person…
Read this play here.
‘Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka’
The stories in this collection take place in small villages of the Russian Empire. Gogol makes extensive use of provincial slang and local folklore, describing little Russian customs and the folk way of life. The stories are very diverse, from the cheerful ‘Night Before Christmas’ to the pure horror in ‘Terrible Vengeance’. They’re united by fully-fledged characters – evil spirits, devils and witches!
Read this collection here.
‘Taras Bulba’
‘Taras Bulba’ is the story of a Zaporozhian Cossack and his two sons. It's an incredibly dramatic tale of love and betrayal. The story has been adapted for the screen in many countries and even inspired a Bollywood action movie in India!
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‘The Nose’
‘The Nose’ is considered one of the first works to define 20th-century absurdist literature. It tells the story of how the nose of a collegiate assessor named Platon Kovalev abandons its owner and… takes on an independent life. Moreover, it ends up ranking higher than its owner. In St. Petersburg, where the story's events unfold, three monuments to Kovalev's nose have since been erected!
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‘Marriage’
A merchant's daughter wants to get married. A matchmaker is hired to find a suitable groom. On the day of the viewing, everything goes awry and the bride is ‘confused’ and unable to make up her mind. But, the difficult choice is made and the wedding day is set. However, before the altar, the groom begins to be tormented by doubts and runs away…
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‘The Overcoat’
For the first time in Russian literature, this story brought the “little man”, an ordinary townsman, to the forefront. Akaki Bashmachkin is a miserable official, who gives all of himself in the service of rewriting papers. He spends all his money on a new overcoat, which, however, immediately gets stolen…
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‘Dead Souls’
‘Dead Souls’ is considered the pinnacle of Gogol's work and one of the key keys to understanding the Russian soul. In the story, a minor nobleman named Pavel Chichikov arrives in a provincial town and, in order to gain social standing, claims to be a landowner. But, there's a catch: he doesn't own a single “soul”, meaning no serfs.
So, he decides to resort to a ruse, prompted by the Russian bureaucracy itself: He begins “buying up” deceased peasants from local wealthy individuals, who were still listed as living according to the registers (censuses were rare in those days). Everyone's reaction to the proposal varies…
Read this book here.
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