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In this episode of What to do and Who's to blame of the Russian Literature, let's look at The Twelve Chairs by Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov. I'll tell you a bit the writers duo, recap the plot and talk about themes and style and the Soviet Trickster Ostap Bender. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 00:29 Biography 05:07 A little of historical context and about the book 07:35 Plot summary 11:06 Themes & Contex...

In this episode of What to do and Who's to blame of the Russian Literature, let's look at The history of a town by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. I'll tell you a bit about the author, recap the plot and talk about themes and style. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 00:32 Biography 05:43 Before we get to the book 08:10 Plot summary 10:09 Themes & Style 23:50 Outro

In 30 minutes I can only cover the basics, give you the top overview of the various periods and most significant names in Russian literature, but I hope you enjoy! Timescodes: 00:00 Intro 00:27 Old Russian literatue (pre-18th century) 01:45 18th century 06:25 Golden age of Russian lit (19th century) 07:44 Romanticism 13:34 Russian realism 18:57 Silver age (end of 19th-early 20th century) 22:03 ...

In this episode of What to do and Who's to blame of the Russian Literature, I review a series of short stories Dark Avenues (Dark Alleys) by Ivan Bunin. I'll tell you a bit about Bunin himself (he's a Nobel Prize winner), recap the plots for a few of the stories and talk about themes. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 00:43 Biography 07:57 About the book 09:28 Plot summary 13:00 Themes 13:22 Love, women a...

In this episode of What to do and Who's to blame of the Russian Literature, I'm looking at Sergei Dovlatov and his book The suitcase. As always, I'll cover his biography, recap the plot and talk themes, style and genre specifics. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 00:37 Biography 13:17 Plot recap 18:35 Genre & Style 27:12 Themes 29:49 Outro

In this episode of What to do and Who's to blame of the Russian Literature, I'm looking at the best that Soviet science fiction has to offer - Strugatsky brothers. I'll cover their biography and bibliography, recap the novel Roadside picnic and talk themes Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 01:24 State of sci-fi before Strugatsky 03:33 Biography 10:40 Bibliography 25:36 Plot summary 31:52 Themes 42:11 Outro

In this episode of What to do and Who's to blame of the Russian Literature, I'm looking at Moscow to the end of the line (Moscow-Petushki) by Venedikt Yerofeyev. I'll give you a few bullet points about the author, recap the plot, provide some context for the book and discuss themes. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 00:48 Biography 02:55 Plot summary 05:08 Context 08:08 Postmodern 10:50 "Moscow" as protes...

In this episode of What to do and Who's to blame of the Russian Literature, I'm looking at Who's to blame? by Alexander Herzen. As always I talk you through Herzen's biography, recap the plot for the book and then get into themes. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 00:25 Biography 06:49 Plot summary 09:10 Language and style 11:10 Themes 11:47 Herzen's Russia 13:40 Feminism 16:58 Beltov as a superfluous man...

These days Gogol is my favourite Russian Author, so I thought I tell you a little about most of his works to wet your appettite. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 02:03 Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka 04:48 Mirgorod 05:02 Taras Bulba 06:25 Viy 07:37 St.Petersburg tales 08:13 Nevsky Prospect 09:13 The nose 10:21 The Portrait 11:49 Diary of a madman 12:28 The Overcoat 13:56 The Government Inspector 16:02 De...

Dostoevsky's tale is actually fascinating and I believe that in order to understand his writing, you need to know it. It has it all: ambition, crime, prison, exile, love, betrayal, affairs, casinos, religion and books. But also, for me personally, learning his story helped me in solidifying my dislike of him, so to each their own. And I am officially now a proud hater of Dostoevsky. Timecodes: ...

In this episode of What to do and Who's to blame of the Russian Literature, I'm looking at a famous Russian play Woe from Wit by Alexander Griboyedov. As always I talk you through Griboyedov's biography, recap the plot for the play and then get into themes. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 00:25 Biography 09:32 Plot summary 11:47 Themes 13:51 Smart Chadsky against the world 23:15 Famusov society 25:52 La...

Apologies if I sound weird, I've had a cold throughout the production of this video. My energy levels were simply not there. In this video I've selected a number of Russian short stories that are Christmas themed. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 03:22 Night before Christmas by Nikolai Gogol 04:16 The little boy at Christ's Christmas Tree by Fedor Dostoyevsky 05:40 In a Snowstorm by Pavel Zasodimsky 06:4...

At least according to Goodreads. Let's look at the least, maybe you'll find something new to read. Timescodes: 00:00 Intro 00:54 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 03:21 We by Evgeniy Zamyatin 04:41 The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky 07:25 Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol 08:52 One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsin 11:04 Fathers and sons by Ivan Turgenev 12:50 Doctor Zhivago by Bori...

In this video I take a look at We by Evgeniy Zamyatin the first dystopia of the 20th century. It influenced the more famous dystopias, such as 1984 and Brave New World. I give you a quick recap of the plot of the novel, compare it to 1984 and Brave New World and also highlight what is distinctive about it. Timcodes: 00:00 Intro 01:25 Plot recap of We 06:30 Context 10:20 Comparison with 1984 and...

Circles of hell in Gogol's Dead Souls

7 spooky stories from Russian Classical literature

The Aviator by Evgeniy Vodolazkin | Book review

5 Russian knockoffs of western children's books

10 fun facts about Ivan Turgenev

Fathers and sons by Ivan Turgenev | Book Review

Obsessive love and stalking in The Garnet Bracelet

Why is Russian literature so depressing?

Toxic masculinity in Taras Bulba

Viy by Nikolai Gogol | Book Review

We went to Leo Tolstoy Estate | Yasnaya Polyana Vlog

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy | Book Review

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov | Book Review

Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov | Book Review

Poetry by Marina Tsvetaeva | Book Review