The Greatest Russian Books of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 400 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
8 Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy 1877 Russian Russian
13 Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky 1866 Russian Russian
15 War and Peace Leo Tolstoy 1869 Russian Russian
21 The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky 1880 Russian Russian
39 The Master and Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov 1967 Russian Russian
80 The Idiot Fyodor Dostoevsky 1869 Russian Russian
91 The Stories of Anton Chekhov Anton Chekhov 1900 Russian Russian
99 Demons Fyodor Dostoevsky 1872 Russian Russian
106 Dead Souls Nikolai Gogol 1842 Russian Russian
133 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1962 Russian Russian
134 Doctor Zhivago Boris Pasternak 1957 Russian Russian
173 Fathers and Sons Ivan Turgenev 1862 Russian Russian
216 The Gulag Archipelago Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1973 Russian Russian
235 Oblomov Ivan Goncharov 1859 Russian Russian
269 Life and Fate Vasily Grossman 1980 Russian Russian
278 The Death of Ivan Ilyich Leo Tolstoy 1886 Russian Russian
297 A Hero of Our Time Mikhail Lermontov 1840 Russian Russian
371 Kolyma Stories Varlam Shalamov 1954 Russian Russian
390 We Yevgeny Zamyatin 1924 Russian Russian
413 Notes from the Underground Fyodor Dostoevsky 1864 Russian Russian
424 Eugene Onegin Alexander Pushkin 1833 Russian Russian
484 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov 1904 Russian Russian
561 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
583 The Lady with the Dog Anton Chekhov 1899 Russian Russian
611 Red Cavalry Isaac Babel 1926 Russian Russian
638 Requiem Anna Akhmatova 1963 Russian Russian
815 And Quiet Flows The Don Mikhail Sholokhov 1928 Russian Russian
881 The Nose Nikolai Gogol 1836 Russian Russian
899 The Enchanted Wanderer Nikolai Leskov 1873 Russian Russian
934 Moscow Petushki Venedikt Yerofeev 1970 Russian Russian
939 The Gift Vladimir Nabokov 1938 Russian Russian
972 The Life Written By Himself the Archpriest Avvakum 1666 Russian Russian
974 The Life Of Arseniev Ivan Bunin 1930 Russian Russian
978 Evenings On A Farm Near Dikanka Nikolai Gogol 1831 Russian Russian
1011 A Sportsman's Notebook Ivan Turgenev 1852 Russian Russian
1175 Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov 1897 Russian Russian
1178 The Unwomanly Face Of War Svetlana Alexievich 1985 Russian Russian
1179 Pnin Vladimir Nabokov 1957 Russian English
1186 Cancer Ward Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1967 Russian Russian
1224 The Cathedral Folk Nikolai Leskov 1872 Russian Russian
1229 The Golovlyov Family Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin 1880 Russian Russian
1238 The Queen Of Spades Alexander Pushkin 1834 Russian Russian
1284 Mother Maxim Gorky 1906 Russian Russian
1379 The Twelve Chairs Ilya Ilf, Evgeniy Petrov 1928 Russian Russian
1419 The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel Isaac Babel 1934 Russian Russian
1426 The Little Golden Calf Ilya Ilf, Evgeniy Petrov 1931 Russian Russian
1510 The Real Life of Sebastian Knight Vladimir Nabokov 1941 Russian English
1533 First Love Ivan Turgenev 1860 Russian Russian
1534 Petersburg Andrei Bely 1913 Russian Russian
1538 The Artamonov Business Maxim Gorky 1925 Russian Russian
1545 The Kreutzer Sonata Leo Tolstoy 1889 Russian Russian
1609 My Childhood Maxim Gorky 1913 Russian Russian
1685 The Poetry of Alexander Pushkin Alexander Pushkin 1836 Russian Russian
1726 First Circle Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1968 Russian Russian
1733 King Lear of the Steppes Ivan Turgenev 1870 Russian Russian
1733 Torrents of Spring Ivan Turgenev 1872 Russian Russian
1846 Overcoat Nikolai Gogol 1842 Russian Russian
1882 Hadji Murat Leo Tolstoy 1912 Russian Russian
1922 The Luzhin Defense Vladimir Nabokov 1930 Russian Russian
1944 Reflections of a Russian Statesman Konstantin P. Pobedonostsev 1898 Russian Russian
1995 Resurrection Leo Tolstoy 1899 Russian Russian
2013 The Bedbug And Selected Poetry Vladimir Mayakovsky 1920 Russian Russian
2025 The Foundation Pit Andrey Platonov 1930 Russian Russian
2030 The Captain's Daughter Alexander Pushkin 1836 Russian Russian
2040 Memoirs Of A Revolutionist Vera Figner 1920 Russian Russian
2040 Oh, These Times Catherine the Great 1790 Russian Russian
2040 Notes From The Blockade Lydia Ginzburg 1960 Russian Russian
2040 The Memoirs Of Princess Dashkova Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova 1840 Russian Russian
2103 The Clay Machine-gun Victor Pelevin 1996 Russian Russian
2108 Envy Yury Olesha 1927 Russian Russian
2109 The Government Inspector Nikolai Gogol 1836 Russian Russian
2123 Little Devil Fedor Sologub 1907 Russian Russian
2134 The Way of a Pilgrim Anonymous 1884 Russian Russian
2146 Goat Song Konstantin Vaginov 1927 Russian Russian
2156 Chevengur Andrey Platonov 1928 Russian Russian
2160 The Belkin Tales Alexander Pushkin 1831 Russian Russian
2175 The Seagull Anton Chekhov 1896 Russian Russian
2179 The Twelve Alexander Blok 1918 Russian Russian
2183 Boris Godunov Alexander Pushkin 1831 Russian Russian
2186 Woe From Wit Alexander Griboyedov 1825 Russian Russian
2187 My Past And Thoughts Aleksandr Herzen 1861 Russian Russian
2202 The History Of A Town Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin 1870 Russian Russian
2220 The White Guard Mikhail Bulgakov 1925 Russian Russian
2320 The Bronze Horseman Alexander Pushkin 1837 Russian Russian
2327 Diary Of A Madman Nikolai Gogol 1835 Russian Russian
2328 The Little Tragedies Alexander Pushkin 1832 Russian Russian
2334 Четвёртая проза Osip Mandelstam 1930 Russian
2335 Poor Liza Nikolay Karamzin 1792 Russian Russian
2341 The Old Woman Daniil Kharms 1939 Russian Russian
2343 The Lower Depths Maxim Gorky 1902 Russian Russian
2349 Dark Avenues Ivan Bunin 1943 Russian Russian
2351 Nevsky Prospekt Nikolai Gogol 1835 Russian Russian
2353 The Tale Of Cross Eyed Lefty From Tula And The Steel Flea Nikolai Leskov 1881 Russian Russian
2357 A Poem Without A Hero Anna Akhmatova 1960 Russian Russian
2359 Vasili Tyorkin Alexander Tvardovsky 1943 Russian Russian
2362 Sandro of Chegem Fazil Iskander 1966 Russian Russian
2365 The Steppe Anton Chekhov 1888 Russian Russian
2376 The Demon Mikhail Lermontov 1829 Russian Russian
2383 Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk Nikolai Leskov 1865 Russian Russian
2389 The Tale Of Igor's Campaign Unknown 1187 Russian Old east slavic
2391 Scenes From The Past Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin 1869 Russian
2393 A Nobleman's Nest Ivan Turgenev 1859 Russian Russian
2394 The Town Of N Leonid Dobychin 1935 Russian Russian
2396 A Cloud In Trousers Vladimir Mayakovsky 1915 Russian Russian
2397 Cases Daniil Kharms 1939 Russian Russian
2401 Childhood Leo Tolstoy 1852 Russian Russian
2402 Sevastopol Sketches Leo Tolstoy 1855 Russian Russian
2404 Poor Folk Fyodor Dostoevsky 1846 Russian Russian
2406 Who Can Be Happy And Free In Russia? Nikolay Nekrasov 1870 Russian Russian
2407 Zangezi Velimir Khlebnikov 1922 Russian Russian
2408 The Noise Of Time Osip Mandelstam 1925 Russian
2409 The Blue Book Mikhail Zoshchenko 1923 Russian Russian
2411 Journey From St. Petersburg To Moscow Alexander Radishchev 1790 Russian Russian
2412 The Gypsies Alexander Pushkin 1827 Russian Russian
2413 In The Ravine Anton Chekhov 1900 Russian Russian
2414 Fallen Leaves Vasily Rozanov 1913 Russian Russian
2415 Christmas At The Ivanovs' Alexander Vvedensky 1938 Russian Russian
2416 Poem Of The Mountain Marina Tsvetayeva 1924 Russian Russian
2461 Norma Vladimir Sorokin 1970 Russian Russian
2475 The Return and Other Stories Andrey Platonov 1946 Russian Russian