Showing titles in Russian & Soviet

In "Difficult People," Anton Chekhov focuses on the dysfunctional family of a farmer, whose son Pyotr needs money to return to college in Moscow. The father is miserly and withholding, so a fight breaks out. Pyotr stalks out in misery, then waves cheerfully at a wealthy old woman who drives by in a landau.

The story was written during Chekhov's stay in Nice. It was first published on November 2, 1897, in issue No. 303 of Russkikh Vedomosti. Chekhov later included an edited version of the story in the ninth volume of his collection of works, published by Adolf Marx in 1899-1901.

"A Story Without a Title" is an 1888 humorous story by Anton Chekhov. In a remote 5th century monastery the monks live and toil, led by an elderly abbot. The old man likes to play the organ, write music and compose Latin verses but is famous most of all for his eloquence and fiery, inspirational monologues which leave everybody around him enchanted. Then one night a drunkard knocks the door of the gates, saying he'd got lost on his way and asking them to give him food and wine.

"The noble father and simpleton Shchiptsov, a tall, stocky old man, famous not so much for his stage talents as for his extraordinary physical strength, had a huge fight with the manager during the performance and in the midst of the swearing suddenly felt that something had snapped in his chest..

"Defenceless Creature" - a story by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Written in 1887, first published on February 28, 1887 in the magazine Oskolki. The story describes with irony a stubborn man who achieves his goals by relying on the pity of those around him.

"Dead Body" is one of the stories by Anton Chekhov, a classic of world literature. The story is about two men serving and protecting a dead man. This story is based on an incident that happened to the author of the story in Zvenigorod.

Soon after two o'clock one night, long ago, the cook, pale and agitated, rushed unexpectedly into my study and informed me that Madame Mimotih, the old woman who owned the house next door, was sitting in her kitchen."She begs you to go in to her, sir..." said the cook, panting. "Something bad has happened about her lodger... He has shot himself or hanged himself...""What can I do?" said I. "Let her go for the doctor or for the police!""How is she to look for a doctor! She can hardly breathe, and she has huddled under the stove, she is so frightened... You had better go round, sir."

SAUVAGE, GUERRIER, REBELLE ET SANGUINAIRE. Tarass Boulba est un guerrier Cosaque fier et belliqueux. Ses deux fils, Andreï et Ostap sont à peine rentrés de Kiev après leurs études, qu'il les conduit à la Setch, le campement militaire cosaque. Tous brûlent d'en découdre, et une rumeur circulant dans le camp fournit le motif suffisant pour entrer en guerre contre les Polonais. Lors de cette campagne sanguinaire, Andreï, le cadet, tombe amoureux d'une belle Polonaise et passe à l'ennemi.

The narrator walks the streets of St. Petersburg at night, contemplating how ridiculous his life is.

When several employees of the bank are arrested for corruption, the merchant Avdeyev doesn't give the ordeal much thought, figuring the men going to jail deserve it. His opinion changes however when he returns home to find his wife and son very upset - his house had just been searched by officials in connection to the bank corruption. Avdeyev had signed papers for the bankers without knowing what they were and so had essentially signed his life away by his carelessness. During the following trial, he learns the danger of being a "sheep" and just following along without a mind of his own.

Miguev, a married, intelligent collegiate assessor, is haunted with anxiety and worry. Miguev has a secret that he doesn't want his wife, the town, or his colleagues to discover. His mistress, after becoming pregnant and having his child, has recently tried to extort money from him in exchange for her silence. She threatens to ruin his reputation and divulge his secret shame to everyone unless he pays her. In the height of his fear and worry about his present situation, his fears seem to come alive when he discovers a baby bundled in a blanket on his porch.

Doctor Starchenko and Lyzhin, a young deputy examining magistrate, arrive at Syrnya to attend to the case of Lesnitsky, an insurance agent, who, upon arrival to the village three days before, entered the local zemstvo house, ordered himself a samovar, unpacked his food packets, and then all of as sudden shot himself. The suicide was so bizarre, that the inquest was deemed to be necessary.

In Old Age by Anton Chekhov we have the theme of change, loss, renewal, memories, guilt and despair. Taken from his The Complete Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and very early on in the story the reader realises that Chekhov may be exploring the theme of change. Since Uzelkov has returned to his hometown he cannot imagine the differences the town has undertaken. It is not the place that he has left and there is a sense of modernity. Even the old waiter cannot remember the parts of the town that Uzelkov can.

Champagne is a short story by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, written in 1887. The story is written in the first person. The young head of a remote railway stop lived with his wife and without children in solitude, amusing himself with vodka and watching passing trains. Life was boring. One day before celebrating the New Year, he sat with his wife at the festive table, drank enough and thought about boredom. We waited for the clock to show the arrival of the New Year. At five minutes to twelve he uncorked the bottle, the cork flew out, and the bottle slipped out of his hands and fell to the floor.

In Exile was first published in May 1892 issue of the Vsemirnaya Illustratsiya magazine. The story was inspired by Chekhov's journey through Siberia and his stay in Sakhalin and, in particular, two episodes of this trip. While on Sakhalin, Anton Chekhov met a boatman nicknamed Krasivy, a self-professed 'happy man' who struck him with his own peculiar brand of Tolstovian philosophy. It was Krasivy, apparently, who became a prototype for Semyon Tolkovy, the story's hero.

The First Lover is a famous story by Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. The main character, Evgeny Alekseevich Podzharov, tells the guests a story about his love adventure. However, the story causes slight bewilderment and makes one of the listeners blush.

Misery by Anton Chekhov is a short story that explores the working-class, human despair, and suffering in Tsarist Russia. Chekhov's brief portrait of working-class life follows a sledge driver named Iona as he attempts to process his grief about his son's untimely death.

The Looking Glass is a short story by Anton Chekhov about a young woman named Nellie who is sitting in her room and staring into a mirror. Nellie is dreamy and lost in thoughts of her future and the man she loves. As she stares into the mirror, she sees the reflection of her future husband and begins to imagine her life with him. Suddenly, Nellie's dream is interrupted by a crisis. Her husband is ill and Nellie rushes to the doctor's house for help.

Raskolnikow sorgt sich zunehmend um die bevorstehende Hochzeit seiner Schwester. Er unterstreicht in Anwesenheit der Mutter, dass Dunja die Verlobung mit Luschin auflösen muss. Weitere Gewissensbisse aufgrund der Morde werden spürbar, weshalb er Mutter und Schwester fortschickt, um allein zu sein. Rasumichin soll die beiden in ihr Hotel bringen. Dunja scheint ihm zu gefallen. Anschließend begleitet er den Arzt erneut zu Raskolnikow, um nach diesem zu sehen.

Seit anderthalb Jahren ist Raskolnikow mittlerweile in Sibirien in Haft. Ein Rückblick zeigt, dass er zu acht Jahren Zwangsarbeit aufgrund mildernder Umstände verurteilt wurde. Dunja hat mittlerweile Rasumichin geheiratet, doch ist seine Mutter in der Zwischenzeit verstorben. Sonja hat sich entschieden, mit Raskolnikow zu gehen, lebt in der Nähe des Lagers und hält per Brief Kontakt zu Rasumichin und Dunja.