An Anthology of Russian Literature from Earliest Writings to Modern Fiction: Introduction to a Culture

636 Pages·2004·3.41 MB·English

by  Nicholas Rzhevsky

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title: An Anthology of Russian Literature From Earliest Writings
to Modern Fiction : Introduction to a Culture
author: Rzhevsky, Nicholas
publisher: ME Sharpe, Inc.
isbn10 | asin: 1563244217
print isbn13: 9781563244216
ebook isbn13: 9780585326658
language: English
subject Russian literature--Translations into English.
publication date: 1996
lcc: PG3213.A56 1996eb
ddc: 891.708
subject: Russian literature--Translations into English.
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Praise for
An Anthology of Russian Literature from Earliest Writings to Modern Fiction
"An astonishing anthology: an attempt, through a sampling of a saint's life, epic, narrative poem, parodic spoof,
drama, lyric, and prose, to communicate some of the literary bedrock of Russian national consciousness. The
translations are everywhere persuasive and the selection uncannily good. When the Soviet period passes wholly
into history and Russian culture reassembles on the far side of the millennium, Rzhevsky's volume will be a major
resource for English-language readers interested in a vivid, diversified introduction to one of the world's most
provocative cultures."
Caryl Emerson, Princeton University
"This is an excellent anthology that can serve as the basis for a variety of college courses on Russian literature and
culture, and as a splendid introduction to these subjects for a general reader. A highly original and appealing
feature of the collection is that the works in it were selected because of their varied resonances in Russian culture,
including adaptations and translations into other artistic forms such as opera, theater, and film. Professor Rzhevsky
traces these and other links in a series of concise and illuminating essays and provides references that would allow
the motivated reader or instructor to pursue connections throughout Russian culture from the earliest period to the
present day. The illustrations echo the anthology's focus on an 'inter-representational' history of Russian culture."
Vladimir Alexandrov, Yale University

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"Rzhevsky's concept of selecting literary texts on the basis of their relevance to other art forms and their quality of
being representative of Russian culture (the 'spirit of Russia') seems most appropriate. The selection strikes a good
balance between 'Russianness' and accessibility to an American reader."
Victor Terras, Brown University
"Rzhevsky's anthology makes all the Russian literary texts one needs to teach a culture course available in a single,
affordable volume. His choice of literary texts that resonate to other arts (music, film, paintingprimarily Russian
but also European) is excellent. The introductory essays are interdisciplinary and wide-ranging in scope, and have
something to say to undergraduates at all levels. The multidisciplinary bibliographies after each work are also
useful."
Maria Carlson, The University of Kansas

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An Anthology of Russian Literature from Earliest Writings to Modern Fiction
Introduction to a Culture
Edited by
Nicholas Rzhevsky

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Copyright © 1996 by M. E. Sharpe, Inc.
Permission to reprint the following is gratefully acknowledged:
"The Narrative, Passion, and Encomium of Boris and Gleb," from Medieval Slavic Lives of Saints and Princes,
trans. and ed. Marvin Kantor, Michigan Slavic Translations Series No. 5, Michigan Slavic Publications, 1983, pp.
16397 (abridged).
Archpriest Avvakum: The Life Written by Himself, ed. and trans. Kenneth N. Brostrom, Michigan Slavic
Translations Series No. 4, Michigan Slavic Publications, 1979 (abridged).
Alexander Pushkin, "The Bronze Horseman," from Narrative Poems by Alexander Pushkin and by Mikhail
Lermontov, trans. Charles Johnston, London, 1984. © The Literary Executor of Charles Johnston.
Mikhail Lermontov, "Taman." The translation from Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time by Vladimir and Dmitri
Nabokov by permission of the Estate of Vladimir Nabokov. All rights reserved.
Anton Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard, trans. and ed. E.J. Czerwinski, in Chekhov Reconstructed, a special issue of
Slavic and East European Arts, vol. 4, no. 2 (1986), pp. 14355 (Act 1).
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the
publisher, M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 80 Business Park Drive, Armonk, New York 10504.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
An Anthology of Russian literature from earliest writings to modern fiction:
introduction to a culture / edited by Nicholas Rzhevsky.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-56324-421-7 (alk. paper).ISBN 1-56324-422-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Russian literatureTranslations into English.
I. Rzhevsky, Nicholas, 1943
PG3213.A56 1996
891.708dc20
95-42684
CIP
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for
Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z 39.48-1984.
BM(c) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
BM(p) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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The editor dedicates this book to the women who brought
Russian culture into his life:
Irina Aleksandrovna Rzhevskaya
Vera Georgievna Karsanova
Sofia Savvichna Rzhevskaya
Alla Djakova, Anastasia Rzhevskaya, Svetlana Rzhevskaya,
Lidia Zhuravskaya, Nadezhda Martinjuk, Natalie Slocum, Irina Fedorova,
Tatiana Rzhevskaya, Natalia Rzhevskaya, Alexandra Fedorova,
and Kyra Rzhevskaya

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CONTENTS
Introduction
Nicholas Rzhevsky ix
I
Cultural Beginnings 3
1. The Tale of Igor
Anonymous 11
2. "Boris and Gleb"
Anonymous 21
3. "The Life of Alexis, Holy Man of God"
Anonymous 33
II
The Emerging Self 41
4. The Life of Avvakum
Avvakum 46
III
The Search for Identity 79
5. "Felicity"
Gavrila Derzhavin 91
6. "The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa"
Anonymous 99
7. "Poor Liza"
Nikolai Karamzin 104
8. "The Bronze Horseman: A Petersburg Tale"
Alexander Pushkin 118
9. "Borodino"
Mikhail Lermontov 132
10. "Taman." From A Hero of Our Time
Mikhail Lermontov 136
IV
Subversions of Secularization 147
11. Boris Godunov
Alexander Pushkin 161
12. "The Queen of Spades"
Alexander Pushkin 236
13. "The Overcoat"
Nikolai Gogol 259
14. "Bezhin Meadow"
Ivan Turgenev 285
15. "The Meek Woman: A Fantastic Story"
Fedor Dostoevsky 303
16. "Lefty (A Skaz about Cross-Eyed Lefty from Tula and a Steel Flea)"
Nikolai Leskov 338
17. "Holstomer: The Story of a Horse"
Leo Tolstoy 368

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V
New Aesthetic Languages 401
18. "The Lady with the Lapdog"
Anton Chekhov 407
19. The Cherry Orchard. Act I
Anton Chekhov 422
20. "A Puppet Show"
Alexander Blok 438
21. "The Gray-Eyed King"
Anna Akhmatova 441
22. "Listen!"
Vladimir Mayakovsky 443
23. "I Ask the Mirror for a Glimpse . . ."
Marina Tsvetaeva 445
24. "Verses about Moscow"
Marina Tsvetaeva 447
25. "Barely a Tenth"
Valery Briusov 449
26. "The Escape." From Petersburg
Andrei Bely 451
VI
Thresholds: Soviet Culture and Beyond 455
27. "The King"
Isaak Babel 466
28. "Farewell, My Friend, Farewell . . ."
Sergei Esenin 473
29. "The Union of the Sword and the Plow." From The Twelve Chairs
Ilf and Petrov 474
30. Virgin Soil Upturned. Chapter 7, Book 1
Mikhail Sholokhov 485
31. Crime and Punishment: A Comedy in One Act
Mikhail Zoshchenko 490
32. "We Live without Feeling . . ."
Osip Mandelstam 504
33. "The Last Toast"
Anna Akhmatova" 506
34. "Makarov and Peterson." No. 3
Daniil Kharms 507