Five most famous Russian writers abroad, whose literary techniques are studied and borrowed in different countries.
Fedor Dostoevsky
“The Brothers Karamazov”, “Demons”, “Crime and Punishment”, “Poor People”, “Notes from the Underground” – these books have been translated and published in many languages of the world.
In some countries, they are included in the school and university curriculum. In Japan, for example, manga and comics based on Dostoevsky and his novels are very popular.
Thus, the famous Japanese writer Haruki Murakami names The Brothers Karamazov among the three most important books of his life.
Lev Tolstoy
His novels have long been required reading abroad. Acquaintance with “War and Peace” is a kind of cultural code. The novel “Anna Karenina” is even more respected by foreign readers. In terms of popularity, this, without exaggeration, can easily compete with Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. Anna Karenina is staged on Broadway, adapted in the theatre, reprinted and translated, filmed in Hollywood. Joe Wright’s film starring Keira Knightley is one of the clearest examples.
But Tolstoy is not only filmed. For example, the well-known journalist and comedian Viv Groskop dedicated a whole book to him and the Russian classics, which she called “Self-development according to Tolstoy”. In it, she recalls the first time she read an old edition of Anna Karenina from the Penguin Classic series and how it changed her life. Such stories are often told by Hollywood actors when they talk about reading Russian classics, and Tolstoy’s name appears on these lists with enviable regularity.
Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov is considered the creator of a psychological portrait, an author whose influence on the entire world literature is difficult to overestimate.
Paying much attention to the personality of the heroes, their inner experiences, he very accurately depicted the life roles of people of the 20th century, immersed in the historical context.
The most famous of his plays can rightfully be considered “The Seagull” and “Three Sisters” – in any, even the most remote corner of the world, they know about the author who wrote them.
Joseph Brodsky
The great Russian poet of the 20th century, who was forced to leave Russia and was buried in the cemetery of San Michele in Venice. A genius who wrote intellectually rich poetry. When he was sentenced to an article for parasitism (trial in 1964) and exile, many world cultural figures stood up for him – for example, the writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
In exile, Brodsky’s fame only grew. He began speaking, lecturing, and writing books in English, which were eagerly published. In 1987, the poet, essayist and public intellectual Iosif Brodsky was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Vladimir Nabokov
Another important Russian writer who ended up in exile. In 1919, his family left Russia forever, Nabokov first settled in Germany, then in France, and then moved to the United States. His first novel Mashenka was published abroad in 1926. Then he published eight more novels in Russian, after which he did not write prose in Russian until his death (only poetry). World fame brought him the scandalous novel “Lolita”, published by the publishing house “Olympia Press”. After the publication, Nabokov woke up famous and still remains one of the most popular Russian writers in the world.
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