Famous Russian Novelists

Russian literature has its roots well laid in the Middle Ages when epics and chronicles formed a major chunk of the literary circles. During the Age of Enlightenment i.e. from 1830s, Russian literature burgeoned and propelled and reached its peak. It was during this Golden age of Russian literature that novelists emerged. Nikolai Gogol was the first great Russian novelist. A preeminent figure of the literary circle, Gogol’s work had his impressionist vision of reality and people. ‘Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka’, ‘The Government Inspector’ and ‘Dead Souls are few of his early works. He was soon followed by Ivan Turgenev, a short story writer and novelist of the 19th century. Turgenev’s ‘Fathers and Sons’ is one amongst the greatest fiction novels of the 19th century. Other novels penned by this eminent litterateur include ‘On the Eve’, ‘Smoke’ and ‘Virgin Soil’. However, the biggest breakthrough of Russian novels internationally came with the works by Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. These two novelists brought fame and recognition of Russian novels on international soil. While Tolstoy is till date regarded as the greatest authors of all time, Dostoyevsky’s literary works exploring human psychology explored a new genre in Russian literature. 20th century Russia had prominent novelists such as Aleksandr Kuprin, Leonid Andreyev and Nobel Prize winner Ivan Bunin amongst many others. Read this section to know more about Russian novelists, their life, works and timeline.