Mommy, I'm going to die soon ...
- Why such thoughts ... after all, you are young, strong ...
- But Lermontov died at the age of 26, Pushkin - at 37, Yesenin - at 30 ...
- But you are not Pushkin or Yesenin!
- No, but still ..

Mom Vladimir Semenovich recalled that such a conversation took place with her son. For Vysotsky, early death was something like a test for the poet's "authenticity". However, I cannot be sure of this. I will tell about myself. From childhood, I "knew for sure" that I would become a poet (of course, a great one) and die early. I will not live to see thirty, or at least forty. Can a poet live longer?

In the biographies of writers, I have always paid attention to the years of their lives. I counted at what age the person died. I tried to understand why this happened. I think a lot of writing people do this. I do not hope to understand the causes of early deaths, but I will try to collect materials, collect existing theories and dream up - a scientist from me it will hardly come out - my own.

First of all, I collected information about how Russian writers died. She entered the age at the time of death and the cause of death in the table. I tried not to analyze, just to drive the data into the required columns. I looked at the result - interesting. The prose writers of the 20th century, for example, often died of cancer (the leader is lung cancer). But in the world in general - according to the WHO - among oncological diseases, lung cancer is most often found and causes death. So is there a connection?

I can’t decide whether to look for "writing" diseases, but I feel that there is some sense in this search.

Russian prose writers of the 19th century

Name	Years of life	Age at the time of death	Cause of death
Herzen Alexander Ivanovich	March 25 (April 6) 1812 - January 9 (21), 1870	57 years old	pneumonia
Gogol Nikolay Vasilievich	March 20 (April 1) 1809 - 21 february (March 4) 1852	42 years	acute cardiovascular failure (conditionally, because there is no consensus)
Nikolay Leskov	4 (February 16) 1831 - 21 february (March 5) 1895	64 years	asthma
Goncharov Ivan Alexandrovich	June 6 (18), 1812 - September 15 (27), 1891	79 years	pneumonia
Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich	October 30 (November 11) 1821 - January 28 (February 9) 1881	59 years	pulmonary artery rupture (progressive lung disease, throat bleeding)
Pisemsky Alexey Feofilaktovich	11 (23) March 1821 - 21 January (2 February) 1881	59 years
Saltykov-Shchedrin Mikhail Evgrafovich	January 15 (27), 1826 - April 28 (May 10) 1889	63 years	cold
Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich	August 28 (September 9) 1828 - November 7 (20) 1910	82 years	pneumonia
Turgenev Ivan Sergeevich	October 28 (November 9) 1818 - August 22 (September 3) 1883	64 years	malignant tumor of the spine
Odoevsky Vladimir Fedorovich	1 (13) August 1804 - 27 February (11 March) 1869	64 years
Mamin-Sibiryak Dmitry Narkisovich	October 25 (November 6) 1852 - November 2 (15) 1912	60 years	pleurisy
Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich	12 (24) July 1828 - 17 (29) October 1889	61 years	cerebral hemorrhage

The average life expectancy of Russian people in the 19th century was about 34 years. But these data don't give an idea of \u200b\u200bhow long the average adult lived, as the statistics were heavily influenced by high infant mortality.

Russian poets of the 19th century

Name	Years of life	Age at the time of death	Cause of death
Baratynsky Evgeny Abramovich	February 19 (March 2) or 7 (March 19) 1800 - June 29 (July 11) 1844	44 years	fever
Küchelbecker Wilhelm Karlovich	June 10 (21), 1797 - August 11 (23), 1846	49 years old	consumption
Lermontov Mikhail Yurievich	October 3 (October 15) 1814 - July 15 (July 27) 1841	26 years	duel (shot in the chest)
Pushkin, Alexander Sergeyevich	May 26 (June 6) 1799 - January 29 (February 10) 1837	37 years	duel (stomach wound)
Tyutchev Fedor Ivanovich	November 23 (December 5) 1803 - July 15 (27), 1873	69 years	stroke
Tolstoy Alexey Konstantinovich	August 24 (September 5) 1817 - September 28 (October 10) 1875	58 years	overdose (mistakenly administered a large dose of morphine)
Fet Afanasy Afanasevich	November 23 (December 5) 1820 - November 21 (December 3) 1892	71 years	heart attack (there is a version of suicide)
Shevchenko Taras Grigorievich	February 25 (March 9) 1814 - February 26 (March 10) 1861	47 years	dropsy (accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity)

In 19th century Russia, poets died differently from prose writers. To the latter, death often came from pneumonia, and among the former, no one died from this disease. And poets left before. Of the prose writers, only Gogol died at 42, the rest much later. And of the lyricists, rarely who lived to be 50 (long-liver - Fet).

Russian prose writers of the 20th century

Name	Years of life	Age at the time of death	Cause of death
Abramov Fedor Alexandrovich	Feb 29, 1920 - May 14, 1983	63 years	heart failure (died in the recovery room)
Averchenko Arkady Timofeevich	18 (30) March 1881 - 12 March 1925	43 years	weakening of the heart muscle, enlargement of the aorta and renal sclerosis
Aitmatov Chingiz Torekulovich	December 12, 1928 - June 10, 2008	79 years	renal failure
Andreev Leonid Nikolaevich	August 9 (21), 1871 - September 12, 1919	48 years old	heart disease
Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel	June 30 (July 12) 1894 - January 27, 1940	45 years	shooting
Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasevich	May 3 (May 15) 1891 - March 10, 1940	48 years old	hypertensive nephrosclerosis
Bunin Ivan	10 (22) October 1870 - 8 November 1953	83 years	died in a dream
Kir Bulychev	October 18, 1934 - September 5, 2003	68 years	oncology
Bykov Vasil Vladimirovich	June 19, 1924 - June 22, 2003	79 years	oncology
Vorobiev Konstantin Dmitrievich	September 24, 1919 - March 2, 1975)	55 years	oncology (brain tumor)
Gazdanov Gaito	November 23 (December 6) 1903 - December 5, 1971	67 years old	oncology (lung cancer)
Gaidar Arkady Petrovich	January 9 (22), 1904 - October 26, 1941	37 years	shot (killed in the war by a machine gun burst)
Maksim Gorky	16 (28) March 1868 - 18 June 1936	68 years	cold (there is a version of murder - poisoning)
Zhitkov Boris Stepanovich	August 30 (September 11) 1882 - October 19, 1938	56 years	oncology (lung cancer)
Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich	August 26 (September 7) 1870 - August 25, 1938	67 years old	oncology (tongue cancer)
Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich	April 10 (22), 1899 - July 2, 1977	78 years	bronchial infection
Nekrasov Viktor Platonovich	June 4 (17), 1911 - September 3, 1987	76 years	oncology (lung cancer)
Pilnyak Boris Andreevich	September 29 (October 11) 1894 - April 21, 1938	43 years	shooting
Andrey Platonov	September 1, 1899 - January 5, 1951	51 years	tuberculosis
Solzhenitsyn Alexander Isaevich	December 11, 1918 - August 3, 2008	89 years	acute heart failure
Strugatsky Boris Natanovich	April 15, 1933 - November 19, 2012	79 years	oncology (lymphoma)
Strugatsky Arkady Natanovich	August 28, 1925 - October 12, 1991	66 years	oncology (liver cancer)
Tendryakov Vladimir Fedorovich	December 5, 1923 - August 3, 1984	60 years	stroke
Fadeev Alexander Alexandrovich	11 (24) December 1901 - 13 May 1956	54 years	suicide (shot)
Kharms Daniil Ivanovich	December 30, 1905 - February 2, 1942	36 years	exhaustion (during the siege of Leningrad; escaped execution)
Shalamov Varlam Tikhonovich	June 5 (June 18) 1907 - January 17, 1982	74 years old	pneumonia
Shmelev Ivan Sergeevich	September 21 (October 3) 1873 - June 24, 1950	76 years	heart attack
Sholokhov Mikhail Alexandrovich	11 (24) May 1905 - 21 February 1984	78 years	oncology (laryngeal cancer)
Shukshin Vasily Makarovich	July 25, 1929 - October 2, 1974	45 years	heart failure

There are theories according to which diseases can be caused by psychological reasons (some esotericists believe that any disease is caused by spiritual or mental problems). This topic has not yet been sufficiently developed by science, but there are many books in stores like "All diseases from nerves." For lack of a better one, let's resort to popular psychology.

Russian poets of the 20th century

Name	Years of life	Age at the time of death	Cause of death
Annensky Innokenty Fedorovich	August 20 (September 1) 1855 - November 30 (December 13) 1909	54 years	heart attack
Akhmatova Anna Andreevna	June 11 (23), 1889 - March 5, 1966	76 years	[Anna Akhmatova was hospitalized for several months after a heart attack. After being discharged, she went to a sanatorium, where she died.]
Andrey Bely	October 14 (26), 1880 - January 8, 1934	53 years	stroke (after sunstroke)
Bagritsky Eduard Georgievich	October 22 (November 3) 1895 - February 16, 1934	38 years	bronchial asthma
Balmont Konstantin Dmitrievich	June 3 (15), 1867 - December 23, 1942	75 years	pneumonia
Brodsky Joseph Alexandrovich	May 24, 1940 - January 28, 1996	55 years	heart attack
Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich	December 1 (13), 1873 - October 9, 1924	50 years	pneumonia
Voznesensky Andrey Andreevich	May 12, 1933 - June 1, 2010	77 years	stroke
Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich	September 21 (October 3) 1895 - December 28, 1925	30 years	suicide (hanging), there is a version of murder
Ivanov Georgy Vladimirovich	October 29 (November 10) 1894 - August 26, 1958	63 years
Gippius Zinaida Nikolaevna	8 (20) November 1869 - 9 September 1945	75 years
Blok Alexander Alexandrovich	16 (28) November 1880 - 7 August 1921	40 years	inflammation of the heart valves
Gumilev Nikolay Stepanovich	April 3 (15), 1886 - August 26, 1921	35 years	shooting
Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich	July 7 (19), 1893 - April 14, 1930	36 years	suicide (shot)
Mandelstam Osip Emilievich	January 3 (15), 1891 - December 27, 1938	47 years	typhus
Dmitry Merezhkovsky	August 2, 1865 (or August 14, 1866) - December 9, 1941	75 (76) years	cerebral hemorrhage
Boris Pasternak	January 29 (February 10) 1890 - May 30, 1960	70 years	oncology (lung cancer)
Slutsky Boris Abramovich	May 7, 1919 - February 23, 1986	66 years
Tarkovsky Arseny Alexandrovich	June 12 (25), 1907 - May 27, 1989	81 years	oncology
Marina Tsvetaeva	September 26 (October 8) 1892 - August 31, 1941	48 years old	suicide (hanging)
Khlebnikov Velimir	October 28 (November 9) 1885 - June 28, 1922	36 years	gangrene

Crayfish associated with a feeling of resentment, a deep spiritual wound, a sense of the futility of their actions, their own uselessness. Lungs symbolize freedom, readiness and the ability to receive and give. The twentieth century in Russia is a century, many writers "suffocated", were forced to remain silent or say not everything they thought was necessary. Disappointment in life is also called the cause of cancer.

Heart diseases caused by overwork, prolonged stress, belief in the need for tension.

Colds people get sick, in whose life too many events occur at the same time. Pneumonia (pneumonia) - desperate.

Sore throat - creative impotence, crisis. Also, the inability to stand up for oneself.

The list is not yet complete, since it only included questions from tickets for a general education school or the basic level (and, accordingly, did not include in-depth study or profile level and a national school).

"Life of Boris and Gleb" late XI - early. XII century.

"The Word about Igor's Regiment" end of the XII century.

W. Shakespeare - (1564 - 1616)

"Romeo and Juliet" 1592

Zh-B. Moliere - (1622 - 1673)

"Bourgeois in the nobility" 1670

M.V. Lomonosov - (1711 - 1765)

DI. Fonvizin - (1745 - 1792)

"Minor" 1782

A.N. Radishchev - (1749 - 1802)

G.R. Derzhavin - (1743 - 1816)

N.M. Karamzin - (1766 - 1826)

"Poor Lisa" 1792

J.G. Byron - (1788 - 1824)

I.A. Krylov - (1769 - 1844)

"The wolf in the kennel" 1812

V.A. Zhukovsky - (1783 - 1852)

"Svetlana" 1812

A.S. Griboyedov - (1795 - 1829)

"Woe from Wit" 1824

A.S. Pushkin - (1799 - 1837)

"Belkin's Tale" 1829-1830

"Shot" 1829

"Stationmaster" 1829

"Dubrovsky" 1833

The Bronze Horseman 1833

"Eugene Onegin" 1823-1838

"The Captain's Daughter" 1836

A.V. Koltsov - (1808 - 1842)

M.Yu. Lermontov - (1814 - 1841)

"A song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, a young oprichnik and daring merchant Kalashnikov." 1837

"Borodino" 1837

"Mtsyri" 1839

"A Hero of Our Time" 1840

"Goodbye, unwashed Russia" 1841

"Motherland" 1841

N.V. Gogol - (1809 - 1852)

"Evenings on a farm near Dikanka" 1829-1832

"The Inspector General" 1836

"Overcoat" 1839

"Taras Bulba" 1833-1842

"Dead Souls" 1842

I.S. Nikitin - (1824 - 1861)

F.I. Tyutchev - (1803 - 1873)

"There is in the autumn of the original ..." 1857

I.A. Goncharov - (1812 - 1891)

"Oblomov" 1859

I.S. Turgenev - (1818 - 1883)

"Bezhin meadow" 1851

"Asya" 1857

"Fathers and Sons" 1862

"Shchi" 1878

ON. Nekrasov - (1821 - 1878)

"Railway" 1864

"Who Lives Well in Russia" 1873-76

F.M. Dostoevsky - (1821 - 1881)

"Crime and Punishment" 1866

"The Boy at Christ's at the Christmas Tree" 1876

A.N. Ostrovsky - (1823 - 1886)

"Our people - numbered!" 1849

"Thunderstorm" 1860

A.A. Fet - (1820 - 1892)

M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin - (1826-1889)

"Wild landowner" 1869

"The Tale of How One Man Fed Two Generals" 1869

"The Wise Gudgeon" 1883

"Bear in the Voivodeship" 1884

N.S. Leskov - (1831 - 1895)

"Lefty" 1881

L.N. Tolstoy - (1828 - 1910)

"War and Peace" 1867-1869

"After the ball" 1903

A.P. Chekhov - (1860 - 1904)

"Death of an official" 1883

"Ionych" 1898

"The Cherry Orchard" 1903

M. Gorky - (1868 - 1936)

"Makar Chudra" 1892

"Chelkash" 1894

"Old woman Izergil" 1895

"At the bottom" 1902

A.A. Block - (1880 - 1921)

"Poems about a beautiful lady" 1904

"Russia" 1908

cycle "Motherland" 1907-1916

"Twelve" 1918

S.A. Yesenin - (1895 - 1925)

"I don't regret, I don't call, I don't cry ..." 1921

V.V. Mayakovsky (1893 - 1930)

"Good attitude to horses" 1918

A.S. Green - (1880 - 1932)

A.I.Kuprin - (1870 - 1938)

I.A. Bunin - (1879 - 1953)

O.E. Mandelstam - (1891 - 1938)

M.A. Bulgakov - (1891 - 1940)

"White Guard" 1922-1924

"Heart of a Dog" 1925

"The Master and Margarita" 1928-1940

M.I. Tsvetaeva - (1892 - 1941)

A.P. Platonov - (1899 - 1951)

B.L. Pasternak - (1890-1960)

"Doctor Zhivago" 1955

A.A. Akhmatova - (1889 - 1966)

"Requiem" 1935-40

K.G. Paustovsky - (1892 - 1968)

"Telegram" 1946

M.A. Sholokhov - (1905 - 1984)

"Quiet Don" 1927-28

"Virgin Soil Upturned" t1-1932, t2-1959)

"The Fate of Man" 1956

A.T. Tvardovsky - (1910 - 1971)

"Vasily Terkin" 1941-1945

V.M. Shukshin - (1929 - 1974)

V.P. Astafiev - (1924 - 2001)

A.I. Solzhenitsyn - (born 1918)

"Matrenin Dvor" 1961

V.G. Rasputin - (born 1937)

The idea of \u200b\u200bprotecting the Russian land in the works of oral folk art (fairy tales, epics, songs).

Creativity of one of the poets of the Silver Age.

Originality artistic world one of the poets Silver Age (for example, 2-3 poems at the choice of the examinee).

The Great Patriotic War in Russian prose. (On the example of one piece.)

The feat of a man in war. (Based on one of the works about the Great Patriotic War.)

Great theme Patriotic War in prose of the twentieth century. (On the example of one piece.)

Military theme in contemporary literature... (For example, one or two pieces.)

Your favorite poet in 20th century Russian literature. Reading his poem by heart.

Russian poets of the XX century about the spiritual beauty of man. Reading one poem by heart.

Features of the work of one of the modern Russian poets of the second half of the twentieth century. (at the choice of the examinee).

Your favorite poems contemporary poets... Reading one poem by heart.

Your favorite poet. Reading one of the poems by heart.

The theme of love in modern poetry. Reading one poem by heart.

Man and Nature in Russian Prose of the 20th Century. (On the example of one piece.)

Man and nature in modern literature. (For example, one or two pieces.)

Man and nature in Russian poetry of the XX century. Reading one poem by heart.

Your favorite literary hero.

Review of the book of a modern writer: impressions and evaluation.

One of the works of modern literature: impressions and evaluation.

The book of a modern writer, read by you. Your impressions and assessment.

Your peer in modern literature. (One or more works.)

Your favorite piece of contemporary literature.

Moral problems of modern domestic prose (by the example of a work of the candidate's choice).

The main themes and ideas of modern journalism. (For example, one or two pieces.)

Heroes and Problems of One of the Works of Contemporary Russian Drama of the Second Half of the 20th Century. (at the choice of the examinee).

On the eve of World Writer's Day, the Levada Center wondered who in the minds of the people of Russia deserves to enter list of the most prominent Russian writers... The survey passed 1600 residents Russian Federation over 18 years old. The results can be called predictable: the top ten reflects the composition school curriculum on literature.

Human rights activist Solzhenitsyn (5%) joined her almost closely. Kuprin, Bunin and Nekrasov finished at the same time - each got 4% of the votes. And then new names began to appear among friends from textbooks, for example, Dontsova and Akunin took their place next to Griboyedov and Ostrovsky (3% each), and Ustinova, Ivanov, Marinina and Pelevin stood on the same level with Goncharov, Pasternak, Platonov and Chernyshevsky ( 1%).

10. Lermontov

Top-10 of the most outstanding Russian writers are opened by the poet-misanthrope, full of contempt for the soulless light, the creator of demonic characters and the singer of Caucasian exoticism in the form of mountain rivers and young Circassians. However, even stylistic errors like “a lioness with a shaggy mane on a ridge” or “a familiar corpse” did not prevent him from climbing the Parnassus of Russian literature and taking tenth place in the rating with a score of 6%.

9. Bitter

In the USSR he was considered the ancestor soviet literature and socialist realism, while ideological opponents denied Gorky his writing talent, intellectual scope, and accused him of cheap sentimentalism. Received 7% of the votes.

8. Turgenev

He dreamed of becoming a philosopher and even tried to get a master's degree, but he failed to become a scientist. But he became a writer. And a quite successful writer - his fees were among the highest in Russia. With this money (and income from the estate) Turgenev supported the entire family of his beloved Pauline Viardot, including her children and husband. In the poll, it scored 9%.

7. Bulgakov

Russia rediscovered this writer for itself only twenty-five years ago, after perestroika. Bulgakov was one of the first to face the horrors of communal apartments and obstacles on the way to a Moscow residence permit, which was later reflected in The Master and Margarita. His contribution to literature was appreciated by 11% of Russians.

6. Sholokhov

It is still unknown who exactly wrote "Quiet Don" - an unknown writer from the "white" camp, or a group of comrades from the NKVD, or Sholokhov himself, who later received the Nobel Prize for the novel. In the meantime, he is ranked sixth on the list of outstanding writers with a score of 13%.

5. Gogol

They love him not for moralizing, but for the door to the world of grotesque and phantasmagorias, fancifully woven with real life... He scored the same number of points as Sholokhov.

4. Pushkin

In his youth, he loved to play pranks (for example, to shock the inhabitants of Yekaterinoslav with an outfit of translucent muslin pantaloons without underwear), was proud of his thin waist and tried with all his might to get rid of the status of a "writer". Moreover, during his lifetime he was considered a genius, the first Russian poet and creator of the Russian literary language. In the minds of today's readers, it ranks fourth with a score of 15%.

3. Chekhov

The author of humorous stories and the founder of tragicomedy in Russian literature is considered to be a kind of “visiting card” of Russian drama. The Russians give him an honorable third place, giving him 18% of the vote.

2. Dostoevsky

Five books of a former convict and an inveterate gambler were included in the list of "One Hundred best books of all time "according to the Nobel Institute of Norway. Dostoevsky, like no one else, knows and describes with utmost honesty the dark and painful depths of the human soul. He took second place in the ranking with a score of 23%.

1. Leo Tolstoy

"Inveterate man" earned fame genius writer and the classics of Russian literature during his lifetime. His works have been published and republished many times in Russia and abroad, and many times have appeared on the movie screen. One "Anna Karenina" was filmed 32 times, "Resurrection" - 22 times, "War and Peace" - 11 times. Even his life itself has served as material for several films. Perhaps it was thanks to the recent high-profile film adaptations that he earned the fame of the first writer in Russia, receiving 45% of the votes.

“Russian literature is the only unhindered guide in the West's desires to comprehend the secrets of the Russian soul, its culture and identity. No restrictions or prohibitions, no political enmity or sanctions. I bought a volume of a Russian classic and you get to know yourself quietly, dispensing - sitting, lying, standing, in the subway, at home ... Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov ... Be careful with Chekhov - you can go into a binge ... "

Thoroughly with Russian literature abroad began to get acquainted through the writer Ivan Turgenev, who settled in Baden-Baden in 1863. Having become close to the most famous Western writers, cultural and artistic figures, intellectuals and politicians of that time, Turgenev very quickly became the most famous and most widely read Russian author in Europe. It was with the works of Turgenev that the Western reader began to comprehend the entire depth and richness of the Russian language.

In 1878, at the international literary congress in Paris, the writer was elected vice-president; in 1879 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford. The Chancellor of the German Empire Clovis Hohenlohe called Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev the best candidate for the post of Prime Minister of Russia. He wrote about Turgenev: "Today I spoke with the smartest man in Russia."

But the main merit of Ivan Turgenev is propaganda. Throughout his life abroad, he tirelessly “promoted” Russian literature as the most invaluable within Russia itself. So, Europe met Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol ...

They say that people are interested in the literature of a country when they show interest in the country itself. This is partly true. With regard to Russia, this interest on the part of the West has never ceased and reached its peak in the 21st century. It is noteworthy that once having discovered Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov and many other prolific masters of Russian literature, the West never ceases to associate Russian literature and Russia itself with these great names. Of course, in this regard contemporary writers it is not easy, and oddly enough, Russian writers of the 21st century have to compete with Russian classics of the 19th century. After all, the demand for the export of Russian classics is still huge. This is evidenced by the facts:

The adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace speaks of the popularity of the Russian classic abroad - more than 7 different versions of the film. Another example - "Anna Karenina" - in different countries it was filmed about 18 times.

Chekhov is still the leader in terms of the number of foreign film adaptations of Russian classics - his works have become the basis for film / television versions about 200 times. He is one of the 3 most screened writers in the world.

"In the galaxy of great European playwrights ... the name of Chekhov shines like a star of the first magnitude," wrote George Bernard Shaw at the beginning of the 20th century.

However, if Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are known in the West more from books, then Chekhov is rather not read, but "watched": the writer is little known as the author of humorous stories, but is rightfully considered a playwright of the first magnitude along with Shakespeare, Shaw and Uyald. His plays are some of the most popular in the world. But Chekhov himself did not anticipate his future glory. He told his friend Tatyana Shchepkina-Kupernik: "They will read me for seven, seven and a half years, and then they will forget."

One more point is surprising. Fame in a writing career directly depends on his "promotion". Writing talentedly or brilliantly is not enough. You need to invest in advertising, in self-promotion. And the best PR is a scandal. Take Nabokov's worldwide fame, having written the scandalous "Lolita" he could not write anything else. The scandalous plot itself, and all attempts to ban the publication of the novel made its publication an event and provided the book with huge circulations. Solzhenitsyn made a talented name "on politics" and the propaganda machine helped him.

Now it is already difficult to play on politics. It is practically impossible to realize a political intrigue on which one can "take off". The money remains.

Now, in general, few Russian names are noticeable in the West - of course, primarily because of the language barrier. In pre-revolutionary Russia there was no big difference between the bearers of Russian and European culture. All educated people in Russia spoke English, French and German well. Tolstoy almost got the first Nobel Prize in literature, Turgenev was absolutely recognized in Paris as a writer, Dostoevsky had a huge influence on Freud and on many others. Then there was a single multilingual culture. Now, on the contrary: globalization has led to the dominance of one English. So it turns out that cultures are different, but the language of all writers is the same. At the same time, it cannot be said that the carriers of Russian culture have become victims of any special discrimination. There is simply one dominant culture and it is English-speaking.

But we got distracted.

And yet, what Russian writers are the most famous abroad by modern standards?

Leo Tolstoy - "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina";
Fyodor Dostoevsky - "Crime and Punishment", "The Idiot", "The Brothers Karamazov";
Anton Chekhov - "Uncle Vanya", "Lady with a Dog", "Kashtanka";
Alexander Pushkin - Eugene Onegin;
Nikolai Gogol - Dead Souls;
Ivan Turgenev - Fathers and Sons;
Mikhail Bulgakov - Fatal Eggs, The Master and Margarita;
Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita;
Alexander Solzhenitsyn - The Gulag Archipelago, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich;
Ivan Bunin - "Sukhodol", "Village";
Alexander Griboyedov - Woe from Wit;
Mikhail Lermontov - "A Hero of Our Time", "Demon";
Boris Pasternak - Doctor Zhivago.

With modern Russian literature, everything is much more complicated. Nevertheless, they are quite popular: Polina Dashkova, Dmitry Glukhovsky, Zakhar Prilepin, Mikhail Shishkin, Victor Pelevin, Sergey Lukyanenko, Boris Akunin.

In the 90s, the only modern Russian author whose books could be easily obtained in English was Pelevin - despite the fact that this is still a specific reading. Over the past ten years, however, something has changed, others have also been translated - Boris Akunin had the greatest success: in England his detectives are still selling well ... In the West they like a Russian writer to be bearded and serious.

It's clear in England, but what about the USA? According to the famous publicist Owen Matthews (Owen Matthews), "literature modern Russia cannot offer the American reader brought up on philosophical novels Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, that is capable of returning them to the "magic country", open to them in the books of the classics. " That is why the percentage of Russian literature in modern America does not exceed 1-3%.

Deputy Head of Rospechat Vladimir Grigoriev considers:

"The fact that our writers have not been made stars lately is largely due to extra-literary moments." Remember the growing popularity of Mikhail Shishkin in Western European countries after he spoke out against the Kremlin's policy ... And vice versa - as soon as Zakhar Prilepin, who was quite successfully translated and published in English-speaking countries, began to support the so-called Novorossia, we began to experience certain difficulties in promoting it. "

They really rolled back. At first, sport turned into an instrument of political pressure, now literature. You just look at it and the Bolshoi Theater will stop touring the world. Perhaps even the excitement for Russian painting will subside. But nothing. But we began to export twice as much gas, oil, tanks and Kalash ...

Russian writers and poets, whose works are considered classics, are world famous today. The works of these authors are read not only in their homeland - Russia, but all over the world.

Great Russian writers and poets

A well-known fact that has been proven by historians and literary scholars: best works Russian classics were written during the Golden and Silver Ages.

The names of Russian writers and poets who have become world classics are known to everyone. Their work has forever remained in world history as an important element.

The creativity of Russian poets and writers of the "Golden Age" is the dawn in Russian literature. Many poets and prose writers developed new directions, which subsequently began to be increasingly used in the future. Russian writers and poets, whose list can be called endless, wrote about nature and love, about light and unshakable, about freedom and choice. The literature of the Golden, as well as later of the Silver Age, reflects the attitude not only of writers to historical events, but the whole people as a whole.

And today, looking through the thickness of the centuries at the portraits of Russian writers and poets, every progressive reader understands how bright and prophetic their works were, written more than a dozen years ago.

Literature is subdivided into many topics, which formed the basis of the works. Russian writers and poets talked about war, about love, about peace, fully opening up to every reader.

"Golden Age" in Literature

The "Golden Age" in Russian literature begins in the nineteenth century. The main representative of this period in literature, and specifically in poetry, was Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, thanks to whom not only Russian literature acquired its special charm, but the entire Russian culture as a whole. Pushkin's work contains not only poetic works, but prose stories.

Poetry of the "Golden Age": Vasily Zhukovsky

The beginning of this time was laid by Vasily Zhukovsky, who became a teacher for Pushkin. Zhukovsky opened such a direction as romanticism for Russian literature. Developing this direction, Zhukovsky wrote odes that were widely known for their romantic images, metaphors and personifications, the ease of which was not in the directions used in Russian literature of past years.

Mikhail Lermontov

Another great writer and poet for the "Golden Age" of Russian literature was Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. His prose work "A Hero of Our Time" gained immense fame at one time, because it described Russian society as it was at the time that Mikhail Yuryevich writes about. But all readers fell in love with Lermontov's poems even more: sad and sad lines, gloomy and sometimes terrible images - all this the poet managed to write so sensitively that every reader is still able to feel what worried Mikhail Yuryevich.

Prose of the "Golden Age"

Russian writers and poets have always distinguished themselves not only for their extraordinary poetry, but also for their prose.

Lev Tolstoy

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy became one of the most significant writers of the "Golden Age". His great epic novel "War and Peace" became known all over the world and is included not only in the lists of Russian classics, but also in the world. Describing the life of Russian secular society during the Patriotic War of 1812, Tolstoy was able to show all the subtleties and features of the behavior of St. Petersburg society, which for a long time since the beginning of the war did not seem to participate in the all-Russian tragedy and struggle.

Another novel by Tolstoy, which is still read both abroad and in the writer's homeland, is Anna Karenina. The story of a woman who wholeheartedly fell in love with a man and went through unprecedented difficulties for the sake of love, and soon suffered a betrayal, fell in love with the whole world. A touching story of love, which can sometimes drive you crazy. The sad end became a unique feature for the novel - it was one of the first works in which the lyric hero not only dies, but deliberately interrupts his life.

Fedor Dostoevsky

In addition to Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky also became a significant writer. His book "Crime and Punishment" has become not just a "Bible" of a highly moral person with a conscience, but also a kind of "teacher" for someone who has to make a difficult choice, having foreseen all the outcomes of events. The lyrical hero of the work not only made the wrong decision that ruined him, he took upon himself many torments that haunted him day or night.

In the work of Dostoevsky there is also the work "The Humiliated and the Offended", which accurately reflects the whole essence of human nature. Despite the fact that a lot of time has passed since the moment of writing, the problems of mankind that Fyodor Mikhailovich described are still relevant today. Main characterseeing all the insignificance of the human "soul", begins to feel disgust for people, for everything that people of the wealthy strata are proud of, which are of great importance to society.

Ivan Turgenev

Another great writer of Russian literature was Ivan Turgenev. Writing not only about love, he touched upon the most important problems of the surrounding world. His novel Fathers and Sons clearly describes the relationship between children and parents, which remains exactly the same today. Misunderstanding between the older generation and the young is an eternal problem in family relations.

Russian Writers and Poets: The Silver Age of Literature

The beginning of the twentieth century is considered to be the Silver Age in Russian literature. It is the poets and writers of the Silver Age who gain special love from readers. Perhaps this phenomenon is caused by the fact that the life of writers is closer to our time, while Russian writers and poets of the "Golden Age" wrote their works, living according to completely different moral and spiritual principles.

Poetry of the Silver Age

The poets are undoubtedly the outstanding personalities who distinguish this literary period. Many directions and trends of poetry appeared, which were created as a result of a division of opinions about the actions of the Russian authorities.

Alexander Blok

The gloomy and sad work of Alexander Blok was the first that appeared at this stage of literature. All of Blok's poems are permeated with longing for something extraordinary, something bright and light. The most famous poem “Night. Street. Lamp. Pharmacy ”perfectly describes Blok's worldview.

Sergey Yesenin

Sergei Yesenin became one of the brightest figures of the Silver Age. Poems about nature, love, the transience of time, their "sins" - all this can be found in the poet's work. Today there is not a single person who would not find Yesenin's poem that could please and describe the state of mind.

Vladimir Mayakovsky

If we talk about Yesenin, then I immediately want to mention Vladimir Mayakovsky. Harsh, loud, self-confident - that is what the poet was. The words that came out of the pen of Mayakovsky, and today are striking in their power - Vladimir Vladimirovich perceived everything so emotionally. In addition to harshness, in the work of Mayakovsky, who did not go well in his personal life, there is also love lyrics. The story of the poet and Lily Brick is known all over the world. It was Brick who revealed in him all the most tender and sensual, and Mayakovsky, in return for this, seemed to idealize and deify her in his love lyrics.

Marina Tsvetaeva

Marina Tsvetaeva's personality is also known to the whole world. The poetess herself had peculiar character traits, which is immediately evident from her poems. Perceiving herself as a deity, even in her love lyrics, she made it clear to everyone that she was not one of those women who are capable of giving themselves offense. However, in her poem "How many of them fell into this abyss," she showed how unhappy she was for many, many years.

Silver Age prose: Leonid Andreev

Great contribution to fiction made by Leonid Andreev, who became the author of the story "Judas Iscariot". In his work, he presented the biblical story of Jesus' betrayal in a slightly different way, making Judas not just a traitor, but a man suffering from his envy of people who were loved by everyone. The lonely and strange Judas, who found rapture in his tales and tales, always received only ridicule in the face. The story tells about how easy it is to break the spirit of a person and push him to any meanness, if he has no support or close people.

Maksim Gorky

For the literary prose of the Silver Age, the contribution of Maxim Gorky is also important. The writer in each of his works hid a certain essence, understanding which, the reader realizes the full depth of what worried the writer. One of these works is the small story "The Old Woman Izergil", which is divided into three small parts. Three components, three life problems, three types of loneliness - all this was carefully veiled by the writer. A proud eagle thrown into the abyss of loneliness; noble Danko, who gave his heart to selfish people; an old woman who had searched all her life for happiness and love, but never found it - all this can be found in a small, but extremely vital story.

Another important work in the work of Gorky was the play "At the Bottom". The lives of people who are beyond poverty - that's what became the basis of the play. The descriptions that Maxim Gorky gave in his work show how much even very poor people, who in principle do not need anything, just want to be happy. But the happiness of each of the heroes is in different things. Each of the characters in the play has its own values. In addition, Maxim Gorky wrote about the "three truths" of life that can be applied in modern life... Lies for the good; no pity for the person; the truth that man needs - three views on life, three opinions. The conflict, which remains unresolved, leaves each hero, as well as each reader, to make his choice.