One century after the death of Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), his plays are celebrated throughout the world as a major milestone in the history of theater and drama. Outside the Russian-speaking community, he is undoubtedly the most widely translated, studied, and performed of all R…
Kolyma stories
by Rayfield, Donald, Shalámov, Varlam
fromNew York Review Books classics
"Of all Russian writers, Chekhov is one of the best liked and most easily appreciated. Yet because his work is subtle and understated, we need help to understand him. Chekhov can be (as his friends complained) the most elusive of writers, and one who appears capable of having tw…
A history of the Soviet Union under Stalin offers a portrait of the Soviet leader as well as the five ruthless politicos who presided over his secret police and became responsible for the deaths of twenty million Soviet citizens.
Founded by Feliks Dzierzynski, the Cheka-the Extraordinary Commission-came to life in the first years of the Russian Revolution. Spreading fear in a time of chaos, the Cheka proved a perfect instrument for Stalin's ruthless consolidation of power. But brutal as it was, the Cheka…
Founded by Feliks Dzierzynski, the Cheka-the Extraordinary Commission-came to life in the first years of the Russian Revolution. Spreading fear in a time of chaos, the Cheka proved a perfect instrument for Stalin's ruthless consolidation of power. But brutal as it was, the Cheka…
A history of the Soviet Union under Stalin offers a portrait of the Soviet leader as well as the five ruthless politicos who presided over his secret police and became responsible for the deaths of twenty million Soviet citizens.
Anton Chekhov's life was short, intense, and dominated by battles - both with his dependents and with the tuberculosis that was to kill him at age forty-four. He was one of the greatest playwrights and short-story writers ever born, but he was torn between medicine and literatur…