Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger. Tolstoy clashed with editor Mikhail Katkov over political issues that arose in the final installment (Tolstoy's negative views of Russian volunteers going to fight in Serbia), therefore, the novel's first complete appearance was in book form in 1878. Widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction,...

Three Sisters (1900) is a drama in four acts by Russian playwright and short story writer Anton Chekhov. It was first performed at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1901, directed by acclaimed actor Konstantin Stanislavski-who also played the role of Aleksandr Ignatyevich Vershinin, a philosophizing artillery officer in love with middle Prozorov sister Masha. Reviews were mixed at first, but as the play continued to run, Three Sisters became a popular success,...

"War and Peace: Illustrated" is Leo Tolstoy's magnum opus, a sweeping epic that chronicles the lives of Russian aristocrats during the Napoleonic era. Set against the backdrop of war and societal upheaval, the novel weaves together the personal dramas of its characters with the grand sweep of history. At its heart, "War and Peace" follows the intertwined destinies of several noble families, including the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Rostovs....

Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov (1812-1891) was a Russian novelist who achieved literary fame later in life, after a career in the civil-service which spanned more than thirty years. His first novel, "A Common Story", was a definitive success and his notoriety was cemented with the publication of his second novel, "Oblomov", in 1850. Based on a short story written a year prior, "Oblomov" is about a cultured, intelligent, upper middle class man experiencing...