March 12, 2024

Lessons Unlearned from Russian Literature


Lessons Unlearned from Russian Literature
Tolstoy judging you for not being a pacifist.  The Russian Life files. 

A literature teacher from Irkutsk Oblast was forced to resign after using texts by Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy to encourage critical thinking about war and violence. 

In March 2022, Olga Tatarnikova taught a lesson for her students in Manzurka, a town with fewer than 1000 residents, on Dostoyevsky's Crime and PunishmentTatarnikova was discussing the character of Raskolnikov and how violence cannot solve conflicts. A few days later, her class was visited by police officers, who informed her that ashe had been reported for discrediting the army. During questioning, Tatarnikova asked if she should refrain from teaching Tolstoy, who wrote that war was "the most immoral thing in life." The police responded that she should leave ideologically problematic texts off her syllabus, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy included.

Although charges were not brought against Tatarnikova, shortly after her interview she was forced to resign from her school. 

Tatarnikova, originally from Norilsk, had moved to Manzurka after attending university in Irkutsk to serve a community that was lacking both teachers and resources. Students reported to Meduza that her classes were always inspiring, encouraging them to apply lessons from classic literature to the world around them. 

This incident is one of many times classic literature has been wielded for political purposes in wartime. Russian President Vladimir Putin is known to quote Dostoyevsky in efforts to evoke a unified "Russian world."

You Might Also Like

Anna Karenina Every Day
  • November 08, 2012

Anna Karenina Every Day

Lev Tolstoy's Anna Karenina has been called the greatest novel of all time. But can one really appreciate it as much in English translation versus the Russian original?
Dostoyevsky in Siberia and Beyond
  • November 07, 2021

Dostoyevsky in Siberia and Beyond

Dostoyevsky spent ten years of his life exiled to Russia's Eastern hinterlands. Beyond the Urals, there are several places that shaped Dostoyevsky and influenced many of his greatest works of literature.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955