Russia | Lecturia

Vladimir Nabokov: Signs and Symbols

“Signs and Symbols” is a short story by Vladimir Nabokov, published on May 15, 1948, in The New Yorker. It recounts a particularly difficult day in the life of an elderly immigrant couple visiting their son, who is confined to a sanatorium due to a severe mental illness. They face everyday setbacks, painful memories, and the weight of a life marked by loss and resignation. The narrative unfolds with a tense calm, amid seemingly trivial details that gradually reveal an atmosphere charged with anguish, while the signs of the outside world seem to take on a disturbing hidden meaning.

Lev Tolstoy: How Much Land Does a Man Need?

“How Much Land Does a Man Need?” is a short story by Lev Tolstoy, published in April 1886 in the magazine Russkoe bogatstvo. The story follows Pajom, a Russian peasant who, dissatisfied with his possessions, embarks on an insatiable quest to acquire more land. The devil, always eager to take advantage of human desires, decides to grant his wish and give him all the land Pahom believes he needs. Considered by James Joyce to be the best short story ever written, in it Tolstoy examines the essence of greed and how it can blind individuals.

Anton Chekhov: Sleepy

“Sleepy” (Спать хочется) is a short story by Anton Chekhov published in 1888 in the Peterburgskaya Gazeta. It tells the story of Varka, a young girl who works as a maid and is tasked with caring for a child who cries incessantly at night. One night, when she is utterly exhausted, as she struggles to fight off the overwhelming drowsiness, Varka experiences a series of visions and memories that intertwine with her reality, reflecting her deep fatigue and her desire to sleep. After two sleepless nights, Varka is at the end of her strength, and her body desperately begs her to do something to find peace and rest.

Anton Chekhov: The Man in a Case

“The Man in a Case” (Chelovek v futlyare) is a short story by Russian writer Anton Chekhov, published in July 1898 in the magazine Russkaya Myslʼ. Through the account of a high school teacher, we meet Byelikov, a Greek teacher who lives with obsessive rigidity. He fears everything new, avoids any emotion, and takes refuge in rules and prohibitions. Even his clothes seem like armor against the world. The story, told among hunters during a quiet night, becomes a subtle critique of those who live prisoners of fear, locked in a case that separates them from life.

Anton Chekhov: The Lady with the Dog

IT was said that a new person had appeared on the sea-front: a lady with a little dog. Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov, who had by then been a fortnight at Yalta, and so was fairly at home there, had begun to take an interest in new arrivals. Sitting in Verney’s pavilion, he saw, walking on the … Read more