Overview

Compiled before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and completed in its shadow, this groundbreaking anthology brings together voices from across two centuries of Russian literature – voices of exile and resistance, of defiance and survival. From the golden age of the nineteenth century to the contested present, these are stories that speak from within and against empire, censorship, and war. This collection confronts the cultural complicity of the Russian language while celebrating its power to resist. Edited by Sergei Lebedev – 'the best of Russia’s younger generation of writers' (The New York Review of Books) – the anthology is structured around five interrelated but distinct literary strands: 1. Classical Russian literature 2. Emigrant literature written in exile 3. Soviet censored literature 4. Uncensored Soviet literature 5. Post-Soviet literature Here you will find tales smuggled through samizdat, penned in prison cells, whispered in exile, and shouted into the void. They are stories that survived the Tsar’s censors, Stalin’s purges, and Putin’s propaganda. The result is a battlefield of ideas, where incompatible truths collide and endure, and which serves to prove the great power of the word; the magical power that literature has always wielded – particularly in Russia. Reviews for Sergei Lebedev: 'One of Russia's most interesting young novelists' Anne Applebaum 'Lebedev is arguably the best of Russia's younger generation of writers' New York Review of Books 'One of modern Russia's finest writers' Philippe Sands

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9781801104128

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Reviews

PRAISE FOR SERGEI LEBEDEV: 'Not since Alexander Solzhenitsyn has Russia had a writer as obsessed as Sergei Lebedev with that country's history or the traces it has left on the collective consciousness. Rich in textures, colors, sounds, and visual details, wonderfully rendered into English by Antonina W. Bouis ... Lebedev is arguably the best of Russia's younger generation of writers' Orlando Figes, New York Review of Books. 'Enthralling and exquisite, by one of modern Russia's finest writers' Philippe Sands, author of East West Street. 'One of Russia's most interesting young novelists takes on Putin, poison and power in this unique novel; Lebedev provides a fascinating window on modern Russia' -- Anne Applebaum

PRAISE FOR SERGEI LEBEDEV: 'Not since Alexander Solzhenitsyn has Russia had a writer as obsessed as Sergei Lebedev with that country's history or the traces it has left on the collective consciousness. Rich in textures, colors, sounds, and visual details, wonderfully rendered into English by Antonina W. Bouis... Lebedev is arguably the best of Russia's younger generation of writers' Orlando Figes, New York Review of Books. 'Enthralling and exquisite, by one of modern Russia's finest writers' Philippe Sands, author of East West Street. 'One of Russia's most interesting young novelists takes on Putin, poison and power in this unique novel; Lebedev provides a fascinating window on modern Russia' -- Anne Applebaum

Author Information

Sergei Lebedev was born in Moscow in 1981 and worked for seven years on geological expeditions in northern Russia and Central Asia. Lebedev is a poet, essayist and journalist. His novels have been translated into many languages and received great acclaim in the English-speaking world. The New York Review of Books has hailed Lebedev as 'the best of Russia's younger generation of writers'.

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