Why is Russian literature so damn good?

>>9322982
because they had a rich culture to derive their themes from, time that would otherwise be stale to fill with writing, across the vast winters, introspection that insists on there being no hypocrisy, even when it exists, and believe it or not, an influx of non-russians to inspire them and to join their literary traditions. also, it was an amazing time, the 18th and early 19th century for literature. a lot of worldwide communication, translations spreading across the lands, industry increasing and the promise of technology to bury the old world's problems.

or it could be the vodka.

>>9322982
*Why ~was~ Russian literature so damn good?

>>9323003
damn soviets.

It is not russian literature that is so damn good.
It is american literature that is so damn blyat.

>>9323000
Great post tovarish

>>9323005
>>9323003
this.
fucking reds ruined everything.

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>>9322982
>overrated meme authors that are so cerebral that they set the foundation for totalitarianism
>"good"
Pick one!

The russians had their historical opportunity. If they don't shape up, russian will only be spoken in hell.

>>9323070
>Using the expression "meme author" unironically
I genuinely feel sorry for you.

>>9323070
setting the stage for one of the most destructive cultures of humankind to exist wasn't dostoevsky's fault. the guy even spoke out against it. these people actively wished to destroy art, you know. philosophy and literature are closely tied, but still. turgenev didn't all of a sudden decide to begin a revolution. don't piss on the diamonds in the rough, anon.

>>9323070
Spoken like a true americuck

>>9323078
>implying that russian literature doesn't live on old merits

>>9323085
Not singling out one specific author. But russian culture is holy, too holy.

>>9323087
Oh yeah? Say that to my face in 20 years?

>>9322982
Because of the Russian soul. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_soul

It's what makes Tarkovsky's films stand out too.

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>>9323132
ah yes, that's what communists have far too much of, religion. how blind i was to miss that.

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>>9323003
*Why is Russian literature so damn good?

>>9323197
wew

>>9323197
where can I buy this in English?

>>9323163
You do know that communism is only christian heresy?

>>9323003
>>9323005
>>9323051

Does /lit/ rate Mikhail Bulgakhov?

>>9323070
>He doesn't get that Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Bulgakov, Zamyatin, Pasternak, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Mandelshtam, and Solzhenitsyn all spoke against totalitarianism
Hey, nice job calling them meme lit without having read them!

>>9323197
Pelevin is obsessed with being weird. Sometimes it works, like in Omon Ra. Sometimes it doesn't, like in Numbers. If you want genuinely good Russian lit being written today, try Tatiana Tolstaya or Vladimir Sorokin

>>9322982
It isn't really particularly good, Ireland, Italy, France and Germany easily compete with it.

>>9323147
Thanks for that, good stuff.

the cold adds to the misery of human existence. thats the extra spice a miserarble mind needs to expose the bacis misery. the surplus is never known.

Andrei Bely is my favorite Russian author. I've been learning Russian specifically to read him in the native language. If you like Russian lit, please read Petersburg (McDuff translation), it's fantastic and you won't be disappointed.