This massive novel is worth a read if you are curious about Cossack culture at the start of World War One and through the later Russian Revolution in 1917 and the civil war that followed.

Cossacks were a proud group of farmers on the Don river who wanted their own local government instead of belonging to a new Soviet collective government. This book looks at the privations of war for the Cossack regiments in WW1 as well as a series of personal stories about the key characters that run through the entire novel.

Names are challenging, so I have prepared some notes outlining the main dozen characters in the caste of about 100. As well there is a short synopsis of the first two books that can help readers get into the plot lines. 

​'And Quiet Flows the Don' is worth a read – the author won a Nobel Prize for Literature for it -- but settle down with a glass of wine on the long winter nights for this novel.

Meg Dillon

​Coming up in June:  The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bolgakov (1940).  "Farce about Moscow life in the 1930s.  Slapstick fantasy defying Russian gloom."

(Published in 1904 this novel looks closely at the lives of a small group of activists who were protesting against the harsh conditions of the working class. Secret meetings in supporters' houses, pamphlets in factories and even the attempted protest march in a small town to mark May Day. This was dangerous work as secret police arrested many and they were jailed or exiled. One mother became a committed activist despite being middle aged to support her son and his friends in their quest for reform.
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An interesting novel as Gorky himself  had held many working class jobs from the age of eight when he was put to work by his family. His experiences ground this novel in a ring of truth gained from his own experiences. This is an easy way to pick up some of the history of Russia during this period.

May:  'And Quiet Flows the Don', Mikahail Sholokohov.  (Book One).

Meg Dillon

We watched a DVD of the play in English directed by Mihalis Kakogiannis in the 1980s. This is available on YouTube for anyone who wants to watch an excellent version.

A penniless aristocrat returns to her estate [the Cherry Orchard] after spending several years in Paris with her lover. Lopakhin, a former serf but now a rich businessman, suggests a scheme to her that will save her from selling the estate. She and her lazy brother reject this idea as unthinkable and hope that something will happen to save them. It doesn’t and Lopakhin buys the estate at auction intending to subdivide it for small holiday houses. A former tutor, now a revolutionary; an old valet who refused to accept his freedom when serfs were emancipated in the 1860s; a drunken doctor and a daughter who is longing to leave and experience life elsewhere, are all part of the rich company of characters in the play that inhabit this changing society in the early 1900s.

April 5:  The Mother, Maxim Gorky (1906)

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Meg Dillon

Pechorin is a bored and self-obsessed officer, part of the Russian elite in 1830s.  Lermontov presents him as an anti-hero who is willful, undertakes huge risks, is determined and yet is incapable of feeling deeply about any of the people he meets. He knows he is incapable of feeling empathy but doesn’t understand why. His conduct deteriorates as the novel progresses in the series of incidents in the Caucasus while his regiment is stationed there. He spurns the love of a young society girl, heartlessly kills a fellow officer in a duel and abducts a young Muslim girl and is responsible for her death.

​This novel started the critiquing of Russian society that led to later writers like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky.
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Meg Dillon, convenor.

‘A Glimpse at Russian Literature’ from Tsarist Russia begins on Tuesday 8th of February with ‘A Hero of our Time’ by Mikhail Lermantov (1840).  Life and Love affairs of the Russian elite in pre-revolutionary Russia.  Interestingly comparable with Anna Karenina - Tolstoy.  We will be meeting in the small U3A classroom from 10 am to 12 noon.
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Meg Dillon

A Glimpse at Russian Literature

From Tsarist Russia, through revolutions to the early communist era, Russian writers have rejoiced, described and explored the lives of ordinary Russians.  This small selection gives us a chance to see a Russia that existed behind the headlines.

A Hero of our Time, Mikhail Lermontov (1840)  Life and love affairs of the Russian elite in pre-revolutionary Russia.  Interestingly comparable with Anna Karenina - Tolstoy.

Eugene Onegin, Alexander Pushkin (c1833) Elite life in St Petersburg - loves lost and found.  This novel is in verse.

The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov (1903-4)  Chekhov's quiet optimism and discering character observations of pre Revolutionary Russian elites.

The Mother, Maxim Gorky (1906)  Harsh life of factory workers, particularly women who also had to content with abusive husbands.  Looks at a mother's son who wants to create a better life for himself.  

And Quiet Flows the Don, Mikhail Sholokohov (1925 - 1930)  Book One.  Life of Russian rural Cossacks in the early days of the Revolution and the civil wars that followed.

The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bolgakov (1940) Farce about Moscow life in the 1930's.  Slapstick fantasy defying Russian gloom.