The Russian Experience
A Selection of 20th-Century Writings

Literature

Children of the Arbat
RYBAKOV, Anatolii | Little, Brown and Co., © 1988 | FIC R
An autobiographical novel of Soviet life under Stalin at the time of purges of the mid-1930s.
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Collected stories
BABEL, Isaak | Penguin Books, © 1994 | FIC B
Stories about Jewish life in early 20th-century Russia and the horrors of Civil war. Uncensored edition.
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Contemporary Russian poetry: a bilingual anthology
Smith, Gerald S., translator | Indiana Univ. Press, © 1993 | 891.71008 C
Works written by 23 Soviet and emigre poets in the 1970s and 80s defining the wide range of styles of contemporary Russian verse.
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Don't die before you're dead
YEVTUSHENKO, Yevgeny | Random House, © 1995 | FIC Y
An autobiographical novel of love stories and political suspense set in Russia at the time of the August coup.
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Generations of winter
AKSENOV, Vasilii | Random House, © 1994 | FIC A
The saga of a Russian family swept up by the tide of history in Stalin's Russia.

Half a revolution: contemporary fiction by Russian women
Gessen, Masha, translator | Cleis Press, © 1995 | 808.831 H
A selection of an experimental prose by post-Soviet female writers revealing with an irony the transformation of Russian women's world.
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In a far distant land
BUNIN, Ivan | Hermitage, © 1983 | FIC B
A selection of prose on love and death themes.
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Kolyma tales
SHALAMOV, Varlam | Penguin Books, © 1994 | FIC S
Shalamov creates powerful sketches of everyday life in the labor camps of Siberia.
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Lives in transit: a collection of recent Russian women's writing
Goscilo, Helena, ed. | Ardis, © 1995 | 891.74008 L
Women's sexuality, romantic love, motherhood, new family structures, abortion, rape and physical health are examined in this collection of prose and poetry.
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The Master & Margarita
BULGAKOV, Mikhail | Ardis, © 1995 | FIC B
A novel set in Stalin's Moscow about suppressed writer and his devoted lover. This is a new translation of Bulgakov's masterpiece of black magic.
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The monkey link
BITOV, Andrei | Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, © 1995 | FIC B
A complex and poetic novel chronicling a search for the soul of a man and his country which reflects political changes taking place in Russia.
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On grief and reason
BRODSKY, Joseph | Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, © 1996 | 814 Brodsky
Essays reflecting Nobelist Brodsky's thoughts on modern poetry and politics and memories from his youth in Leningrad.
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Sleepwalker in a fog
TOLSTAIA, Tatiana | Knopf/Random House, © 1992 | FIC
A collection of melancholy and poetic stories from the author of On the Golden Porch.
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The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov
NABOKOV, Vladimir | Alfred A. Knopf, © 1995 | FIC N
A collection of 65 masterly written stories, many dealing with fates of Russian emigres in Paris.
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The time: night
PETRUSHEVSKAIA, Liudmila | Pantheon Books, © 1994 | FIC P
A bitter yet funny modern tale about the life of a middle-aged Russian woman who is a poet.
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The times of turmoil: a collection of stories
Broude, Inna, comp. | Hermitage, © 1993 | 808.832 T
Short stories by writers of the third-wave emigration and those living in Russia depicting the hypocricy as a stigma of the totalitarian system.
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Twentieth century Russian poetry: silver and steel: an anthology
Yevtushenko, Yevgeny, comp.; Albert C. Todd, ed. | Anchor Books/Doubleday, © 1994 | 891.71008 T
This comprehensive anthology is a labor of love and dedication to "the Russian national spirit, whose finest embodiment is poetry," and includes works by 253 poets, each receiving a biographical essay by Yevtushenko.
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Biography

1920 diary
BABEL, Isaac | Yale University Press, © 1995 | B Babel
Russian-Jewish writer's observations of Poles, ossSaks and Jews during the campaign against Poles in 1920, a precursor of Holocaust literature.
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Anna Akhmatova: Poet and Prophet
REEDER, Roberta | St. Martin's Press, © 1994 | B Akhmatova R
A coherent account of the life and creative work of the great Russian poet, including an overview of Russian political and social history of the time.
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In confidence: Moscow's ambassador to America's six Cold War presidents (1962-1986)
DOBRYNIN, Anatoliy Fedorovich | Times Books, Random House, © 1995 | B Dobrynin
A memoir and critical analysis of Cold War relations between the superpowers by the former ambassador.
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Invisible allies
SOLZHENITSYN, Aleksandr | Counterpoint, © 1995 | B Solzhenitsyn
Solzhenitsyn's memoir revealing his allies in the Soviet Union who, at risk to their freedom, worked selflessly to help him to get his writings out of the country.
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Ivan Bunin: From the other shore, 1920-1933: a portrait from letters, diaries and fiction
Ivan R. Dee, © 1995 | B Bunin I
The first Russian Nobelist's life in exile, chiefly in Paris, after escaping from bolshevist Russia in 1920.
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Lenin: a new biography
VOLKOGONOV, Dmitrii | Free Press, © 1994 | B Lenin V
A new biography of the Bolshevik leader using previously inaccessible material from the Soviet archives.
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No words to say goodbye
KOPELNITSKY, Raimonda and Kelli Pryor | Hyperion, © 1994 | B Kopelnitsky
The diaries of a young Soviet-Jewish girl featuring her cultural adaptation in America.
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Perpetual motion: the public and private lives of Rudolf Nureyev
STUART, Otis | Simon & Schuster, © 1995 | B Nureyev S
A compelling account of the two sides of the legendary dancer - private and public - as they have never been seen before.
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Shostakovich: a life remembered
WILSON, Elizabeth A. M. | Princeton University Press, © 1994 | B Shostakovich W
A study of the great composer drawn from the memoirs and reflections of his contemporaries, which is also a perspective of the social and political history of Soviet Russia.
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Special tasks: the memoirs of an unwanted witness - a Soviet spymaster
SUDOPLATOV, Pavel | Little, Brown, © 1994 | B Sudoplatov
Reminiscences revealing secrets about Stalin's era including Soviet atomic espionage, the organization of Trotsky's assassination and the Doctor's Plot.
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Taxi from hell: confessions of a Russian hack
LOBAS, Vladimir | Soho, © 1991 | 974.71 L
A Russian-American cab driver's personal account of the diverse life-styles in New York.
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TSvetaeva
SHVEITSER, Victoriia | Farrar, Straus and Giroux, © 1993 | B TSvetaeva S
The works and tragic fate of a great Russian poet who had passionate affairs with many lovers yet dedicated her life to her children and husband.
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The world I left behind: pieces of a past
BREZHNEVA, Luba | Random House, © 1995 | B Brezhneva
A portrait of Leonid Brezhnev, who presided over the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, and his divided family through the eyes of Brezhnev's niece.
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Zhirinovsky: Russian Fascism and the making of a dictator
SOLOVEV, Vladimir and Elena KLEPIKOVA | Addison-Wesley, © 1995 | B Zhirinovsky S
A psychological profile of the most visible representative of ultranationalism in today's Russia.
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Land & People

Imperium
KAPUSCINSKI, Ryszard | A.A. Knopf, © 1994 | 914.7048 K
An account of the successes and failures of the former Soviet Union as observed by a Polish journalist between 1939 and 1991.
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The Russian way: aspects of behavior, attitudes, and customs of the Russians
DABARS, Zita and Lilia Vokhmina | Passport Books, © 1995 | 947 D
Insightful guide to understanding and appreciating Russian culture and its people.
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Soviet civilization: a cultural history
SINIAVSKII, Andrei | Arcade Publishing, © 1990 | 947.084 S
An analysis of the psychology of Soviet life by a survivor of Stalin's forced labor camps.
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St. Petersburg: a cultural history
VOLKOV, S. | Free Press, © 1995 | 947.453 V
Essays about the Russian city which has nurtured many great cultural icons: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Malevich, Chagal, Balanchine, Nabokov, Shostakovich, and Brodsky.
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Trekking in Russia & Central Asia: a traveler's guide
MAIER, F. | The Mountaineers, © 1994 | 914.7046 M
Guide to outdoor adventures includes the history of mountaineering and information on culture, food, currency, health and safety considerations.

Though Soviet Years to Glasnost & Perestroika to Bespredel

Beautiful loot: the Soviet plunder of European's art treasures
AKINSHA, Konstantin and Grigorii Kozlov | Random House, © 1995 | 709.4309 A
Narratives about the collecting of "trophy art" by Soviet armies during World War II.
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Chernobyl: the forbidden truth
YAROSHINSKAIA, Alla | University of Nebraska Press, © 1995 | 363.1799 Y
The Kremlin's "forty-secrets protocols", or "lies" are revealed in this documentary of the nuclear disaster.
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Comrade criminal: Russian's new mafiya
HANDELMAN, Stephen | Yale University Press, © 1995 | 364.106 H
An investigation into the organized crime and corruption that plagues Russia today, tracing the roots of the Russian criminal underworld.
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A concise history of the Russian revolution
PIPES, Richard | Knopf, © 1995 | 947.0841 P
A synthesis of the Harvard historian's two previous works, The Russian Revolution and Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime.
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The dream that failed: reflections on the Soviet Union
LAGUER, Walter | Oxford University Press, © 1994 | 947.084 L
An inquest on the disintegration of the Soviet experiment and the failure of Western experts to discern the signs of instability of the regime.
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A long walk to church: a contemporary history of Russian Orthodoxy
DAVIS, Nathaniel | Westview Press, © 1995 | 281.947 D
An examination of the life of the Church under Soviet rule and its present-day challenges.
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Madame Blavatsky's baboon: a history of the mystics, mediums and misfits who brought spiritualism to America
WASHINGTON, Peter | Schocken Books, © 1995 | 299.934 W
A historical trace of spirituality and its gurus through Madam Blavatsky's theosophy movement.
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The ransom of Russian art
McPHEE, John | Farrar, Straus and Giroux, © 1994 | 709.47 M
The story of Norton Dodge, an American professor of economics, whose clandestine activities served dissident Soviet artists from 1956 to 1986.
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Religion in the new Russia: the impact of perestroika on the varieties of religious life in the Soviet Union
FOREST, Jim | Crossroad, © 1990 | 291.0947 F
An account of the emerging religious freedom in the Soviet Union right before its breakup through conversations with adherents of the major faiths.
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The Romanovs: the final chapter
MASSIE, Robert | Random House, © 1995 | 947.083 M
The author of Nicholas and Alexandra unravels the mystery surrounding the death of Tsar Nicholas II and his family.
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Russia 2010 and what it means for the world
YERGIN, Daniel and Thane Gustafson | Vintage Books, © 1994 | 303.4947 Y
Several possible scenarios for Russia's future, from the disastrous to the miraculous.
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The sexual revolution in Russia: from the age of the czars to today
KON, Igor Semenovich | The Free Press, © 1995 | 306.7094 K
An overview of the evolution and present state of Russian sexual culture, from folklore to surveys.
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Stalin against the Jews
VAKSBERG, Arkadii | Knopf, © 1994 | 305.8924 V
An account of historical facts revealing the Communist leader's shrewdness of tactics in campaigns against Soviet Jewish population.
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Stravinsky: Chronicle of a Friendship
CRAFT, Robert | Vanderbilt University Press, © 1994 | B Stravinsky C
Selections from the author's detailed diaries from 1948 to 1971 portraying the great composer and his times.
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The unquiet ghost: Russians remember Stalin
HOCHSCHILD, Adam | Viking, © 1994 | 947.084 H
The author travels throughout the former Soviet Union, discovering how people now relate to the legacy of Stalinism.
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Cooking the Russian Way

Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets' a gift to young housewives
TOOMRE, Joyce Stetson | Indiana University Press, © 1992 | 641.5947 T
An extensive and historical presentation of Russian cookery.
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Please to the table: Russian cookbook
VON BREMZEN, Anya and John Welchman | Workman Publ., © 1990 | 641.5947 V
Easy to follow ethnic recipies from the former Soviet republics, preparation tips and the source list where to find hard to get ingredients in the United States.

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This list of English language titles is a brief selection of recent publications reflecting the authors' varied perspectives on Russia's course from the last days of the tsars to its present state. Included in the list are literary works by Soviet and Russian émigré writers and poets emphasizing human problems and broken Russian characters affected by revolution, collectivization, the purges, World War II, the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet empire in 1991. The list suggests books available in The Branch Libraries' circulating collections.

Selection Committee: Co-chairs: Ismael Alicea & Irina Kuharets
Susan Gitman, Robert Joyal, Olga Kuharets
Thomas Nikolaidis, Lina Podles, Terri Rosen
The Office of Community Outreach Services.