The first turbulent years after 1917, when in accord with new social forces released by overthrow of autocracy there appeared numerous confronting literary groupings, were the only revolutionary period of literature development in the Soviet Union.

Unusual flourishing of Russian realistic literature in the second half of the 19th century was going on against the background of social and political distemper that started in the 1840s, under the reign of Nicholas I (1825–1855).

The first forty years of the 19th century are called the Golden Age of Russian poetry, and it is certainly due to the greatest Russian poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799–1837), whose first triumph was the poem Ruslan and Lyudmila (1820).

The inevitable consequence of Russian and West European literatures drawing together was that the former, being less mature fell under the influence if the latter as a more developed one. With the introduction of a more refined lifestyle in the courts of the post-Peter the First epoch the encouraging of sciences and arts became sort of a fashion. Subtle poetry starts to be appreciated.

As compared to West European countries Rus’ adopted Christianity rather late, not before the 10th century. Initial development of Russian literature was under the influence of Byzantium, i.e. the Eastern Roman Empire with the capital of Constantinople.

Kyrgyz and Russian-language writer Chinghiz Aitmatov entered Soviet literature half a century ago, with the publication of his story Jamila later translated into tens of languages. Recent decease of Aitmatov seems to have put an end to the epoch of mighty national writers.

The entire world knows Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881), the great novelist and classic of Russian literature, who created the immortal books, such as The Brothers Karamazov, The Idiot, Crime and Punishment, The Possessed, and others. Creation of Dostoyevsky is the artistic research of personality, of one’s ideal essence, one’s destiny and future.

This year marks the centenary since the birthday of Arseny Tarkovsky, an outstanding poet, translator, writer, and the father of the great film director Andrei Tarkovsky.

The most famous works by Vladimir Bogomolov (novel Moment of Truth, stories Ivan and Zosya) have been translated into dozens of languages and have stood over a hundred reeditions.

The outstanding poet Naum Korzhavin is the only finalist of the recent Big Book National Literary Award-2006 to get into the short-list with a book of memoirs. The poet, emigrant and dissident creates a vivid detailed picture of his life and his country in his prose work under the expressive title In Temptations of the Bloody Epoch.

More than one generation of readers became absorbed in books by Anatoli Rybakov (1911-1998). In Russian literature Rybakov stands out as one of the first courageous writers who dared to tread on forbidden ground and unfold the truth about this country’s hard times.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is widely acknowledged as a notable Russian man of letters, known all over the world as a Nobel Prize winner and the author of The Gulag Archipelago, "an attempt of research of the totalitarian governmental system of annihilating people in the USSR".

Andrei Bitov who has been recently granted with the Bunin Award 2006 for his selected prose works Palace Without a Tsar is deservedly considered a classic of Russian literature of the second half of the 20th century.

Boris Akunin enjoys being the most successful commercial writer on the Russian literature market today. His detective novels imbued with meticulous model-like characters can be seen at almost every Russian magazine stand these days.

His popularity has reached its climax, with over 50 books published, the number of copies amounting to 500 thousands every year.

The name of Vladislav Krapivin stands for a whole epoch in Russian literature. Every new book of this prolific author is an event for his admirers, both children and grown up children.

Brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are notable writers of the 20th century; together they created true masterpieces of sci-fi contributing to the world fame of Russian literature.

Kir Bulychev (1934–2003) is probably the most famous author of science fiction for children in Russia. One of the central characters of his books Alisa Selezneva, a girl from the future is especially beloved by the readers.

Sergey Dovlatov stands out in Russian literature as a most enigmatic man of letter, his works bordering between documentary evidence and play of fancy, between seeming simplicity and inconceivable magnetism.

Handsome, bright and gifted, the poet went away at the crest of success.