Curated playlist
Russian male dramatists and playwrights
- Anton ChekhovAnton Chekhov's body traveled to Moscow in a railway car meant for oysters. The detail offended his friend Maxim Gorky.
- Leo TolstoyLeo Tolstoy spent his last hours on a train, preaching non-violence to strangers.
- Nikolai GogolNikolai Gogol burned his manuscript for Dead Souls, part two, in 1852. He blamed the Devil and died nine days later.
- Alexander BlokAlexander Blok wrote a poem likening Bolshevik soldiers to the Twelve Apostles of Christ.
- Vladimir NabokovNovelist Vladimir Nabokov also named butterfly species, and later genetic research backed his theory.
- Alexander PushkinAlexander Pushkin could not speak Russian well until he was ten years old. He grew up speaking mostly French.
- Mikhail BulgakovStalin phoned banned playwright Mikhail Bulgakov in 1930 and asked if he wanted to leave.
- Vladimir MayakovskyPoet Vladimir Mayakovsky once threw tea at his audiences. He later wrote propaganda posters for the Communist Party.
- Denis FonvizinLines from Denis Fonvizin's comedies became Russian proverbs. He wrote them under a powerful nobleman's protection.
- Maxim GorkyWriter Maxim Gorky visited a Soviet labor camp that had been staged for him, and he did not notice.
- Nikolai LeskovRussian writer Nikolai Leskov ordered no speeches at his funeral. His 1892 will said he did not deserve praise.
- Sergey MikhalkovSergey Mikhalkov wrote a friendly giant policeman for children, then anthems for two countries.