r/tolstoy

Hello, could anyone who speaks Russian translate what Anna says at around 1:26:00 in the 1997 adaptation (when shes talking to the doll)? Thank you so much in advance

Reading Anna Karenina for the first time, only 50 pages in so please no spoilers. I’m really liking it so far but was wondering if there were any podcasts or youtube videos, almost like a book club that goes chapter by chapter over the book while one is reading it, and ideally spoiler free (as in not saying spoilers for chapters past the current one being discussed)

Don’t get me wrong, the writing is beautiful, but the storyline itself is not so amazing. I want to finish it and get it over with. I’m on page 739/924 (part 8, chapter XXVIII) but I’m so done with it. Is it going to get better?

Very minor question but in Anna Karenina much of the novel is about people travelling between Moscow and St Petersburg, just curious what that journey would be like in the 19th century, anyone know?

edit: to avoid confusion, I am mainly asking about how long the journey would have been

I'm planning to read Tolstoy for the entire next month aka July 2026, mostly his non-fiction but also the fiction.

I'm currently experiencing a deep existential dread and spiritual hunger. This Russian writer had touched my soul, so I decided that I'll spend 1 month reading him.

I'm tired of my selfishness, I want to be there for some people, to actually listen for once - That's what Tolstoy says life is all about.

I'm tired of looking at screens all the time.

I'm tired of the ads.

Tired of all the shallow quotes on Instagram and superficial philosophy videos on YouTube.

Tired of the distractions.

Tired of materialism.

—

I'll read mostly Tolstoy's non-fiction aka:

Confession (1882).

What I Believe (1882).

The Kingdom of God is Within You (1884).

On Life (1887).

Tolstoy on Shakespeare (1906).

Maybe I'll even finish Anna Karenina during that time, maybe I'll share some new insights about Tolstoy here once July is over.

This is a classic that is often met with a lot of praise from critics and regular readers alike.

I have to say I'm a bit confused. Tolstoy wants us to realize that Ivan's ideas of life such as chasing wealth and status have lead him to waste his life. Fair enough.

But looking at life, especially at life in the west, it seems to me that people who don't do that are just as miserable, if not more. There's an established link between income and health as well as well-being. Most peoples' lives that I have seen that have improved did so as a consequense of an increase in income or skills. The poor have always had it rough.

Becoming competent and wanting to enrich the world by using your skills seems to be natural too.

In your opinion, is Tolstoy's novel realistic or does it rather scoff at extreme cases like Ivan, thereby potentially leading to narrow conclusions ? Because in my observation, you can be ambitious, make a lot of money and still have a fantastic life and have a loving family too.

And what alternative would there be ? Should one not be ambitious and not better their own life ?

So, I'm a Tolstoy fan, through and through. When I say that, I mean that I loved Anna Karenina notwithstanidng that one farming sequence (iykyk), and I think it to be one of the most perfect representations of society. I also read one of his religious compilations (confessions), where he goes into depth regarding his unique approach to christianity. He considers himself a Christian, but the archetype of traditional christianity does not align with his own, so idk if he really is a christian (apology for the digression but that is a another topic for another time).

I also recently finished Resurrection but honestly thought much of it was a bore. Regarding other books that I read and enjoyed, I loved C&P and Brothers K and the idiot from Dostoevsky. Brothers K is my favorite book of all time. These were absolutely excellent books. Notes from the Underground was absolutely trash though and I couldn't even finish it.

Just wanted to give a brief history of my likes and dislikes within the realm of Russian literature in an effort to ascertain whether War and Peace would be something that would fit within my interests. I love long books, but am not a big fan of war sequences (which I've heard war and peace is rife with).

So, based on what I've said, do you guys think war and peace would be a good read based on your experience with it? lmk