Experts of the Literary Club presented top books capturing the Russian soul

The theme of the Russian soul became one of the central topics at the meeting of the Literary Club "What to Read?!" at the National Centre RUSSIA. The evening was dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Yesenin. Participants shared their views on books that best reflect the mysterious and multifaceted Russian soul.

Alexei Chesnakov

Moderator of the meeting, Head of the Academic Council of the Centre for Political Conjuncture, Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, and author of the Telegram channel "Chesnakov. Library", Alexei Chesnakov highlighted the following works:

— "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy

— "The Captain’s Daughter" by Alexander Pushkin

— "The History of a Town" by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

Sergei Kunyaev

Director General of the magazine "Nash Sovremennik" ("Our Contemporary"), critic, literary historian, and one of the authors of the book "Sergei Yesenin" in the series "The Life of Remarkable People", Sergei Kunyaev also presented his personal list:

— "Sermon on Law and Grace" by Metropolitan Hilarion of Kiev

— novels by Fyodor Dostoevsky

— "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy

— "And Quiet Flows the Don" by Mikhail Sholokhov

"And of course, Pushkin. Here I would not single out any particular work, but rather perceive his oeuvre as a whole," emphasised Sergei Kunyaev.

Larisa Alekseyeva

Head of the Department "Museum of the History of 20th-Century Literature" at the V. I. Dahl State Museum of the History of Russian Literature, PhD in History, Larisa Alekseyeva offered two lists.

The first was dedicated exclusively to Sergei Yesenin: "Radunitsa", "The Keys of Mary", "Anna Snegina", "The Land of Scoundrels". The second one was broader: "Of course, Pushkin and 'Eugene Onegin' are light, harmony, aristocracy, openness of the Russian soul to the world. Dostoevsky and 'The Brothers Karamazov' are tragedy and disharmony. Pugachyov means the story of Russian rebellion and spiritual tension. Fourth, I would name Mayakovsky. His poem 'Good!' is pain and hope, a gaze turned to the future, an expression of the universal Russian soul striving to bring happiness to the whole world. And finally, Konstantin Simonov. His 'Wait for Me' are verses on the brink of life and death, where poetry becomes a prayer."

The Literary Club "What to Read?!" was created at the National Centre RUSSIA as an intellectual platform for discussing literature, exchanging ideas and developing strategic thinking. Its main aims are to promote a culture of reading, foster interest in thoughtful writing, and expand the space of public dialogue.

Participation in the Club’s meetings and other educational and cultural programmes of the National Centre RUSSIA is free of charge with prior registration on the website russia.ru. Up-to-date information about events is published in the Events section and on the social media pages of the National Centre RUSSIA.