The greatest folly is the desire to have the greatest wisdom. Sholom Aleichem

Every fool has enough reasons to be sad, and only a wiseman tears through the curtain of existence with laughter. I. Babel

A smart man likes to learn, whereas a fool - to teach. A. Chekhov

Contact with a fool might prove to be useful if that fool is smarter than you. Contemporary Saying

It turns out that they considered Ivan to be the Fool only because he did not want to pretend that he is smart. Contemporary Saying

Stupidity would have confined itself to the frameworks of reason if only those frameworks weren’t too narrow for it. Contemporary Saying

The only thing more horrifying than a fool with initiatives is a fool with perspectives. Contemporary Saying

How many fools there are in this world who have never committed a folly! Contemporary Saying

If a person is never surprised by anything, that is, of course, a sure sign of his stupidity, not wisdom. F. Dostoevsky

The stupider it is, the clearer it is. Stupidity is short and direct, whereas intellect wags its tail and hides. Intellect is a scoundrel, whereas stupidity is straightforward and honest. F. Dostoevsky

A fool who has admitted that he is a fool is no longer a fool. F. Dostoevsky

However stupid the words of a fool might be, there are sometimes enough to confuse a clever man. N. Gogol

It’s impossible not to be smart when you have to deal with such fools. V. Klyuchevsky

With a smart man,

There is trouble.

With a fool,

It’s trite.

We need something in the middle,

But it’s nowhere to find. B. Okudjava

If every fool insisted on understanding everything that he says, then many fools would be sentenced to eternal silence. D. Pisarev

Everybody has the right to be stupid, but some people abuse the privilege. J. Stalin

If human folly were cherished and nurtured like human wisdom, perhaps, something extraordinarily precious would have come out of it. Y. Zamyatin

72. SUFFERING

No dog is wiser than the one that has been beaten. Sholom Aleichem

In order to be resurrected, one needs to die, to go through a sacrifice. N. Berdyaev

And they, who haven’t known that the past exists,

That the coming night is not in vain,

Their hearts were clouded by fatigue,

Their mouths were distorted by pain. A. Blok

Pain isn’t contradictory to life.

Our bodies have the know-how of suffering,

And man is merely a test-tool for strife. J. Brodsky

To me the whole world is gallows. H. Byalik

Of those who’ve suffered on the Cross,

We’re full of memories about their tribulations, trials.every single book about such Christs

Is always forwarded by Pilates. Contemporary Saying

Mankind will reject and kill its prophets, but men love their martyrs and honor those whom they have done to death. F. Dostoevsky

Suffering and pain are always necessary for an open mind and a deep heart. F. Dostoevsky

Don’t curse your fortune passer-by!

You are more fortunate than I. R. Gamzatov

Almighty, you’ve invented a pair of arms

Made a head to be worn by everyone,

WHAT A BLISS!

Then why, why won’t you let us without suffering and grief

KISS! KISS! KISS?! V. Mayakovsky

I want to live, so I could think and suffer. A. Pushkin

Both that which we call happiness and that which we call unhappiness is equally useful to us if we look upon the first and the second as upon a trial. L. Tolstoy

To teach someone how many bugs there are on this earth, how to observe spots upon the sun, how to write novels and operas is possible without suffering. However, to teach people about their own virtue, all of which consists in renunciation of the self and in serving the others, and to so strongly and effectively, is impossible without suffering and self-denial. L. Tolstoy

Just as the legend about the “eternal kike” who, as a punishment for his sins, is doomed to an eternal life without death is just, so would have been the legend about a man who, as a punishment for his sins, was doomed to a life without suffering. L. Tolstoy

73. SUICIDE

Whoever wants supreme freedom must kill himself. He who cares enough to take his own life is God. F. Dostoevsky

Dying in this world is not so new,

And neither is living, I daresay.

S. Esenin (The very last poem before committing suicide)

The possibility of killing oneself is a safety-valve. Having it man has no right to say that life is unbearable. L. Tolstoy

74. TALENT

Brevity is the sister of talent. A. Chekhov

The quantity of talent is directly proportional to the lack of fans. Contemporary Saying

Inspiration comes and goes, but the lack of talent stays forever. Contemporary Saying

You can’t be born a genius, you can only die a genius. Contemporary Saying

Born to crawl will never fly. M. Gorky

Education is nonsense, talent is what is important. And talent is a belief in oneself, in one’s strength. M. Gorky

However much you change positions,

My friends, you’ll never make musicians. I. Krylov

Talent is the only news that is always new. B. Pasternak

Lower than fowl an eagle sometimes flies,

But never will fowl soar into skies. K. Prutkov

America existed for centuries before Columbus discovered it, but only Columbus was able to discover it. Y. Zamyatin

75. THOUGHT/THINKING

I think, therefore, I think that I exist. Anonymous

Just give me a couple of ideas and I’ll try to make a masterpiece out of them! I. Babel

A moralistic character of the Russian soul gives birth to a suspicious treatment of thought. N. Berdyaev

When there is nothing to think about, all kinds of thoughts come into one’s head. Contemporary Saying

Those who never think are always like-minded people. Contemporary Saying

The best thoughts are illegitimate thoughts. Contemporary Saying

There are many thoughts that never leave our head only because they have enough room to feel comfortable there. Contemporary Saying

I can’t , I simply can’t go on pretending. I can’t go on living the lie of ideas, and yet, I have no other truth.

Come what may! F. Dostoevsky

Only while philosophizing a man doesn’t lie, for when he philosophizes, he imagines. M. Gorky

Start philosophizing, and your mind will start to swirl! A. Griboedov

When thoughts whirl in the heads of thinkers, the heads of the non-thinkers begin to spin. V. Klyuchevsky

Think twice, say once. Proverb

One who has lived and thought, grows scornful,

Disdain sits silent in his eye;

One who has felt is often mournful,

Disturbed by ghosts of days gone by. A. Pushkin

Giving your thought away for someone else to posses is a much more humiliating form of slavery than giving away your flesh. L. Tolstoy

Thoughts are the beginning of everything. And thoughts can be controlled. Hence, the main thing in improving yourself is improving your thoughts. L. Tolstoy

Thoughts that bring about decisive consequences are always simple. L. Tolstoy

All people are divided into two categories: those who are ruled by thought and vice versa. Herein lies the key to all the madness of the world. L. Tolstoy

How does the heart express itself?

How does the other understand?

How would he know the essence of your life?

The thought, once spoken, is a lie. F. Tyutchev

There is no sense in science or in thought,

When everywhere you look, life contradicts them. V. Vysotsky

The weight of heavy thoughts - it drew me upward,

While wings of flesh seduced me to the grave. V. Vysotsky

Ideas and men obey the same law: ideas which feed on minced meat lose their teeth just as civilized men do. Y. Zamyatin

Children are , after all, the boldest of philosophers; they come into life naked, not covered by one single leaf of dogma or creed. That’s why their questions are always so ridiculously naive and so frighteningly complicated. Y. Zamyatin

People don’t have a sufficiently stable foothold in order to stop and think. A. Zinoviev

76. TIME

Time is going past us. Step aside, let it pass. I. Babel

The autumn of the past was not as sad. A. Blok

Time is created by death. J. Brodsky

Future - is propaganda. J. Brodsky

There is no such Monday which wouldn’t give its way to a Tuesday. A. Chekhov

The further you look into the future, the less there is to see. Contemporary Saying

We are living during the great, truly hysterical times. Contemporary saying

Our gloomy present is our fathers’ bright future. Contemporary Saying

A man looking back into the past is at times merely trying to look away. Contemporary Saying

Years, like money, fly on. Contemporary Saying

Today is the day-after-tomorrow’s the day-before-yesterday. Contemporary Saying

One remembers the past only if it becomes the present. Contemporary Saying

The more you look at the clock, the less time you’ve got left. Contemporary Saying

Time is same as money, but money is better! Contemporary Saying

The question of the future: will the smart machines want to deal with fools? Contemporary Saying

Nothing hurries one as much as eternity! Contemporary Saying

Universal laziness and all-involving allergy to the future is taking over the world. But that is not enough: the real holiday will come when we will also learn not to remember the past which poisons us with hopes and fear. N. Djin

Recognition of peope in space and time, recognition of space in time - that is the only sign of our existence. That is why the disappearance of something familiar, something of our own disstresses us. N. Djin

What is time? Time doesn’t exist; time is numbers; time is a relation of being to non-being. F. Dostoevsky

Prophets discern the future much clearer than the present. S. Dovlatov

All will pass like apple-blossom smoke. S. Esenin

You won’t get very far riding in the carriage of the past. M. Gorky

Perhaps if the future existed, concretely and individually, as something that could be discerned by a better brain, the past would not be so seductive. V. Nabokov

A spoon is a treasure at dinner-time. Proverb

Life is long, the hour is short. Proverb

On the day when the sun rises, there is no need to remind the flowers to bloom. V. Shklovsky

The past does not disappear. You live continuously. You are both the same as you were before and different. V. Shklovsky

When a man dies, the watch in his pocket continues ticking. V. Shklovsky

Future has already been once, it has already existed, but it was hidden by the past. V. Shklovsky

There is only one step between myself and a five-year-old child. Between a newborn infant and a five-year-old, there’s a great distance. Between a fetus and an infant - an abyss. Between a non-existence and a fetus, there lies not an abyss, but incomprehensibility. L. Tolstoy

Everything is unimportant except that which we know at the present moment. L. Tolstoy

Time is behind us, time is ahead of us, time is never with us. L. Tolstoy

Appreciate the present! Every situation and every minute are incalculably precious, for they represent eternity. L. Tolstoy

The word “tomorrow” is for the irresolute and for the children. I. Turgenev

77. TRADITION

I want to do away with everything behind man, so that there is nothing to see when he looks back. I want to take him by the scruff of his neck and turn his face towards the future! L. Andreev

That which is eternal is always modern. Contemporary Saying

In order to clime new heights, we must clime off of the old ones. Contemporary Saying

You won’t get very far in the carriage of the past. M. Gorky

Enough of living by laws

That Adam and Eve have left.

Let’s hustle old history’s horse,

Left! Left! Left! V. Mayakovsky

Glorify me!

The great are nothing to me!

On all created I set my null! V. Mayakovsky

Traditions are never left in peace: they degenerate if they are not perfected. P. Pavlenko

An old saying is an enemy of a new age. Proverb

Respect for the past is what distinguishes an educated man from a savage. A. Pushkin

We deny the past, but we do not renounce it. V. Shklovsky

Every sort of deviation from customs takes a great amount of effort. Meanwhile, the first step towards achieving perfection is always directly connected with such deviation. L. Tolstoy

If there are no heretics, they have to be invented. Y. Zamyatin

78. TRUTH/LIE

A proven truth, in actuality

is not the truth at all,

But merely a sum of all the proofs. J. Brodsky

Truth is so cruel that it is cruel to call it truth. Contemporary Saying

It is not worthwhile to chop truth into bits and pieces! Contemporary Saying

Honesty is when you want to say a certain thing, but then say the truth. Contemporary Saying

In order to show one’s true face, it is sometimes sufficient to put on a mask. Contemporary Saying

The horseman drew his sword

To conquer ill,

Which does still walk around,

While he lies still. R. Gamzatov

Lies - there you have the religion of slaves and taskmasters. Truth is the god of the free men. M. Gorky

The truth is above pity. M. Gorky

Today’s Jews lie in the streets and say the truth in the synagogue. Alas, gone is that time when they were straightforward in the streets but roguish in the synagogues. Levi-Itzhok

The inability to discover and say the truth is a shortcoming which can never be concealed by any kind of an ability to lie. B. Pasternak

Steal a penny, and they’ll hang you, steal a thousand, and they’ll praise you. Proverb

Truth and justice live apart. Proverb

When money talks, truth shuts up. Proverb

If truth were suddenly to be found, it would be the most disagreeable surprise. L. Shestov

A new truth, when first discovered, is always as disgusting and hideous as a newborn child. L. Shestov

Truth slips away from us instantly as soon as the tension of our gaze weakens and, what’s more, it leaves us with the illusion that we are continuing being faithful to it. A. Solzhenitsyn

Today’s truths become tomorrow’s errors. Y. Zamyatin

Happily, all truths are erroneous. Y. Zamyatin

79. VANITY

I am a man with outstanding needs...

A mirrorred bookcase interests me! V. Mayakovsky

The sky decorated with stars always looks like the chest of some proud general. K. Prutkov

Sometimes words typed in italics are many, many times more unjust than those typed in regular print. K. Prutkov

If one has no vanity in his life, there is no sufficient reason for living. L. Tolstoy

Vanity of all vanities is still vanity. V. Vysotsky

I will leave and

I’ll say that

Not all is vain. V. Vysotsky

80. WAR/PEACE

The passion for destruction is a creative passion. M. Bakunin

Christ came to this world not with peace, but with a sword. N. Berdyaev

Revolution is war. Of all the wars known in history, it is the only lawful, rightful, just, and truly great war. V. Lenin

Do you hear?!

Everyone, everyone,

even the useless

must live.

We mustn’t, we mustn’t

dig the graves,

or kill! V. Mayakovsky

Yes, if they start loading the guns,

Then, everyone would want to shoot. B. Okudjava

A bad peace is better than a good war. Proverb

He who sowed wind, will reap thunder. Proverb

Don’t drown your enemy in your tears. Proverb

The business of destruction is not only less difficult, but much more so than the business of creation. Only that person decides to destroy who can no longer live otherwise. L. Shestov

And on the no-man’s land , you know,

There flowers grow,

Of extraordinary beauty. V.Vysotsky

81. WISDOM

But not one poet has yet said

That there is no wisdom,

There is no age,

And may be, there is no death. A. Akhmatova

No dog is smarter than the one that has been beaten. Sholom Aleichem

The longer a blind man lives, the more he sees. Sholom Aleichem

The greatest folly is the desire to have the greatest wisdom. Sholom Aleichem

Every fool has enough reasons to be sad, and only a wiseman tears through the curtain of existence with laughter. I. Babel

An apple falls on top of the wiseman’s head even when he is sitting under an oak tree. Contemporary Saying

What a difference between the conversation of the intelligent people and intelligent conversations! Contemporary Saying

Everything that moves, returns to the beginning. The truth is not in the movement but in serenity, in a stop. The holy place comes to the wise by itself, while a madman scales the world for it, but doesn’t find it anywhere, because it itself is looking for him. N. Djin

Being wise is never asking those questions which cannot be answered. V. Klyuchevsky

The point of having a head is for it to have a mind. Proverb

Mind doesn’t look for a beard. Proverb

A crow flies far over the oceans but she doesn’t get any wiser. Proverb

A fox is sly but they skin it dry. Proverb

Wisdom contains the seeds of premature aging. Proverb

Wisdom reduces complaints but not the suffering. K. Prutkov

Just like turtle soup, wisdom is not accessible to all. K. Prutkov

Fate likes, more than anything, to laugh at the ideals and prophecies of mortals and this must be regarded as its way of revealing its great wisdom. K. Prutkov

If people who are esteemed by all as wise, commit seemingly loathsome actions, then, evidently, these actions are not as loathsome as they seem to us. L. Tolstoy

Philosophers of genius, children, and ordinary people are equally wise because they ask equally stupid questions - stupid for a civilized man who possesses a well-furnished apartment with a magnificent bathroom, and a well-furnished dogma. Y. Zamyatin

82. WOMEN

A woman can be evaluated by her cooking, her dressing, and her husband. Sholom Aleichem

If this world had a female beginning, then, there would have been no history; the world would have remained in a “private” family circle. N. Berdyaev

An intelligent woman, or rather, a woman who belongs to a circle of intelligentsia, differs from other women in her deceitfulness. A. Chekhov

Whatever a sober man has on his mind, a woman has on her tongue. Contemporary Saying

Today, in order for a woman to be feminine, she needs to be masculine. Contemporary Saying

The difference between men’s mode of thinking and women’s mode of thinking is that the former is much more comprehensible to men. Contemporary Saying

There is almost no syntax in the life of a woman. V. Shklovsky

Scarce and short words are the best adornments for women.

L. Tolstoy

A woman who tries to resemble a man is just as ugly as an effeminate man. L. Tolstoy

Only with a woman one can lose virtue; only with her one can preserve it. L. Tolstoy

83. WORD

Gossip: nature’s telephone. Sholom Aleichem

A kind word is no substitute for a piece of herring or a bag of oats. Sholom Aleichem

Throw theory into the fire; it only spoils life. M. Bakunin

In the movement of lips

There’s much more life

Than in the words

That those lips utter. J. Brodsky

Language is a crystallized spirit. H. Byalik

I am a man of my word. As for action, that’s not my specialty! Contemporary Saying

When noone utters a word, the price of gold falls down. Contemporary Saying

People like to talk. N. Gogol

Yes, the Russian folk expresses itself forcefully! N. Gogol

It is not always important what they say, but it is always important how they say it. M. Gorky

It is much harder to turn a word into a deed than a deed into a word. M. Gorky

Words are marshals of human strength. V. Mayakovsky

Every word,

be it even a joke

that his scorched mouth belches out,

Leaps like a naked whore

through the smoke

out of a burning brothel. V. Mayakovsky

Think twice, say once. Proverb

He who’s greedy for a word has got the blessing of the Lord. Proverb

The tongue is small in size, but it is the master over the whole body. Proverb

When words are rare, they are also fair. Proverb

Word is silver, silence is gold. Proverb

Word is not a sparrow; once it flies out , you won’t catch it. Proverb

First think, then be quiet. Proverb

A big cause can drown in small words. Proverb

For the sake of a pretty word, he won’t pity his mother or the Lord. Proverb

Don’t let your tongue run in front of your feet. Proverb

It is better to say little, but well. K. Prutkov

If you have a fountain, shut it up occasionally. Let it rest! K. Prutkov

All good words are in the state of fainting fits. V. Shklovsky

Words are born in order to point out, to indicate, and they are never able to completely absorb their object,to show its true essence. V. Shklovsky

Do not trust words, neither yours, nor others; trust only the deeds, yours, as well as others. L. Tolstoy

Hold your tongue the moment you notice that you or the other party is becoming irritated. The unspoken word is golden. L. Tolstoy

A word is a deed. L. Tolstoy

A thought, once spoken, is a lie. F. Tyutchev

84. WORK

Nothing interferes with one's rest as much as the necessity to go to work. Anonymous

Hidden thoughts are stronger than obvious ones.

Any old soul can spit across an iceberg.

Naturally, society needs a prophet

More than a scientist or a carpenter.

But, as of yet, since there are no prophets,

I suggest, now that we still have the time,

Let’s get our hands busy with something,

Lest we fall into the embrace of crime. J. Brodsky

To live, you must at least be able to do something. M. Gorky

Work is work - that’s that.

And there’s always more where it comes from.

If I only had enough sweat

To last for all my years to come.

Paying for my mistakes

Is work enough, and no “buts”.

If only my smile doesn’t fake

When they’re kicking me in my guts. B. Okudjava

Your master’s home is like a millstone around your neck. Proverb

If you’ll sweat for two, you’ll eat for three. Proverb

If your work is bitter, your dinner is sweeter. Proverb

A diligent mouse can gnaw out a tree. Proverb

Every bird gets its fill with its own beak. Proverb

Water doesn’t flow under a stone that lies still. Proverb

To get a drink from a stream, you need to bend down and lean. Proverb

Lazy hands are no match for a clever head. Proverb

It is much better not to do anything than to do nothing. L. Tolstoy

To do what you want is not happiness. Happiness is to want what you do. L. Tolstoy

85. WRITING/LITERATURE

Poetry - is born out of trash. A. Akhmatova

Respectable sinners, philosophical slobs, and chronic victims of male menopause - in other words, great European writers! V. Aksyonov

The first poet was he who compared a woman to a flower; and the first prose-writer was he who compared a woman to another woman. Anonymous

Why do they say that it’s difficult to write the first sentence? Here, I’ve already written it! Anonymous

There are writers with an easygoing fate; there are writers with a difficult fate... and then, there are writers with no fate at all. I. Babel

A phrase, when it is born unto this world, is simultaneously good and bad. The key consists in the turn which is barely felt. I. Babel

You’re looking for poetry in the bygone past - in translations; you’re looking for poetry in poetry, whereas poetry is out there - in the streets. K. Balmont

Open my books : there you’ll find all that will be. A. Blok

Reading poetry in translation is like kissing a woman through a veil. H. Byalik

Prophet Obadia wrote just one short chapter but it made it into the Book of Books. H. Byalik

The art of writing basically consists not in knowing how to write but in knowing how to eliminate that which is badly written. A. Chekhov

He wrote with very black on white. Contemporary Saying

A good story never ends. Contemporary Saying

Some books teach us one thing only : don’t read everything that you can get your hands on. Contemporary Saying

Not to write - is an inalienable right of every writer. Contemporary Saying

It’s easy to write a good aphorism; what’s hard is to think it up. Contemporary Saying

Poet’s gift is to scribble and caress,

Fate’s footprint is stamped upon him in lead.

A white rose to a black, ugly frog

In this world I wanted to wed. S. Esenin

My poems! Serenely tell the story of my life. S. Esenin

While a man is young, he is a poet even when he is not a writer. However, when he has matured, he should remember that he is a man even when he is a writer. N. Gogol

No need for ovations, please! I did not make another Count Monte Cristo! Now I shall have to take a new profession, that of a caretaker. I. Ilf

Poetry is the realization of your own rightness. O. Mandelshtam

Books are people bounded in paper. A. Makarenko

A creative writer must study carefully the works of his rivals, including the Almighty. V. Nabokov

Style and structure is the essence of a book; great ideas are hogwash. V. Nabokov

Translation - profanation of the dead. V. Nabokov

The writer is the Faust of modern society, the only surviving individualist in a mass age. To his orthodox contemporaries he seems a semi-madman. B. Pasternak

Poetry will always remain to be that infamous peak, higher than the Alps, which is right under our feet, spread across the grass-covered fields, so that all we have to do in order to see it, is just bend down and pick it up. B. Pasternak

In literature, as well as in life, people repent thousands of times that they have spoken too much, but they never repent that they have spoken too little. A. Pisemsky

There are two types of nonsense: one, resulting from a lack of feelings and thoughts replaced by words; the other - from an abundance of feelings and thoughts and a lack of words in order to express them. A. Pushkin

Only helplessness before the enigmas of life could give birth to that secret, deeply hidden hatred that was the hallmark of all the extraordinary writers. L. Shestov

A writer is not only a bee, he is also honeycombs. There is labor of many bees in his works, labor of the past, and labor of the future. V. Shklovsky

For a country to have a great writer is like having a second government. That is why no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones. A. Solzhenitsyn

When you finish writing a poem, think how to start it. M. Svetlov

If you are able not to write, don’t write. L. Tolstoy

No matter what kinds of books there will be written, this world will stay the same. If Christ came and published the New Testament, the ladies would only try to get his autograph and nothing more! L. Tolstoy

It’s a drag to write in tedious details. I want to write in short, fiery streaks. L. Tolstoy

When I sit down to write, I feel that life and death depend upon it. Without such a feeling, there is no artist. L. Tolstoy

Poets are the kikes of this world. M. Tsvetaeva

True literature can exist only when it is created not by diligent and trustworthy officials, but by madmen, hermits, heretics, dreamers, rebels, skeptics. Y. Zamyatin

The writer’s talent consists in turning a rule into an exception, but there are far more writers who turn an exception into a rule. Y. Zamyatin

INDEX

LIST OF NAMES

(The numbers after a name represent numbers of a topic in the Index: List Of Topic )

Akhmadulina, Bella ( 1937 - ) - poet; 38

Akhmatova, Anna ( 1889 - 1966 ) - poet; 17, 42, 81, 85

Aksyonov, Vassily ( 1932 - ) - writer; 4, 10, 28, 63, 69, 85

Andreev, Leonid (1871 - 1919 ) - writer; 63, 77

Antokolsky, Pavel ( 1896 - 1919 ) - poet; 65

Arbuzov, Aleksei ( 1909 - 1975 ) - playwright; 25, 31, 43

Babel, Isaac ( 1894 - 1941 ) - writer; 20, 33, 34, 35, 37, 39, 43, 61, 62, 63, 65, 71, 75, 76, 81, 85

Bagritsky, Eduard ( 1895 - 1934 ) - poet; 45

Bakunin, Mikhail ( 1814 - 1876 ) - writer, anarchist; 18, 21, 23, 27, 44, 46, 57, 58, 62, 63, 80, 83

Balmont, Konstantin ( 1867 - 1942 ) - poet; 85

Batyushkov, Konstantin ( 1787 - 1855 ) - poet; 52

Belinsky, Vissarion ( 1811 - 1848 ) - literary critic, publicist; 7, 9, 23, 36, 38, 42, 44, 52, 64

Berdyaev, Nikolai ( 1874 - 1948 ) - religious philosopher; 4, 10, 13, 23, 33, 34, 43, 60, 64, 68, 69, 70, 72, 75, 80, 82

Bitov, Andrei (1933 - ...) - writer; 6

Blok, Alexander ( 1880 - 1921 ) - poet; 17, 19, 24, 25, 29, 31, 33, 38, 42, 44, 46, 49, 64, 65, 72

Bogomoletz, Alexander ( 1881 - 1946 ) - Ukrainian physician; 26, 49

Brezhnev, Leonid ( 1906 - 1982 ) - Soviet ruler; 15

Brodsky, Joseph ( 1940 - 1996) - poet; 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 28, 33, 42, 50, 57, 68, 70, 72, 76, 78, 83, 84

Bukharin, Nikolai ( 18888 - 1939 ) - political theoretician; 62

Byalik, Haim Nakhman ( 1873 - 1934 ) - poet; 42, 69, 72, 83, 85

Catherine the Great ( 1729 - 1796 ) - Russian Empress; 34

Chaadaev, Pyotr ( 1794 - 1856 ) - philosopher; 27, 54

Chagall, Marc ( 1877 - 1983 ) - artist; 45

Chekhov, Anton ( 1860 - 1904 ) - writer; 17, 31, 32, 36, 43, 44, 46, 47, 50, 65, 67, 71, 74, 76 ,82, 85

Chernyshevsky, Nikolai ( 1825 - 1889 ) - literary critic, revolutionary democrat; 38

Contemporary Saying - 1, 2, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 66, 67, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 81, 82, 83, 85

Djin, Nodar ( 1947 - ) - philosopher and writer; 17, 34, 39, 65, 76, 81

Dobrolyubov, Nikolai ( 1836 - 1861 ) - philosopher; 54

Dostoevsky, Fyodor ( 1821 - 1881 ) - writer; 1, 6, 7, 9, 14, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 30, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 52, 57, 58, 59, 62, 64, 68, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76

Dovlatov, Segey ( 1942- 1990 ) - writer; 4, 57, 59, 76

Dubnov, Semyon ( 1860 - 1943 ) - historian; 34, 62

Dzerzhinsky, Felix ( 1877 - 1926 ) - revolutionary; 37

Erenburg, Ilya ( 1891 - 1967 ) - writer; 42, 44

Erofeev, Victor (1940 - ) - writer; 64

Esenin, Sergei ( 1895 - 1925 ) - poet; 17, 23, 33, 37, 38, 42, 44, 50, 60, 64, 73, 76, 85

Galich, Alexander ( 1924 - 1977 ) - poet, bard; 17, 23

Gandelsman, Vladimir ( 1949 - ) - poet; 1, 20, 42, 49

Gamzatov, Rasul ( 1923 - ) - poet; 3, 17, 44, 49, 52, 72, 78

Gogol, NIkolai ( 1809 - 1852 ) - writer; 13, 25, 46, 52, 64, 71, 83, 85

Goncharov, Ivan ( 1812 - 1891 ) - writer; 19, 43

Gorky, Maxim ( 1868 - 1936 ) - writer; 9, 23, 24, 25, 27, 32, 33, 36, 42, 43, 44, 49, 50, 55, 58, 60, 66, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 83, 84

Griboedov, Alexander ( 1795 - 1829 ) - writer, diplomat; 36, 50, 75

Gurdjiev, Georgi ( 1877 - 1944 ) - religious philosopher; 60

Heifetz, Yasha ( 1895 - 1970 ) - violinist; 6

Herzen, Alexander ( 1812 - 1870 ) - political philosopher; 15, 25, 39, 60, 67

Idelson, Abram ( 1865 - 1921 ) - publicist; 34

Ilf, Ilya (1893 - 1938 ) - writer; 42, 85

Iskander, Fazil ( 1929 - ) - writer and poet; 16, 17, 51

Joke - 15, 38, 51, 57, 69

Karamzin, Nikolai ( 1766 - 1826 ) - writer, historian, poet; 14

Khrushchev, Nikita ( 1894 - 1971 ) - Soviet ruler; 4, 10, 15, 62

Khvostenko, Aleksei ( 1940 - ) - poet, bard; 67

Klyuchevsky, Vassily ( 1841 - 1911 ) - historian; 37, 39,45, 71, 75, 81

Krylov, Ivan ( 1769 - 1844 ) - writer, fabler; 50, 74

Kuzminsky, Konstantin ( 1940 - ) - poet, artist; 42

Lenin, Vladimir (1870 - 1924 ) - founder of the USSR, revolutionary; 5, 10, 15, 27, 33, 34, 62, 63, 69, 80

Leonov, Leonid ( 1899 - 1990 ) - writer; 7, 36

Lermontov, Mikhail (1814 - 1841 ) - poet; 24, 35, 42, 46, 52, 65

Levi-Itzhok ( 1739 - 1809 ) - Hasidic rabbi in Ukraine; 78

Levin, Shemaria ( 1867 - 1935 ) - publicist; 31, 34

Lomonosov, Mikhail ( 1711 - 1765 ) - poet, educator; 17

Lunacharsky, Anatoly ( 1875 - 1933 ) - political leader, writer; 20, 39

Makarenko, Anton ( 1888 - 1939 ) - writer, educator; 85

Mandelshtam, Osip ( 1891 - 1938 ) - poet; 31, 33, 85

Mayakovsky, Vladimir ( 1893 - 1930 ) - poet; 3, 4, 6, 10, 13, 17, 23, 31, 35, 37, 38, 42, 43, 44, 46, 49, 50, 52, 55, 57, 65, 72, 73, 77, 79, 80, 83

Nabokov, Vladimir ( 1899 - 1977 ) - writer; 6, 17, 21, 38, 62, 85

Nekrasov, Nikolai ( 1821 - 1878 ) - poet; 11

Obraztsov, Sergei ( 1895 - 1966 ) - contemporary theater figure; 38

Okudjava, Bulat ( 1924 - ) - poet, bard; 23, 25, 29, 37, 42, 43, 44, 49, 65, 70, 71, 80, 84

Pasternak, Boris ( 1890 - 1960 ) - poet, writer; 6, 57, 64, 65, 67, 78, 85

Pavlenko, Pyotr ( 1899 - 1951 ) - writer; 42, 77

Petlyura, Semyon ( 1880 - 1926 ) - Ukrainian general; 34

Pinsker, Lev ( 1821 - 1891 ) - publicist; 34

Pisarev, Dmitri ( 1840 - 1868 ) - publicist; 71

Pisemsky, Aleksei ( 1821 - 1881 ) - writer; 85

Prishvin, Mikhail ( 1873 - 1954 ) - writer; 33

Proverb - 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 28, 30, 33, 36, 38, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47 49, 50, 53, 58, 61, 62, 65, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84

Prutkov, Kozma - pseudonym for a group of humorist-writers of the 19th century; 8, 17, 20, 31, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 50, 53, 57, 58, 61, 65, 67, 74, 79, 81, 83

Pushkin, Alexander ( 1799 - 1837 ) - poet; 3, 25, 36, 44, 46, 49, 50, 56, 64, 72, 77, 85

Radischev, Alexander ( 1749 - 1802 ) - writer, thinker; 14

Sakharov, Andrei ( 1921 - 1988 ) - scientist, human rights activist; 21

Saltykov -Schedrin, Mikhail ( 1826 - 1889 ) - writer; 32

Schipachev, Stepan ( 1899 - 1980 ) - poet; 38

Shestov, Lev ( 1866 - 1938 ) - philosopher, one of the founders of existentialism; 1, 20, 24, 33, 43, 44, 48, 55, 57, 67, 78, 80, 85

Shklovsky, Victor ( 1893 - 1984 ) - writer, publicist; 13, 14, 17, 20, 29, 31, 33, 37, 38, 42, 43, 49, 57, 63, 66, 67, 76, 77, 82, 83, 85

Sholom Aleichem ( 1859 - 1916 ) - writer; 8, 25, 29, 31, 34, 38, 42, 45, 49, 57, 71, 72, 81, 82

Smelyakov, Yevgeny ( 1913 - 1972 ) - poet; 26

Solovyov, Vladimir ( 1815 - 1856 ) - philosopher; 38

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander ( 1918 - ) - writer; 4, 9, 15, 25, 33, 40, 46, 50, 59, 60, 63, 69, 70, 78, 85

Stalin, Joseph ( 1879 - 1953 ) - Soviet ruler; 18, 21, 63, 71

Svetlov, Mikhail ( 1903 - 1934 ) - poet; 13, 34, 36, 51, 85

Tolstoy, Lev ( 1828 - 1910 ) - writer; 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 49, 50, 52, 54, 55, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85

Trotsky, Leon ( 1870 - 1940 ) - revolutionary leader, journalist; 49, 63

Tsvetaeva, Marina ( 1889 - 1941 ) - poet; 85

Turgenev, Ivan ( 1818 - 1883 ) - writer; 19, 20, 25, 26, 36, 39, 50, 62, 76

Tynyanov, Yuri ( 1894 - 1943 ) - writer; 6, 31

Tyutchev, Fyodor ( 1803 - 1873 ) - poet; 52, 75, 83

Uspensky, Pyotr ( 1843 - 1902 ) - writer; 6

Usyshkin, Menakhem ( 1863 - 1941 ) - publicist; 34

Vainer, Arkady ( 1933 - ) - writer; 4, 64

Valyuev, Pyotr ( 1815 - 1890 ) - statesman, author of novels; 35, 65

Voinovich, Vladimir ( 1935 - ) - writer; 37

Voznesensky, Andrei ( 1933 - ) - poet; 17, 42

Vysotsky, Vladimir ( 1938 - 1980 ) - poet, bard; 3, 7, 17, 33, 38, 40, 42, 43, 59, 62, 75, 79, 80

Yerofeev, Venedict ( 1938 - 1987 ) - writer; 42

Yevtushenko, Yevgeny ( 1933 - ) - poet; 9, 12, 17, 34, 42, 52

Zamyatin, Yevgeny ( 1884 - 1937 ) - writer; 9, 23, 25, 27, 33, 46, 47, 52, 55, 60, 71, 74, 75, 77, 78, 81, 85

Zhabotinsky, Zeev ( 1880 - 1940 ) - literary critic; 29, 39

Zinoviev, Alexander ( 1934 - ) - philosopher and writer; 11, 15, 40, 75

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