Active Users:1016 Time:31/10/2025 04:39:59 PM
Back to Messageboard Post New Thread Search Help Stats Rules
You don't necessarily need to know the history. The Shrike Send a noteboard - 15/03/2017 03:15:38 PM

View original post
But I'm also particularly interested in Tolstoy and his brand of Christianity.

Classics are classics for a number of reasons. They have universal themes that transcend time and place. Go ahead and read the Wikipedia entry for Russian history if you want to give yourself a bit of background, but ultimately you will enjoy Dostoyevsky or you won't. Funnily enough, I read a bunch of him while in my late teens/early twenties. I didn't read the majority of my books on Russian history until later

As for Tolstoy, I began with War and Peace. And only last year. Did I know everything about the reign of Alexander I and about Napoleonic Europe? No. But I knew enough for the background to make sense. Tolstoy will fill you in on what you need to know.

Reply to message
The February Revolution and Kerensky’s Missed Opportunity The Shrike - 13/03/2017 09:37:00 PM 829 Views
Fascinating stuff damookster - 13/03/2017 10:52:58 PM 438 Views
Who knows? It could have been worse off. The Shrike - 13/03/2017 11:37:54 PM 528 Views
What's your opinion on Lenin? Ghavrel - 14/03/2017 02:06:59 AM 479 Views
Lenin. A monster. The Shrike - 14/03/2017 12:55:18 PM 509 Views
Thanks. I'll ask him too. *NM* Ghavrel - 14/03/2017 03:01:36 PM 241 Views
Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky were all bloodthirsty mass murderers. Tom - 14/03/2017 08:59:06 PM 548 Views
That's fascinating. But give me a book recommendation! Ghavrel - 14/03/2017 09:15:57 PM 444 Views
Start with a general history of Russia The Shrike - 14/03/2017 10:17:22 PM 562 Views
Excellent. Thank you. It's next on the list. Ghavrel - 15/03/2017 02:11:14 AM 509 Views
Russian history is as depressing as they come. The Shrike - 15/03/2017 12:08:15 PM 502 Views
Read Figes first, I suppose. Tom - 14/03/2017 10:55:23 PM 468 Views
Thanks, Tom. I've been putting off reading good literature because of my unfamiliarity with Russia. *NM* Ghavrel - 15/03/2017 02:12:10 AM 227 Views
Which books have you put off reading? *NM* The Shrike - 15/03/2017 12:05:32 PM 214 Views
DEMONS and THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV are the big two. Ghavrel - 15/03/2017 02:58:13 PM 459 Views
You don't necessarily need to know the history. The Shrike - 15/03/2017 03:15:38 PM 494 Views
I'm always afraid I'm missing something critical, though! Ghavrel - 15/03/2017 03:50:59 PM 443 Views
Annotations are amazing. My eBook version of War and Peace was the same. The Shrike - 15/03/2017 04:03:59 PM 465 Views
My High School English teacher neglected Russian literature. Ghavrel - 16/03/2017 01:46:29 AM 425 Views
Hmmmm. The Shrike - 16/03/2017 01:18:14 PM 464 Views
Tolstoy was a reprehensible human being Tom - 15/03/2017 04:02:52 PM 440 Views
I had no idea. I was under the impression he was deeply devout. Ghavrel - 16/03/2017 01:47:43 AM 458 Views
Here's one example: Tom - 16/03/2017 02:06:45 AM 461 Views
Good lord. The man sounds deranged. But that's fascinating! Is there a good biography on him? *NM* Ghavrel - 16/03/2017 07:50:10 AM 224 Views
Pavel Basinsky's bio is best Tom - 16/03/2017 02:46:47 PM 634 Views
Getting it now. Thanks. *NM* Ghavrel - 16/03/2017 11:06:25 PM 216 Views
For what it's worth, I read Lenin & Trotsky as genuine idealists, while Stalin as just a thug Cannoli - 15/03/2017 11:16:36 AM 516 Views
Didn't the 40k authors mainly crib from the Nazis, commissariat excepted? *NM* Ghavrel - 15/03/2017 03:00:17 PM 217 Views
I think that's entirely incorrect. Tom - 15/03/2017 04:00:54 PM 524 Views
Fascinating post. I so need to read up on Soviet history. And Russian history. *NM* Legolas - 15/03/2017 11:10:29 PM 226 Views
I didn't mean stupid or brutish, I meant more like a mafia don than a statesman Cannoli - 16/03/2017 12:18:34 PM 417 Views
Well if you want to completely redefine the phrase "just a thug", perhaps you're right Tom - 16/03/2017 02:43:38 PM 440 Views
Good point Cannoli - 16/03/2017 09:52:29 PM 575 Views
I hear what you're saying, but... Tom - 16/03/2017 11:53:19 PM 468 Views
Yeah, it doesn't really matter if the motive is purely power seeking, or revenge. *NM* Cannoli - 17/03/2017 12:57:19 AM 286 Views
Attempt at clarification Cannoli - 17/03/2017 12:55:03 AM 549 Views
Hehehe..."Fuck off" Tom - 19/03/2017 05:23:49 PM 496 Views
Seems kind of nonsensical Cannoli - 14/03/2017 01:33:49 AM 552 Views
Good reply. The Shrike - 14/03/2017 12:57:47 PM 536 Views
They weren't really wrong Cannoli - 14/03/2017 01:30:07 PM 558 Views
I do enjoy historical "what if" situations. LiterateDog - 14/03/2017 01:47:27 AM 454 Views
Hi there. The Shrike - 14/03/2017 01:02:44 PM 422 Views
I still think democracy among those insidiously intrusive Western values Russia resists so fiercely Joel - 14/03/2017 02:37:39 PM 544 Views
Is it your persistant anti-Russia bias that makes you so dogmatic? damookster - 14/03/2017 02:51:23 PM 458 Views
I have no problem with Russia, only its government Joel - 14/03/2017 03:07:14 PM 572 Views
Really? damookster - 14/03/2017 03:15:10 PM 485 Views
Look, we both know I consider your knowledge of Russia to be non-existent and that your own bias The Shrike - 14/03/2017 03:27:05 PM 509 Views
You are just stunningly stupid. Not merely ignorant, but stupid. Tom - 14/03/2017 08:35:00 PM 574 Views
Very interesting article. One thing that's struck me more and more about WW1 is... Legolas - 14/03/2017 06:34:14 PM 578 Views
Kerensky risked a revolution if he pulled Russia out of the war Tom - 14/03/2017 08:21:05 PM 460 Views
Re: Very interesting article. One thing that's struck me more and more about WW1 is... The Shrike - 15/03/2017 11:58:01 AM 425 Views
What a terrible article Tom - 14/03/2017 08:04:50 PM 444 Views
Your criticisms of the scholarship found in posted articles never fail to make me laugh. damookster - 14/03/2017 09:02:54 PM 485 Views
I don't think anyone's ever gotten an open peer review from me *NM* Tom - 14/03/2017 11:54:45 PM 209 Views
Too bad. I would seek it out just for the amusement factor. *NM* damookster - 15/03/2017 02:18:33 AM 213 Views
I thought you would think this way. The Shrike - 15/03/2017 12:04:57 PM 522 Views
I can't decide what I think about Evans Tom - 15/03/2017 04:10:05 PM 423 Views
Back to Messageboard Post New Thread Search Help Stats Rules

Reply to Message

Block Quote Paragraph Quote
Formatting
Smiley Codes