Russian Literature: An Overview of the Literary Landscape
Russian literature has a rich and long history that stretches back to the 11th century. Over time, it has grown into one of the most influential literary traditions in the world, with renowned authors such as Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov contributing some of its greatest works. This article provides an overview of Russia's literary landscape from its earliest beginnings up to modern times.
The Beginnings: Ancient & Medieval Periods (11th-15th Centuries).
The roots of Russian literature can be traced back to Kievan Rus', which was founded by Viking settlers in what is now Ukraine during the late 9th century AD. During this period, the written language first emerged among Slavic people living on these lands and Old East Slavic became their official language. The oldest known documents written in Old East Slavic date back to 1056 and are believed to have been penned by monks at Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. They include religious treatises as well as chronicles recording historical events such as wars or other important milestones for the country's rulers. In addition, some epic poems were also composed during this era, but unfortunately none survived intact due to frequent raids and invasions suffered by Kievan Rus'.
By 1240, however, Moscow had become powerful enough that it could claim dominance over many surrounding principalities; following a series of successful military campaigns led by Grand Prince Ivan III (1462–1505), much of the territory formerly held by Lithuania and Poland was annexed under Muscovy rule, thus expanding its borders further eastward towards Siberia while simultaneously introducing more diverse cultural influences into what would eventually become Imperial Russia proper (1721–1917). As a result, we begin seeing new forms of expression emerge within Russian literature, including courtly poetry used for entertainment purposes amongst aristocrats and church chants intended solely for liturgical ceremonies performed inside churches/monasteries. Literacy rates began increasing rapidly during this period, allowing individuals who previously hadn't access to texts to get acquainted with them via books produced locally either through printing presses or hand-copied manuscripts created inside monastic scriptoria located throughout parts of northern Europe/Scandinavia.
Overall, , there wasn't really any unified "Russian style" yet, per se, since different regions favored various genres depending on local customs, so readers encountered vastly differing styles when reading works produced during the pre-Imperialist eras and post-imperialism respectively. However, certain themes like patriotism still remained popular regardless of where one went, geographically speaking.