Among the country's greatest artistic contributions, 20th-century Russian literature was revolutionary in its approach to realism, injecting characters with human weaknesses familiar to all. It also provided fodder for other such important concepts as existentialism and even passive resistance, which was rooted in the works of Tolstoy, and practiced resistance, which was rooted in the works of Tolstoy and practiced successfully by Gandhi and Martin Luther King. The 12 powerful short stories in this collection are excellent examples of writing by the foremost authors from Russia's Golden...