1. Who is the author of the novel *Crime and Punishment*?
a) Leo Tolstoy
b) Anton Chekhov
c) Fyodor Dostoevsky
d) Nikolai Gogol
Answer: c) Fyodor Dostoevsky
Explanation: *Crime and Punishment* explores guilt, morality, and redemption through the psychological turmoil of Raskolnikov.
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2. Which Tolstoy novel deals with the Napoleonic invasion of Russia?
a) Resurrection
b) The Death of Ivan Ilyich
c) War and Peace
d) Anna Karenina
Answer: c) War and Peace
Explanation: It combines historical events with personal drama, focusing on several aristocratic families.
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3. Which Russian writer is best known for his short plays and mastery of the short story?
a) Ivan Turgenev
b) Anton Chekhov
c) Boris Pasternak
d) Alexander Pushkin
Answer: b) Anton Chekhov
Explanation: Chekhov's subtle, character-driven narratives like *The Cherry Orchard* mark a shift toward modern drama.
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4. *The Brothers Karamazov* is a philosophical novel that explores:
a) War and glory
b) Faith, doubt, and free will
c) Peasant life
d) Satire of bureaucracy
Answer: b) Faith, doubt, and free will
Explanation: Dostoevsky’s final novel is deeply religious and existential, examining the problem of evil and moral responsibility.
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5. Who is considered the father of modern Russian literature?
a) Leo Tolstoy
b) Anton Chekhov
c) Alexander Pushkin
d) Maxim Gorky
Answer: c) Alexander Pushkin
Explanation: Pushkin pioneered modern literary Russian and is credited with shaping the nation’s poetic and prose traditions.
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6. *Fathers and Sons* by Ivan Turgenev introduced which philosophical movement?
a) Existentialism
b) Nihilism
c) Marxism
d) Romanticism
Answer: b) Nihilism
Explanation: The character Bazarov rejects all authority and tradition, embodying Russia’s growing generational tensions.
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7. Who wrote the novel *Doctor Zhivago*, later banned in the Soviet Union?
a) Boris Pasternak
b) Mikhail Bulgakov
c) Vladimir Nabokov
d) Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Answer: a) Boris Pasternak
Explanation: *Doctor Zhivago* is a love story set during the Russian Revolution, emphasizing personal freedom amidst chaos.
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8. *The Master and Margarita* is a magical realist novel written by:
a) Fyodor Dostoevsky
b) Boris Pasternak
c) Mikhail Bulgakov
d) Andrei Platonov
Answer: c) Mikhail Bulgakov
Explanation: The novel critiques Soviet society using satire and supernatural elements, blending biblical themes with absurdity.
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9. Which Russian novel begins with the famous line, "Happy families are all alike..."?
a) War and Peace
b) Fathers and Sons
c) Crime and Punishment
d) Anna Karenina
Answer: d) Anna Karenina
Explanation: Tolstoy’s novel explores themes of love, infidelity, and the constraints of society through its complex female protagonist.
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10. Who wrote *One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich*, a harrowing account of Stalinist labor camps?
a) Boris Pasternak
b) Vladimir Mayakovsky
c) Alexander Solzhenitsyn
d) Yevgeny Zamyatin
Answer: c) Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Explanation: The novel offers a realistic and human portrayal of the Soviet Gulag system, based on the author’s own experiences.
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Russian Literature
Dostoevsky and Tolstoy
Russian Realism and Modernism
UGC NET English Literature MCQs
Soviet Era Writings
Philosophy in Russian Novels
Russian Short Stories and Plays
Banned Russian Books
19th Century Russian Fiction
Existentialism and Faith in Literature
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