Pasternak primarily identified himself as a poet. His poetry collection was published in Pasternak: Selected Poems in 1992.

War and Peace, initially released in installments from 1863 to 1869, explores the lives of various characters and Russian culture during the Napoleonic wars. Tolstoy, a friend of Pasternak's father, is renowned as a Russian literary icon. This novel is a sweeping narrative of five families and their experiences during these wars.

Crime and Punishment is yet another classic of Russian literature, authored by Fyodor Dostoevsky and first published in 1866. The narrative unfolds in St. Petersburg, Russia, focusing on a defiant young student who commits murder. However, this novel extends beyond a mere murder mystery, as Dostoevsky uses the crime and its perpetrator to critique societal flaws.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn's novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962), tells the story of a man living through the oppressive Stalin era in Russia. Similar to Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn received a Nobel Prize for literature but was prohibited by his government from accepting it.

A more modern, award-winning Russian author is Ludmila Ulitskaya. Her 2005 novella and short story collection, Sonechka, shares tales of love that often take a turn for the worse. Ulitskaya writes about families striving to navigate life in a deeply dysfunctional society.