Russia has produced a great number of writers, musicians, performers and statesmen who have influenced Russian culture as well as having an impact on the wider world. We'll take a brief look at some of these individuals, though it is difficult to choose among so many great talents.

Aleksandr Pushkin was an early 19th century author and one Russia's most prolific poets. He was the founder of the modern movement in Russian literature (Aleksandr Pushkin, 2003). Pushkin focused on the integation of old language, including Old Slavonic and vernacular Russian, as the basis for his poetry (Aleksandr Pushkin, 2003). His use of everyday language and the common language of the populace made him a popular read during his life time. Though Pushkin's literary contemporaries including authors like Byron and Goethe, comparisons are often made between Pushkin and Voltaire, based on their use of the ironic (Aleksandr Pushkin, 2003).

One of the most moving and impressive books ever written came from the pen of a Russian writer: Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. This sprawling epic of the interwoven lives of five families during the Napoleonic Wars is an accurate portrayal of what life was like in Russia in 1812.

Another Russian writer who stands alongside Tolstoy is Fyodor Dostoevsky; Dostoevsky's greatest work is probably Crime and Punishment. The book is the story of a young student, Raskolnikov, who has convinced himself that he can do a significant amount of good in the world by murdering an old woman, a pawnbroker. Dostoevsky's skillful psychological portrait of the murderous student has become a classic, and a detailed examination of the darkest part of the human heart.

While these authors move us greatly, they wrote in the 19th Century; the writers that most move us today are likely to be those writing during the Communist rule, for they reported on conditions that were almost unbelievable. One of the best here is Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn is a prolific writer, whose works include Warning to the West, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and The Gulag Archipelago. This last is a book that turned the world upside down, because it describes, from a prisoner's viewpoint, what life was like inside Soviet Russia. Solzhenitsyn was a Soviet Army officer during World War II, was arrested and wound up in the "gulag"—the labor camps. He wrote about his experiences in the 3-volume novel that eventually became The Gulag Archipelago and the book stands both as a condemnation of the Soviet system and its cruelties, and a tribute to the human spirit. The horrors of the midnight arrest, the way in which people simply disappeared, the murders, all are here. But so is the courage of the people who found a way to survive. When this book reached the West the revelations were so shocking that they may have helped put an end to the Soviet system.

Andrei Rublev (1370-1430) was one of Russia's most recognized painters of religious iconography. Rublev developed his skills during a period of rising public support for the Eastern Orthodox Church, and his religious paintings were representative of the monastic culture of his early life (Andrei Rublev, 1998). Most of Rublev's paintings were created around Moscow, suggesting that he not only had training in that region, but may have also received guidance under Prokhor of Gorodets (Andrei Rublev, 1998). By the end of 1405, his representative works suggest that he was collaborating with Theophanes the Greek, who up until that time had been the foremost creator of religious iconography in Russia during that time (Andrei Rublev, 1998). Rublev and Theophanes collaborated on the painting of the Annunciation Cathedral in Moscow in the early 1400s (Andrei Rublev, 1998). Even so, Rublev is best known for his painting The Old Testament Trinity, which moved away from the sometimes severe iconic form that was popular during the time, and showed a greater use of simplicity and light (Andrei Rublev, 1998).

Russia has produced a number of gifted musicians and composers, including Alexander Borodin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky's works are very "accessible" to listeners everywhere, and are performed constantly. His ballet "Swan Lake" is in the repertoire of most dance companies, and every Christmas his "Nutcracker Suite" graces countless stages. His work is very melodic; there is no dissonance here. Some might argue that other composers are more exciting (the power of Rachmaninoff, for instance), but Tchaikovsky's ravishing melodies make him the best-known of the Russian composers. As with the writers, his influence has gone far beyond the borders of Russia to spread over the entire world.

It's almost a cliché to say that Russian ballet dancers are probably the finest in the world, but it's true. Two stand out, both men: Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Nureyev came to Western attention in the 1960's when he defected in 1961; he found the perfect dancer partner in Margot Fonteyn of the Royal Ballet, and the pair electrified audiences. It was a glimpse into the kind of talent and drive that could be found behind the Iron Curtain, and it intrigued the West.

Mikhail Baryshnikov grew disillusioned with the limits of ballet in the Soviet Union and defected in 1974. His is widely considered the finest dancer working today (Mikhail Baryshnikov, 2005). He has expanded into acting as well, giving credible performances both in television and film.

There were a number of great contributions to world cinema from the Soviet Union. Sergei Eisenstein, the director of The Battleship Potemkin is justly recognized as one of the world’s most accomplished directors. Other notable directors include Andrei Tarkovski and in the current era Nikita Mikhailkov.

Russia has produced an amazing number of talented people in all fields. There's not enough room to discuss them all, but this brief list, if it does nothing else, may serve to illustrate how rich Russian society truly is.