★ Winner of the 2022 Russian “Big Book Award”!
★ By Pavel Basinsky, a master of contemporary Russian literature and judge of major literary awards such as the Russian Booker Prize, the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Prize, and the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award!
★ This book was born from the author’s inquiry and analysis of a series of key details in “Anna Karenina.” It is not only a classic example of close reading of the immortal work “Anna Karenina” but also a literary appreciation work that balances popularity and professionalism.

Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” is undoubtedly one of the greatest literary works in the world. Through the presentation of countless details, it forms a realistic world. The appearance of the protagonist, Anna Karenina, almost changed the image of women in literary history. She broke through Tolstoy’s pen, transcended time and space, and continues to resonate strongly today. Although she failed to resolve her own existential dilemmas, she has become a source of strength for countless readers.

Since the publication of this world classic, discussions about Anna have never ceased. Pavel Basinsky, a renowned contemporary Russian writer and academician of the Modern Literature Institute, regards “Anna Karenina” as his “book of life.” He rereads it almost every year, and each time he discovers something new, seeing a brand-new world. For him, the book has become increasingly “longer” and more complex, which motivated him to write this book.

Pavel Basinsky stated that this book was “automatically generated” because all its content comes from his questions, inquiries, and analyses of “Anna Karenina.” In the main text, Basinsky meticulously explores Tolstoy’s life experiences and ideological changes during the creative period, combining the era reflected in the work’s content and the significant social ideological changes and major historical events around the time of its creation. He presents, interprets, and analyzes numerous details in “Anna Karenina.” It can be said that “The True Story of Anna Karenina” is a classic example of close reading of the immortal work “Anna Karenina,” as well as a literary appreciation work that balances popularity and professionalism.

Pavel Basinsky (1961)

A renowned contemporary Russian writer, literary theorist, and critic (former judge of the Booker Prize), member of the Russian Writers’ Union, and academician of the Russian Modern Literature Institute.
Born in 1961 in Frolovo near Volgograd. He studied at Saratov University and the Gorky Institute of Literature in Moscow. He is a prolific journalist and writer, skilled in various genres such as academic monographs and experimental novels. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. He serves as a judge for several important Russian literary awards, such as the Russian Booker Prize, the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Prize, and the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award.
Pavel Basinsky has won multiple European literary awards and almost all major Russian literary prizes. In addition to novels and literary criticism, Basinsky is also an outstanding biographer. His biographies of great writers such as Tolstoy, Gogol, and Gorky are recognized as the best biographical works in contemporary Russia. His works include “Gorky: A Burning Life,” “Tolstoy: Escape from Paradise,” “In the Shadow of the Father: Tolstoy and His Children,” and “Saint and Lion: Tolstoy’s Faith and Spiritual World.”