List of short stories by Ivan Bunin

This is a list of all short stories published by Nobel Prize for Literature laureate Ivan Bunin.Titova, V. Commentaries to 1890-1909 stories. The Works by I. A. Bunin in 9 Volumes. Khudozhestvennaya Literatura, Moscow, 1965. Vol. 2, pp. 473-525

1890–1900 1890 The First Love (Pervaya lyubov, Первая любовь). First published in Orlovsky Vestnik newspaper, 1890, Nos. 26–27, February 13–14.

1891 Fedosevna (Федосевна). Orlovsky Vestnik, 1891, No. 47, February 17, originally as "Dementyevna".Both titles - women’s paternal names. In 1999, it was included in the compilation Three Stories, published in Kharkiv (two other authors were K.Lukashevich and N.Zablotskaya). Small Land Gentry (Melkopomestnuye, Мелкопоместные). Orlovsky Vestnik, 1891. Nos. 285, 317, 326, 331, 335, 340 (October 27 - December 22). In the Country (V Derevne, В деревне). Detskoye Chtenye (Reading for Children) magazine. Moscow, 1898, January, No. 1, as "From the Childhood Memories".

1892 Tanhka (Танька). First published in Russkoye Bogatstvo, Saint Petersburg, 1893, No. 4, April, as "The Country Sketch "(Derevensky Eskiz). The magazine renamed the story without its author's consent and much to his chagrin. Kastryuk (Кастрюк). Russkoye Bogatstvo, Saint Petersburg, 1895, No. 4, April. Written in 1892 in Poltava. Maxim Gorky liked the story and recommended it to Nikolai Teleshov to be included in the literary anthology The People's Reading.The Complete Maxim Gorky, Vol. 28, Moscow, 1954, p. 204 Bunin included it into the collection called To the Edge of the World, in a massively revised version. At the Khutor (Na khutore, На хуторе). Russkoye Bogatstvo, 1895, No. 5, May. The story featured in two 1902 collections, To The Edge of the World and The Stories, originally as "The Fantasy Man" (Fantazyor, Фантазёр). In 1995, Gorky wrote to Anton Chekhov: "Started to read Bunin's stories. Occasionally, he makes it good, but don't you feel he copies you? Фантазёр, as I see it, is written under your direct influence."The Works of Maxim Gorky, Vol. 28, Moscow, 1954, p. 77

1893 News from Motherland (Vesti s Rodiny, Вести с родины). Russkoye Bogatstvo, Saint Petersburg, 1895, No. 6, June, under the title "The Unexpected Thing" (Neozhidannost, Неожиданность). According to Vera Muromtseva-Bunina, the story's hero was a peasant friend of Bunin in his youth, who later fell victim to the all-Russian famine. ("The Life of Bunin", p. 84) The reviewer of Obrazovanye (Education) magazine (1902, No. 12, December) called it "the finest of Bunin's pieces." In the Foreign Place (Na tchuzhoi storone, На чужой стороне). Mir Bozhiy, 1895, No. 4, April, as "Holy Night" (Svyataya notch, Святая ночь).

1894 To the Edge of the World (Na krai sveta, На край света). Novoye Slovo, 1895, No. 1, October, subtitled "From the Notebook" and with the dedication to D.I. Zverev, a statistician who invited Bunin to the settlement used by the local villagers as a base during their trips to the Ussuri krai. "Critics praised the story so highly that... the Saint Petersburg Society of Care for the Re-settlers invited me to read a lecture. I read To the Edge of the World, of course," he wrote. The story was also included in the Primal Love collection. The Teacher (Utchitel, Учитель). Novoye Slovo, 1896, No. 7, April, as "Tarantella", subtitled: "From the life of the rural intelligentsia". "The story is true to life and sad is its final... Bunin surely knows the Russian village well, sympathises with its people, but, most importantly, is able to convey their moods without pomposity or sentimentality," Russkaya Mysl (1897, No. 5, May) reviewer commented.

1895 In the Field (V Pole, В поле). Novoye Slovo, 1896, No. 3, December, originally as "Baibaki".Baibak or stepnyak, is a steppe groundhog, here - an old recluse. Included in the Primal Love collection. Features an autobiographical scene: Yakov Petrovich plays guitar and sings the romance "Why are you silent and sit so quietly?" - the way Bunin would later describe his father doing. Holy Mountains (Svyatyie Gory, Святые горы). The date of the first publication of the story is unknown. As "On Donets" (Na Dontse, На донце), it featured in To the Edge of the World collection. In a revised version, it was published as "Holy Mountains" by Poslednye Novosti (Latest News) newspaper (1930, No. 3279, March 15) in Paris. At the Dacha (Na Datche, На даче). To the Edge of the World collection, 1897. Originally titled "A Day at the Dacha". Inspired by the sudden appearance in Poltava of a large group of Tolstoyans in 1891, according to brother Yuli Bunin. Ivan Bunin in 1893 himself fell under the strong influence of Lev Tolstoy's ideas and later described himself as 'a Tolstoyan'. The story has never appeared in a magazine. It was rejected by Alexander Skabichevsky of Novoye Slovo who (in a letter dated August 27, 1896) suggested the story was 'too feullieton-like'... Here are just several freaks, and a Tolstovian, well above them," he wrote. Bunin thought Skabichevsky's opinion was "very spiteful and totally unjust." Later, in October of the same year, the story was refused by Viktor Goltsev of Russkaya Mysl. Velga (Велга). Syn Otechestva, Nos. 4 and 5, January 5 and 6, 1899, subtitled "The Northern Legend" (Severnaya Legenda). In a letter to Sergey Krivenko, Bunin described his version of "a Scandinavian legend, inspired by intensive readings about the North, the Arctic seas, etc."

1897 Rootless (Bez Rodu-plemeni, Без роду-племени). Mir Bozhiy, 1899, April No. 4. Subtitled: "From the story of a modern man", with the epigraph "Vae divitibus!"

1898 The Cockoo (Kukushka, Кукушка). Vskhody (Shoots) magazine, Saint Petersburg, 1899, No. 1, January. "By a Cossack Route" ("Kazatskim khodom", "Казацким ходом"). Vskhody, 1899, No. 21, November. Under the title "On Tchayka". Included in the Poems and Stories, 1900 collection. The Range (Pereval, Перевал). Russkaya Mysl, Moscow, 1901. No. 8, August. Alongside "The Bonfire" and "In August" (under the common title "Three stories"). Written in 1892–1998.

1899 Late at Night (Pozdney Nochyu, Поздней ночью). Northern Flowers (Severnye tsvety) almanac, Moscow, 1901. Viktor Mirolyubov suspected autobiographical motives, and even warned the author against revealing details of his own family life to the public. Later, Bunin maintained the story had nothing to do with him.Literary Archive, Issue 5, 1960, p. 160

1900–1909 1900 Antonov Apples (Antonovskiye Yabloki, Антоновские яблоки). Zhizn (Life), 1900, No. 10, October, Saint Petersburg. Included in the Primal Love collection. According to Bunin's August 1891 letter to his then partner Varvara Pashchenko, the story was inspired by his visit to his brother Yevgeny's estate. Gorky praised the story's stylistic brilliance but was critical of its ideological and aesthetic substance. "Antonov Apples: smell good, but not of democracy," he remarked in his letter to Konstantin Pyatnitsky in November 1901.The Collected Works of Maxim Gorky in 30 volumes. Moscow, 1954, Vol. 28, p. 201. Epitaph (Epitafiya, Эпитафия). Zhurnal Dlya Vsekh (Journal for Everyone), Saint Petersburg, 1901, No. 8, August, under the title "Ore" (Ruda, Руда) and dedicated to Sergey Elpatyevsky. Included in The Primal Love collection. Initially, Bunin intended to publish it (as "Holy Mother's Cloak", Pokrov Bogoroditsy) in the Zhizn magazine, but in June 1901, this magazine was shut by the authorities. Over the city (Nad Gorodom, Над городом). Zhurnal Dlya Vsekh, 1902, No. 11, November. The Primal Love. Meliton (Мелитон). Zhurnal Dlya Vsekh, 1901, No. 7, July, as "Skit". Included in the book The Primal Love (as "Meliton"). Praised by editor Viktor Mirolyubov, "Skit"/"Meliton" marked the beginning of Bunin's long collaboration with this Saint Petersburg magazine. Censors cut the last three lines of the story, much to the author's outrage.

1901 Pines (Sosny, Сосны). Mir Bozhy, 1901, No. 11, November. Primal Love. "...Pines - is something that is very new, fresh and good, but a bit too compact, like a thick bullion," Anton Chekhov wrote to Bunin.The Works of A. P. Chekhov, Vol. 12, Moscow. 1964. pp. 428-429 Critic I. Johnson who found "the lack of familial social sensibilities" in the story deplorable, was among the detractors.Obrazovanye, Saint Petersburg, 1902, No. 12, December. New Road (Novaya doroga, Новая дорога). Zhizn, 1901, No. 4, April. Pyotr Yakubovich, writing in Russkoye Bogatstvo found this short story an example of Bunin's tendency to distance himself from real life, excelling in making fine pictures of it. "A finely crafted picture of a night in a train, casual talks and thoughts accompanied by wagon wheels," wrote critic Alexander Izmaylov in 1913. Fog (Tuman, Туман). Zhizn, 1901, No. 4, April. Silence (Tishina, Тишина). Mir Bozhy, 1901, No. 7, July. Originally titled "On the Geneva Lake" (Na Zhenevskom ozere, На Женевском озере). Inspired by Bunin's visit to Switzerland. Some descriptions and observations have been apparently reproduced by Bunin from his November 1900 letter to his brother Yuly.Novy Mir, Moscow, 1956, No. 10, October. Bonfire (Kostyor, Костёр). Russkaya Mysl, Moscow, 1901, No. 8, August. Alongside two other stories ("The Range" and "In August") under the common title "Three Stories". In August (V avguste, В августе). Russkaya Mysl, 1901, No. 8, August. Alongside two other stories under the common title "Three Stories". Some details here, like the visit of Leo Tolstoy's followers, or the walks along the streets of a provincial town, reminiscent of Poltava, are autobiographical. In the Autumn (Osenju, Осенью). Mir Bozhy, 1902, No. 1, January, subtitled "The Sketch" (Eskiz, Эскиз). Chekhov was not impressed. "Bunin's In the Autumn: done with a tense, unrelaxed hand," he wrote in a letter to Olga Knipper on January 31, 1902.The Works of A. P. Chekhov, Vol. 12, Moscow, 1964, P. 432 New Year (Novy god, Новый год). Russkaya Mysl, 1902, No. 1, January. Dawn All Night (Zarya vsyu notch, Заря всю ночь). Russkaya Mysl, 1902, No. 7, July, under the title "A Rendez-Vous" (Svidanje, Свиданье) and dedicated to Maria Chekhova. Featured in the compilation Little Ship (Korablik, Кораблик, 1907), as "Happiness" (Shchastje, Счастье).

1902 "Hope" ("Nadezhda", "Надежда"). The Stories (Rasskazy, Рассказы, 1902) compilation. According to Vera Muromtseva-Bunina, in 1902, Bunin wrote just one piece of prose, and that was "Hope". Nikolai Teleshov, to whom the author sent the story, was unimpressed. "No, Iv[an] Al[exeyevich]! The story might be lean, but it is hardly muscular... Feels like reading somebody else's letters... Put simply, I dislike it, that is all," he wrote on 15 March 1902. Bunin disagreed. "As for 'Hope', you are just wrong: it is a beautiful, subtle thing. And there is no need for you to cringe; it's not obnoxious that I'm trying here to be, just frank," he replied on 21 March.

1903 Dreams (Sny, Сны). Znanye compilation, Book 1, Saint Petersburg, 1904, with another story "The Golden Bottom" (Zolotoye dno, Золотое дно), under the common title "Blacksoil" (Tchernozyom, Чернозём). All in all, Bunin's prose featured in sixteen Znanye compilations. Both stories received good press. "Bunin is a laconic painter, working in sketches. Artfulness is not for him; he is too an artist for that. And if his characters look like social types, that is because the extraordinary realism of their author makes them undeniably typical," wrote critic Alexander Amfiteatrov.Rus (newspaper). Saint Petersburg, 1904, No. 149, May 12.