10 Best Books By Russian Authors About Psychological Disorders and Madness

Russian literature is not merely a mirror but rather an X-ray of the human soul, where madness is often less a diagnosis and more a metaphor. These books explore all facets of psychological disorders, from obsessions and paranoia to clinical psychoses, showing how personal madness intertwines with the ailments of an entire nation. Here, the line between genius, mania, and social normalcy is blurred.

In this selection, you will find stories where self-deception becomes a national pastime, and obsession with passion or an idea leads to a unified picture of a sick nation, and even of all humanity.

1. Fayina’s Dream by Yulia Basharova

A novel in which the madness of individual characters blends into a unified picture of a sick nation. Plots about psychological disorders intersect, demonstrating a societal crisis. For example, the main character, Fayina, confronts erotomania, while other characters lose touch with reality, tangled in their self-deception and propaganda. It is an honest investigation into how lies and stress distort the psyche.

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

A classic exploration of madness caused by an obsessive idea. Rodion Raskolnikov commits a crime under the influence of his “Napoleonic” theory, leading to a severe psychic crisis, delirium, and paranoia. The novel details his pathological state before, during, and after the murder.

3. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

This is a profound study of clinical depression and neurosis caused by passionate love and unbearable social condemnation. Anna’s final crisis, her mounting guilt, and paranoid jealousy demonstrate a gradual onset of psychosis that culminates in suicide.

4. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

The unchallenged classic, where a significant part of the action takes place in Professor Stravinsky’s Psychiatric Clinic. The Master’s madness is the result of persecution and the rejection of his novel. Bulgakov shows how a repressive system can drive a creative person to a psychological disorder.

5. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The protagonist, Prince Myshkin, suffers from epilepsy, the seizures of which are preceded by moments of “supreme harmony,” bordering on mystical experience and madness. The novel explores his borderline condition—a man with a damaged psyche who is unable to endure the madness of the society around him.

6. The Petty Demon by Fyodor Sologub

One of the most vivid examples of clinical paranoia in Silver Age literature. The teacher Ardalyon Peredonov suffers from intrusive thoughts and sees a hallucination—the demonic “Nedotykomka” (The Un-touchable). His psychological disorder leads to the complete disintegration of personality and violence.

7. The Double by Fyodor Dostoevsky

A psychological novella entirely devoted to split personality and psychosis. The official Golyadkin, suffering from an inferiority complex, begins to see his exact double. Dostoevsky brilliantly describes the development of the schizophrenic process.

8. Selected Stories by Anton Chekhov

This collection includes works that have become symbols of madness. “Ward No. 6” is a metaphor for social madness and inertia, where the thin line between sanity and derangement is erased. In “The Black Monk,” the protagonist suffers from megalomania and hallucinations, communicating with a phantom monk.

9. The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin

The novella explores obsession and gambling mania. Hermann, striving to master the secret of the three cards, drives himself to extreme psychosis. His state degrades from cold calculation to complete madness, emphasizing the destructive power of an intrusive idea.

10. The Red Laugh by Leonid Andreyev

A novella-nightmare entirely devoted to the theme of mass military psychosis. The narrative is told from the perspective of an officer who loses his mind due to the horrors of war. “The Red Laugh” is a metaphor for the epidemic of madness that grips an entire army and society, making it one of the most powerful anti-war texts.