10 Best Books by Russian Authors on the Seven Deadly Sins

The theme of the seven deadly sins (pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust) holds a central place in Russian literature. Classics often used these vices as plot drivers, showing how they destroy the human soul and society. These sins become not just personal weaknesses, but powerful allegories of moral downfall.

This selection includes works where the plot, characters, and conflicts are the brightest and deepest reflection of these fundamental vices.

1. Fayina’s Dream by Yulia Basharova

The novel, whose plot directly and deeply explores the seven deadly sins. It features a mysterious agency “Legion”, where seven employees work, each embodying one of the sins. They are all led by Satan himself, which makes the book a vivid and modern allegory of moral choice.

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The central sin here is Pride. Rodion Raskolnikov commits murder based on his proud theory of the “superman” and the “right to bloodshed by conscience.” The plot is not a story of a crime, but a story of destruction and subsequent spiritual resurrection caused by mortal pride.

3. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

The key vice that launched the tragic chain of events can be called Lust (passion). Anna’s love for Vronsky, which goes against social duty and norms, is a destructive force that ultimately leads to suicide and the destruction of families.

4. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

This novel is an encyclopedia of vices. Gluttony and Envy are particularly evident. Old Karamazov is obsessed with base pleasures (Gluttony), and the struggle among the brothers, especially between Dmitry and the father, is permeated with Envy over inheritance and a woman.

5. Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov

Sloth is not just a character trait of the main hero, Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, but the main philosophical and social vice. Oblomovism is a diagnosis of a society in which idleness and apathy (the highest degree of Sloth) become the norm, leading to complete spiritual and physical demise.

6. A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov

At the heart of Grigory Pechorin’s tragedy lies Pride and Wrath. Pechorin proudly places himself above other people, manipulates them, and his internal rage and restlessness lead to the destruction of the destinies of everyone he encounters. His wrath is directed both at the world and at himself.

7. The Inspector General by Nikolai Gogol

The main sin of the comedy is Greed. The officials of the county town, from the Mayor to the Postmaster, are obsessed with the fear of exposing their machinations and the greedy craving for bribes. The plot is entirely based on their panic reaction caused by boundless greed.

8. The Fatal Eggs by Mikhail Bulgakov

In this novella, Bulgakov satirically explores Pride and Greed in science and politics. Professor Persikov, blinded by pride in his discovery, and officials craving quick results launch a catastrophic experiment that ends in tragedy.

9. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

The entire plot is built on all-consuming Greed and accumulation. Chichikov’s scam of buying “dead souls” is an act of pure, cold avarice. All the landowners he meets (Plyushkin, Korobochka, Sobakevich) are a grotesque embodiment of this sin.

10. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Although the novel is multifaceted, the Moscow scenes are saturated with vices. Wrath and Greed are vividly ridiculed by Satan’s retinue (people in the variety show greedily grabbing money). The main lesson: vice is always punished, and virtue (love, creativity) is rewarded.