1904 Russo-Japanese War. Manchuria. The Russian military hospital, retreating, occupies a semi-abandoned Chinese village. The head of the hospital, Sergei Karenin, learns that the wounded officer he is operating on, earl Vronsky, is the one who killed his mother, Anna Karenina, and indirectly caused the death of his father. Having no illusions and not expecting an answer, Karenin nevertheless goes to Vronsky and asks the question that has tormented him all his life: what made his mother cross the line? earl Vronsky, in turn, learns that the doctor is the same Seryozha Karenin. After some hesitation, the count agrees to tell the story of his tragic love for Anna Karenina, noting that people remember only what is convenient for them to remember...
Anna Karenina (Russian: «Анна Каренина», IPA: [ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə])[1] is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever written,[2] Tolstoy himself called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial installments from 1875 to 1877, all but the last part appearing in the periodical The Russian Messenger.[3]
A complex novel in eight parts, with more than a dozen major characters, Anna Karenina is spread over more than 800 pages (depending on the translation and publisher), typically contained in two volumes. It deals with themes of betrayal, faith, family, marriage, Imperial Russian society, desire, and rural vs. city life. The story centers on an extramarital affair between Anna and dashing cavalry officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky that scandalizes the social circles of Saint Petersburg and forces the young lovers to flee to Italy in a search for happiness, but after they return to Russia, their lives further unravel.
Trains are a motif throughout the novel, with several major plot points taking place either on passenger trains or at stations in Saint Petersburg or elsewhere in Russia. The story takes place against the backdrop of the liberal reforms initiated by Emperor Alexander II of Russia and the rapid societal transformations that followed. The novel has been adapted into various media including theatre, opera, film, television, ballet, figure skating, and radio drama.
The novel is divided into 8 parts and 239 chapters. Its epigraph is "Vengeance is mine; I will repay", from Romans 12:19, which in turn quotes from Deuteronomy 32:35. The novel begins with one of its most oft-quoted lines:
Все счастливые семьи похожи друг на друга, каждая несчастливая семья несчастлива по-своему. Vse schastlivyye sem'i pokhozhi drug na druga, kazhdaya neschastlivaya sem'ya neschastliva po-svoyemu.
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
