You are here

Russian literature

Last Updated: 19-Mar-2015

Selective guide to library and online resources for Russian and Soviet literature: poetry, novels, short stories, etc. For tips on finding recently-published criticism and journal articles online, see the guide "Russia and Eurasia: Find articles."

Subject Librarians

Barbara Brigida Krupa
Interim Slavic and East European selector, Newspapers collection project manager
Cecil H. Green Library
(650) 725-1177
Karen Rondestvedt
Karen A Rondestvedt
Interim selector for non-Slavic countries of the Balkans, East Central Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, Curator for Slavic and East European Collections (retired)
Cecil H. Green Library
(650) 725-1052

Subjects

Russian literature
Slavic and Eastern European studies
Russian studies

Related guides

Russia, East Central Europe and Eurasia: transliteration & computer setup
Russia and Eurasia: find articles
Russia and Eurasia: find primary sources
Russia and Eurasia: find news
East Central Europe: find articles

Around Stanford

Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Hoover Institution Library and Archives

New acquisitions in Russian literature

Russian literature and works about it are found in the call number range PG2900-PG3999. Most of them are in the 3rd floor stacks of Green Library; others are in SAL3. Rare works and materials published before approximately 1830 can be consulted in Special Collections. Below are some new acquisitions in 20th-century Russian literature.

› See all 5591 results
  1. Russian postmodernism : new perspectives on post-Soviet culture

    Mikhail Epstein, Alexander Genis, and Slobodanka Vladiv-Glover ; translated by Slobodanka Vladiv-Glover. 2016

  2. The ethnic avant-garde : minority cultures and world revolution

    Steven S. Lee.. 2015

  3. Феникс поет перед солнцем

    Наталья Иванова.. 2015

  4. Феномен Даниила Андреева : материалы российской научной конференции

    ответственный редактор кандидат философских наук А.В. Черняев.. 2015

  5. К истории неофициальной культуры и современного русского зарубежья, 1950-1990-е : автобиографии, авторское чтение

    составитель, автор проекта, отв. редактор, Ю.М. Валиева].. 2015

  6. Kessler, der Osten und die Literatur : Mit dem Erstdruck des Dramenfragments Ivan Kaliaieff von Harry Graf Kessler

    Roland S. Kamzelak (Hrsg.). 2015

  7. Kniga-boets :"Kak zakalialas stal" N.A. Ostrovskogo na frontakh Velikoi Otechestvennoi voiny

    T.I. Andronova. 2015

  8. Лиризм в поэзии Серебряного века : (И. Анненский ; А. Ахматова)

    Шевчук Юлия Вадимовна.. 2015

  9. Literatura czerwonego dworu : o wojnie domowej w Rosji

    Mariusz Żurawski. 2015

  10. Литература и живопись в контексте компаративистики : писатели и художники периодов эстетической переориентации = Література і живопис у контексті компаративістики

    В. Силантьева.. 2015

Keep current on new acquisitions in your favorite subject

Create a SearchWorks search on your topic, then let SearchWorks continuously update you on new arrivals in that subject. Follow the instructions on the web page below.

Keep current with new arrivals using Searchworks RSS feeds
The instructions work, although they are a little out-of-date. (For example, Google Reader no longer exists.)

Reference guides

Selected guides and histories, most of which are online as well as in book format.

The Cambridge companion to modern Russian culture / edited by Nicholas Rzhevsky.
2nd ed. Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Green Library » Stacks » DK32 .C33 2012
The Cambridge companion to the classic Russian novel / edited by Malcolm V. Jones and Robin Feuer Miller.
Cambridge, U.K. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Green Library » Stacks » PG3098.3 .C33 1998
The Cambridge companion to twentieth-century Russian literature / edited by Evgeny Dobrenko and Marina Balina.
Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Green Library » Stacks » PG3017 .C36 2011
The Cambridge history of Russian literature / edited by Charles A. Moser.
Rev. ed. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Green Library » Stacks » PG2951 .D36 1992
The Cambridge introduction to Russian literature / Caryl Emerson.
Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Green Library » Stacks » PG2951 .E47 2008
Handbook of Russian literature / edited by Victor Terras.
New Haven : Yale University Press, c1985.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG2940 .H29 1985
A history of Russian literature / Victor Terras.
New Haven : Yale University Press, 1991.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG2950 .T43 1991
A history of Russian women's writing, 1820-1992 [electronic resource] / Catriona Kelly.
Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1994.
Stanford University Libraries » Online resource » eResource
Reference guide to Russian literature / editor, Neil Cornwell ; associate editor, Nicole Christian.
London ; Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn, c1998.
Green Library » Information Center » PG2940 .R43 1998

Encyclopedias and dictionaries

Selected encyclopedias and dictionaries

Dictionary of Russian literature since 1917 / Wolfgang Kasack ; translated by Maria Carlson and Jane T. Hedges ; bibliographical revision by Rebecca Atack.
New York : Columbia University Press, 1988.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2500 .K3513 1988
Kratkai͡a literaturnai͡a ėntsiklopedii͡a / Glav. redaktor A. A. Surkov.
Moskva : Sovetskai͡a ėntsiklopedii͡a, 1962-
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PN41 .K7 V.1
Also available online as part of ФЕБ (http://feb-web.ru/feb/kle/kle-abc/default.asp).
Literaturnai͡a ėnt͡siklopedii͡a / Redakt͡sionnai͡a kollegii͡a: P. I. Lebedev-Poli͡anskiĭ [i dr.] ; Otv. redakitor V. M. Friche.
[Moskva] Izd-vo Kommunisticheskoĭ akademii, 1929-1939.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PN41 .L45 V.1
Also available online as part of ФЕБ (http://www.feb-web.ru/feb/litenc/encyclop/) and in Yandex slovari (http://slovari.yandex.ru/~книги/Лит. энциклопедия/).
Malai͡a literaturnai͡a ėnt͡siklopedii͡a : russkai͡a literatura segodni͡a / Sergeĭ Chuprinin.
Moskva : Vremi͡a, 2012.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG2940 .C48 2012
The Modern encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet literature / edited by Harry B. Weber.
Gulf Breeze, FL : Academic International Press, 1977-
Green Library » Information Center » PN849 .R9 M6 INDEX V.1
Russkie detskie pisateli XX veka : biobibliograficheskiĭ slovarʹ / [redakt͡sionnai͡a kollegii͡a, Arzamast͡seva I.N. ... et al. ; Chernai͡a G.A. (otv. redaktor)].
Moskva : Izd-vo "Flinta : Izd-vo "Nauka", 1997.
Green Library » Stacks » PG3190 .R87 1997
Russian women writers / Christine D. Tomei, editor.
New York : Garland Publishing, 1999.
Green Library » Information Center » PG3203 .W64 R868 1999 V.1

Biography, pseudonyms

Find biographical information about authors, connect authors with their pseudonyms. Find more works like the ones below using SeachWorks subject terms: Authors Russian; Biography

Slovar' psevdonimov russkikh pisatelei, uchenykh i obshchestvennykh deiatelei. Podgotovil k pechati IU.I.Masanov. Redaktor B.P.Koz'min.
Moskva, Izd-vo Vses. knizhnoi palaty, 1956-60.
Green Library » Stacks » Z1073 .M33 V.1
A searchable, corrected version of this work is part of ФЕБ: http://feb-web.ru/feb/masanov/default.asp?/feb/masanov/rub.html (see link to its search engine at the bottom of that page).
Russkai͡a literatura XX veka : prozaiki, poėty, dramaturgi : biobibliograficheskiǐ slovarʹ / [pod. red. N.N. Skatova].
[Moscow] : "OLMA-Press Invest, " 2005.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG3016 .R7844 2005 T.1
Russkie pisateli, XIX vek : biobibliograficheskiĭ slovarʹ v dvukh chasti͡akh / pod redakt͡sieĭ P.A. Nikolaeva ; [redakt͡sionnai͡a kollegii͡a B.F. Egorov ... et al.].
2-e izd., dorab. Moskva : "Prosveshchenie", 1996.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG2991.3 .R87 1996 CH.1
Slovarʹ russkikh zarubezhnykh pisateleĭ / Valentin Bulgakov ; redaktor Galina Vaneckova ; introduction by Richard J. Kneeley.
New York : Norman Ross Pub., 1993.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG3515 .B85 1993
Russkie sovetskie pisateli : materialy dli͡a biograficheskogo slovari͡a, 1917-1967 / N. Mat͡suev.
Moskva : Sov. pisatelʹ, 1981.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2503 .M285
Russkie pisateli, XVIII vek : biobibliograficheskiĭ slovarʹ A-I͡A / sostavitelʹ S. A. Dzhanumov.
Moskva : Prosveshchenie, 2002.
Green Library » Stacks » PG3006 .R875 2002
Russkie pisateli : biobibliograficheskiĭ slovarʹ / pod redakt͡sieĭ P.A. Nikolaeva ; [red. kollegii͡a B.F. Egorov ... et al.].
Moskva : "Prosveshchenie", 1990.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2500 .R87 V.1
Covers writers from 19th to early 20th centuries
Russkie pisateli, 1800-1917 : biograficheskiĭ slovarʹ / glavnyĭ redaktor, P.A. Nikolaev ; redakt͡sionnai͡a kollegii͡a V.N. Baskakov ... [et al].
Moskva : "Sovetskai͡a ėnt͡siklopedii͡a", 1989-
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG2991 .R85 1989 V.1
Includes many writers banned under the Soviet regime. Also includes archival locations for writers' papers.
Free voices in Russian literature, 1950s-1980s : a bio-bibliographical guide / Bosiljka Stevanovic, Vladimir Wertsman ; edited by Alexander Sumerkin.
New York : Russica, 1987.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG3094 .S73 1987
Twentieth-century Russian émigré writers / edited by Maria Rubins.
Detroit : Thomson Gale, c2005.
Green Library » Information Center » PS129 .D52 V.317
Note that there are many other biographical dictionaries of Russian writers with nearby call numbers in the Information Center.

Literary terms

Find literary terms in English and Russian. SearchWorks subject terms: Literature Terminology; Criticism Terminology; Russian language Dictionaries

A glossary of contemporary literary theory / Jeremy Hawthorn.
4th ed. London : E. Arnold ; New York : Oxford University Press, c2000.
Green Library » Information Center » PN44.5 .H37 2000
A handbook to literature / William Harmon.
12th ed. Boston : Longman, c2012.
Green Library » Stacks » PN41 .H355 2012
Literaturnai͡a ėnt͡siklopedii͡a; slovarʹ literaturnykh terminov. Pod redakt͡sieĭ N. Brodskogo [i dr.]
Moskva, L. D. Frenkelʹ, 1925.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PN41 .L5 V.1
Also available online as part of ФЕБ (http://feb-web.ru/feb/slt/abc/)
Poėticheskiĭ slovarʹ.
Moskva : Sovetskai͡a ėnt͡siklopedii͡a, 1966.
SAL3 (off-campus storage) » Stacks » PN1047 .K79
Also available online as part of ФЕБ (http://feb-web.ru/feb/kps/kps-abc/).
Vvedenie v literaturovedenie : literaturnoe proizvedenie, osnovnye poni͡atii͡a i terminy / [avtory, L.V. Chernet͡s ... et al.].
Moskva : Vysshai͡a shkola : Academia, 1999.
Green Library » Stacks » PN441 .V84 1999

Bibliographies: general, 19th century

Selected bibliographies. Find additional ones in SearchWorks using the subject terms: Russian literature 19th century Bibliography

[Russkai͡a slovesnostʹ s XI po XIX stoletii͡a vkli͡uchitelʹno (romanized form)] : bibliograficheskiĭ ukazatelʹ proizvedeniĭ russkoĭ slovesnosti v svi͡azi s istorieĭ literatury i kritikoĭ: knigi i zhurnalʹnyi͡a statʹi / sostavila A. V. Mezier ...
Leipzig : Zentralantiquariat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 1972.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2501 .M47 1972 F
Reprint of the original 1899 edition. Important work by a giant in the field of Russian literary bibliography.
Istorii͡a russkoĭ literatury XIX veka; bibliograficheskiĭ ukazatelʹ. Pod red. K. D. Muratovoĭ.
Leningrad, Izd-vo Akademii nauk SSSR [Leningradskoe otd-nie] 1962.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2503 .A47
Muratova is another giant in the field of Russian literary bibliography.
Istorii͡a russkoǐ literatury kont͡sa XIX-nachala XX [i.e. deviatnadt͡satogo-nachala dvat͡satogo] veka; bibliograficheskiǐ ukazalelʹ. Pod red. K.D. Muratovoǐ.
Leningrad, Izd-vo Akademii nauk SSSR [Leningradskoe otd-nie] 1963.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2503 .A474
A new, updated edition of this important bibliography began to appear in 1993, but so far only 1 volume has been published.
Ot Kantemira do Chekhova : osnovnye sovetskie izdanii͡a sochineniĭ russkikh pisateleĭ XVIII - nachala XX v. : spravochnoe posobie / E̊.E̊. Naĭdich ; pod nauchnoĭ redakt͡sieĭ L.S. Shepelevoĭ.
Moskva : "Kniga", 1984.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2501 .N63 1984
Russkie pisateli; opyt bibliograficheskogo posobii͡a po russkoĭ literature XIX-XX st. 4. perer. i znachit. dop. izd. S prilozheniem obzorov: I. Literatura revoli͡ut͡sionnogo perioda (1918-1923 g. g.) II. O proletarskom tvorchestve. III. Voproosy poėtiki.
Moskva, Gos. izd-vo, 1924.
Green Library » Stacks » Z2501 .G97
Russkie pisateli, 1800-1917 : biograficheskiĭ slovarʹ / glavnyĭ redaktor, P.A. Nikolaev ; redakt͡sionnai͡a kollegii͡a V.N. Baskakov ... [et al].
Moskva : "Sovetskai͡a ėnt͡siklopedii͡a", 1989-
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG2991 .R85 1989 V.1
Includes many writers banned under the Soviet regime. Also includes archival locations for writers' papers.

Bibliographies, etc.: 20th century

Use bibliographies to find journal articles not in databases. Find more bibliographies using SearchWorks subject terms: Russian literature 20th century Bibliography. For writers currently active, also click on the section "Russian websites on Russian literature" in the table of contents in the left-hand column.

Letopisʹ literaturnykh sobytiĭ v Rossii kont͡sa XIX-nachala XX v. : 1891-okti͡abrʹ 1917 / [pod obshcheĭ redakt͡sieĭ A.V. Lavrova ; redaktor-sostavitelʹ, M.G. Petrova].
Moskva : IMLI RAN, 2002-<2005>
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG3011 .L438 2002 VYP.1
Still being published. We have вып. 1 and 3 so far. Вып. 1: 1891-1900; вып. 3: 1911-октябрь 1917.
Literaturnyĭ avangard, Rossii͡a (1890-1930) : bibliograficheskiĭ ukazatelʹ = Literature and art of Avant-Garde Russia (1890-1930) : bibliographical index / Aleksander Ocheretiansky.
Newtonville, Ma. : Oriental Research Partners, 1989.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2504 .M6 O2 1989
Material by and about authors. Includes published and unpublished works.
Russkie sovetskie pisateli - poėty : bibliograficheskiĭ ukazatelʹ / Gos. publichnai͡a biblioteka im. M. E. Saltykova-Shchedrina ; [red. kollegii͡a, O. D. Golubeva ... et al. ; sostaviteli, I. V. Aleksakhina ... et al.]
Moskva : Kniga, 1977-
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2504 .P7 L43 V.1
Recent volumes have title Русские писатели - поэты (советский период). Short biography of author; detailed publishing history (note especially section "Произведения, не вошедшие в избранное, сборники и не издававшиеся отдельно"); works about author's life & works (books & articles).
Russkie sovetskie pisateli-prozaiki : biobibliograficheskiĭ ukazatel'. [Sostaviteli: B. M. Akimov i dr. Redaktor N. I͡A. Morachevskiĭ.]
Leningrad : Biblioteka, 1959-
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2503 .L4
Organized like Russkie sovetskie pisateli-poety.
Sovetskai͡a khudozhestvennai͡a literatura i kritika; Bibliografii͡a.
Moskva, Sovetskiĭ pisatel'.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2503 .S6 1964/1965
Sovetskoe literaturovedenie i kritika, 1917-1925 : bibliograficheskiĭ ukazatelʹ literatury na russkom i͡azyke / [sostaviteli A.S. Anikina ... et al. ; otvetstvennyĭ redaktor I͡U.D. Ryskin].
New York, N.Y. : Norman Ross Pub., 1994.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z6511 .S68 1994 CH.1
General sections organized by subject. Most of work chronological, by work discussed. Indexes: name, title, periodical, literary movements, etc. Currently missing from Lane Room.
Free voices in Russian literature, 1950s-1980s : a bio-bibliographical guide / Bosiljka Stevanovic, Vladimir Wertsman ; edited by Alexander Sumerkin.
New York : Russica, 1987.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG3094 .S73 1987
Soviet dissident literature : a critical guide / Josephine Woll, in collaboration with Vladimir G. Treml.
Boston, Mass. : G.K. Hall, c1983.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2511 .U5 W64 1983
Postmodernizm v kontekste sovremennoĭ russkoĭ literatury : 60-90-e gody XX veka--nachalo XXI veka / O.V. Bogdanova.
Sankt-Peterburg : Filologicheskiĭ fakulʹtet S.-Peterburgskogo gos. universiteta, 2004.
Green Library » Stacks » PG3026 .P67 B64 2004
Russkai͡a literatura XX veka : prozaiki, poėty, dramaturgi : biobibliograficheskiǐ slovarʹ / [pod. red. N.N. Skatova].
[Moscow] : "OLMA-Press Invest, " 2005.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG3016 .R7844 2005 T.1

Bibliographies: dissident and emigre

Selected bibliographies. For a good list of additional ones, see June Farris's guide to Russian & Soviet literature, http://guides.lib.uchicago.edu/content.php?pid=255419&sid=2109015. SearchWorks terms: Russian literature foreign countries; Russians foreign countries; Russian literature [particular country, e.g., France]; Russian authors [country/foreign countries]; Russian [genre, e.g., theater] [country/foreign countries]; Exiles Russia; Exiles Soviet Union; Underground literature Soviet Union

L'Emigration russe : revues et recueils, 1920-1980 : index général des articles / publié par la Bibliothèque russe Tourguenev et la Bibliothèque de documentation internationale contemporaine avec le concours du Centre national de la recherche scientifique ; préface de Marc Raeff ; [sostaviteli T.L. Gladkova ... et al.].
Paris : Institut d'études slaves, 1988.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2513 .E42 E44 1988
Russkai͡a ėmigrat͡sii͡a : zhurnaly i sborniki na russkom i͡azyke, 1981-1995 : svodnyĭ ukazatelʹ stateĭ / [sostaviteli O.T. Bigar ... et al. ; redaktory T.L. Gladkova, T.A. Osorgina].
Paris : Institut d'études slaves ; Moskva : Rosspėn, 2005.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z6955 .R87 2005
Bibliografii͡a russkoǐ zarubezhnoǐ literatury, 1918-1968. Sostavitelʹ Li͡udmila A. Foster.
Boston, G. K. Hall, 1970.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2513 .F66 V.1
Literaturnai͡a ėnt͡siklopedii͡a russkogo zarubezhʹi͡a, 1918-1940 / [glavnyĭ redaktor A.N. Nikoli͡ukin ; redkollegii͡a, N.A. Bogomolov ... et al].
Moskva : ROSSPĖN, 1997-
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG3515 .L58 1997 T.1
Т. 1: Писатели русского зарубежья; Т. 2: Периодика и литературные центры; Т. 3: Книги; Т. 4: Всемирная литература и русское зарубежье Vsemirnaia literatura i russkoe zarubezhe
Free voices in Russian literature, 1950s-1980s : a bio-bibliographical guide / Bosiljka Stevanovic, Vladimir Wertsman ; edited by Alexander Sumerkin.
New York : Russica, 1987.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG3094 .S73 1987
Soviet dissident literature : a critical guide / Josephine Woll, in collaboration with Vladimir G. Treml.
Boston, Mass. : G.K. Hall, c1983.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2511 .U5 W64 1983
Russkai͡a literatura segodni͡a. Zarubezhʹe / Sergeĭ Chuprinin.
Moskva : Vremi͡a, 2008.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG3515 .C58 2008
Rospisʹ knig poėzii Rossiĭskogo Zarubezhʹi͡a XX veka : 1917-2000 / sobral i sostavil M.E. I͡Upp.
Filadelʹfii͡a : Prostranstvo, 2004.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » Z2503.5 .E42 I97 2004

Bibliographies & guides: 21st century

Bibliographies and guides can make it easier for you to find works by and about recent authors. Find more using SearchWork terms Russian literature 21st century bibliography and also Russian literature 20th century bibliography. See also the section "Russian websites on Russian literature" in the table of contents in the left-hand column of this guide.

Kto segodnia delaet literaturu v Rossii : sovremennye russkie pisateli / Vi͡acheslav Ogryzko.
Moskva : Literaturnai͡a Rossii͡a, 2006-2008.
Green Library » Stacks » PG2991.4 .O383 2006 VYP.1
Postmodernizm v kontekste sovremennoĭ russkoĭ literatury : 60-90-e gody XX veka--nachalo XXI veka / O.V. Bogdanova.
Sankt-Peterburg : Filologicheskiĭ fakulʹtet S.-Peterburgskogo gos. universiteta, 2004.
Green Library » Stacks » PG3026 .P67 B64 2004
Russkai͡a literatura segodni͡a : novyĭ putevoditelʹ / Sergeĭ Chuprinin.
Moskva : Vremi͡a, 2009.
Green Library » Lane Reading Room: Reference » PG2940 .C495 2009
Sections: Памятные даты, Писатели России, Премии, Союзы, Периодика, Русский Гиннес
Pop culture Russia! : media, arts, and lifestyle / Birgit Beumers.
Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2005.
Green Library » Stacks » DK510.762 .B48 2005

Russian websites on Russian literature

A few important Russian literary websites.

Современная русская литература
"Обзоры персональных сайтов писателей в Рунете." Includes extensive annotations.
Новая литературная карта России
"Общая задача проекта — восстановление целостности российского литературного пространства." Contemporary Russian writing not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also in Russian regions. Includes Russian writers outside Russia as well.
Read.Russia
English-language website on contemporary Russian writers.
Фундаментальная электронная библиотека "Русская литература и фольклор" (ФЭБ)
Huge and very useful site. "Полнотекстовая информационная система по произведениям русской словесности, библиографии, научным исследованиям и историко-биографическим работам."

Can I get it on interlibrary loan?

How to get access to material that Stanford does not have.

Stanford's Interlibrary Borrowing
If Stanford doesn't have an item, you can often get it on interlibrary loan. BUT if what you need is a book and it's 2 years old or less, ask me to order it for our library instead.
HathiTrust Digital Library
Collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world. Look here especially if a book or journal was published before 1923. Such material is out of copyright in the US, meaning you could have access to the full text online.
WorldCat (subscription-only version)
Check here to see if a library in North America has it. If you find a record for it, click on the holdings link. Note if Berkeley has it. If Berkeley does not, copy the Accession Number from the bottom of the record. Put "WorldCat" and the Accession Number into the interlibrary borrowing form.
WorldCat (public version)
Same huge multi-library database as above, with different interface.
OSKICAT
UC Berkeley libraries' online catalog. If WorldCat shows that Berkeley has your item, check here to make sure it's available now. Copy their call number into the RLCP form.

More information on Russian literature

To find more information than is covered in this topic guide, try these.

My 2012 "Selected resources for Russian literature and culture"
Earlier version of this topic guide, in Word format. More complete for some categories.
June Farris's guide to Russian & Soviet literature
Includes a particularly good section on emigre literature. Also has recommended books on individual authors.