Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (29 January 1860 - 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short story writer who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (11 November 1821 - 9 February 1881), sometimes transliterated Dostoevsky, was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist and philosopher.

Dostoyevsky's literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmosphere of 19th-century Russia. Many of his works are marked by a preoccupation with Christianity, explored through the prism of the individual confronted with life's hardships and beauty.

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (9 September 1828 – 20 November 1910), usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time.

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818 - 1883) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His novel Fathers and Sons (1862) is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century fiction.