A romantic and a dreamer, Alexei Tolstoy never quite came to terms with the conflict between the glorious notion of a revolution to bring equality and justice to the world and its real-life execution, which took place in Russia in 1917. While he realized struggle was inevitable, the full horror of hunger, epidemics, and civil wars never truly sunk in until he found himself in the midst of them. Even worse was the life, which followed, filled with mundane minutia, bureaucracy, corruption, a...

Faces of Hardship is an anthology of short stories and novellas by Ukrainian writer, translator, and political activist Ivan Franko, showing the unpopular, uncomfortable, and unattractive sides of life in late 19th - early 20th century Ukraine and Russia in vivid color.This collection includes the following works:Your Own FaultAt the BottomThe Story of a CoatTwo BuddiesTo the Ligh...