A cultural phenomenon in his day--an award-winning film director and actor who also wrote novels, plays, and movie scripts--Vasily Shukshin (1929-1974) is renowned for his mastery of the short story. Credited with revitalizing the short story as a genre in Russian literature, he was posthumously honored with the Soviet Union's highest literary prize following his untimely death at the age of forty-five.
Stories from a Siberian Village...