Running the gamut from sweet and reverent to twisted and uproarious, and with many of the stories appearing in English for the first time, this is a collection that will satisfy every reader. Dostoevsky brings stories of poverty and tragedy, Tolstoy inspires with his fable-like tales, Chekhov's unmatchable skills are on full display in a story about a female factory owner and the wretched workers, Klavdia Lukashevitch delights with a sweet and surprising tale of a childhood in White Russia, and Mikhail Zoshchenko recounts madcap anecdotes of Christmas trees and Christmas thieves. There is no shortage of vodka or wit on display here, in a collection that proves, with its wonderful variety and remarkable human touch, that Nobody Does Christmas Like the Russians.

New Year's tree / Mikhail Zoshchenko --
Boys / Anton Chekhov --
Christmas tree and a wedding / Fyodor Dostoevsky --
At Christmastide / Anton Chekhov --
Dream of the young tsar / Lev Tolstoy --
Makar's dream / Vladimir Korolenko --
Woman's kingdom / Anton Chekhov --
Distant Christmas eve / Klaudia Lukashevich --
Little boy at Christ's Christmas tree / Fyodor Dostoevsky --
Christmas phantoms / Maxim Gorky --
Lifeless animal / Teffi --
My last Christmas / Mikhail Zoshchenko.