This anthology of short stories is representative of well-known 19th and 20th century Russian writers. Eleven stories, often adapted or abridged, are arranged in order of increasing difficulty and intended for use in intermediate and advanced phases of the Russian Basic Course. The selections, all in Cyrillic script, include: (1) A. S. Pushkin's "The Station Master,""The Shot,""The Queen of Spades," and "The Captain's Daughter"; (2) L. N. Tolstoy's "The Captive of the Caucasus"; (3) A. B. Chekhov's "At the Summer House" and "Fat and Thin"; (4) L. S. Lench's "The Fine"; (5) I. A. Ilf's and E. P. Petrov's "Tonya"; (6) K. G. Paustovsky's "Snow"; and (7) M. A. Sholokhov's "The Fate of a Man." Russian-English vocabulary lists are included. (RL)