10 Great Russian Short Story. The Russian short stories that will make a vivid impression on a person: The Mantle by Nikolai Gogol, Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Death of Ivan Illyich by Leo Tolstoy, Darkness by Anton Chekhov, The Avenger by Anton Chekhov, A Troublesome Visitor by Anton Chekhov, Mumu by Ivan Turgenev, First love by Ivan Turgenev, The Little Angel by Leonid Andreyev.