In Soviet Russia, Art Create You!

I've really been into Russian literature and art lately. For example, I was on the Wikipedia page for the Islamic Angel of Death Azrael and one of the provided pictures was a painting depicting him by the Russian Symbolist painter Mikhail Vrubel:

I love his paintings because they look like someone broke stain glass and then tried to reassemble it. Here's another angel painting:

He was also very much into painting demons, especially after having a mental breakdown (he's Russian, so I suppose he was obligated to have one of those).
I also went out and bought a couple of Fyodor Dostoevsky novels: "Crime and Punishment" (the standard) and "Notes from Underground:"

That's actually the translation I bought. They say it's the first example of an existential novel and boy were they not kidding. I've started reading it and I'm only past the first section but what a mind-f**k! So far, my favorite quote is thus: "Maybe man does not love well-being only? Maybe he loves suffering just as much? Maybe suffering is just as profitable for him as well-being? For man sometimes loves suffering terribly much, to the point of passion, and that is a fact. Here there's not even any need to consult world history; just ask yourself, if you're a human being and have had any life at all. As for my personal opinion, to love just well-being alone is even somehow indecent. Whether it's good or bad, it's sometimes also very pleasant to break something." It's crazy, man.
Lastly, I had a wonderful time reading Leo Tolstoy's novella "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" a year ago and even got an A on a paper I wrote comparing the title character to Doctor Faust. It's basically a meditation on death and just such a great story. I recommend it to anyone who loves to read:

Oh, those crazy Russians! How I love them!