In need of no introduction, of course, is Russia's fine tradition in the arts. Its literary canon alone boasts the likes of Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Anton Chekov. If we expand it to include composers, ballet dancers, and artists, the list of names becomes too exhaustive to note. In learning Russian, you can begin to appreciate these masterpieces in their original form, and get ever closer to understanding the mysterious Russian soul.