Russian prose writing in the reign of Alexander I is distinguished by the variety and heterogeneity of the works. The vostochnaia povest, or Oriental tale, was important in the realm of Russian high literature, but has generally been disregarded by scholars. Its main representative, Alexander Benitskii and his story Na drugoi den is examined.
Although the Oriental tale represents one of the major achievements of high eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century prose in Russia, playing a key ...