Advertisement

Russian man stabs friend to death over argument about literary genres

When drinking in Russia, don't insult poetry.

Last week two drunk friends got into a heated argument about literary genres.

On one side, a 53-year-old former teacher who extols the virtues of poetry. On the other side, his 67-year-old friend who believes "the only real literature is prose." Things eventually got so heated that the teacher wound up stabbing his mate to death.

The suspect, whose name has been withheld, fled the scene but was tracked down by police two days later. He has been charged with murder and faces up to 15 years in prison.

According to BBC News, the victim "had had pieces of his own prose published in a local newspaper."

The suspect had been living with the victim in the months leading up to the dispute.

It's not the first case of a pretentious argument leading to violence in Russia. Last fall, a man shot a fellow shopper at a grocery store with rubber bullets for disagreeing with his views on the work of 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kent.

The victim survived the incident.

According to Reuters, while Russians regularly discuss philosophy, history and literature over drinks, "such discussions rarely end in shootings."