Anna Karenina (Russian: Анна Каренина) is a novel, first published in book form in 1878, by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Often considered to be among the greatest works of world literature, Tolstoy himself called it his first true novel.

The novel deals with themes of betrayal, faith, family, marriage, Imperial Russian society, desire, and the differences between rural and urban life. The story centres on an extramarital affair between Anna and cavalry officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky that scandalises the social circles of Saint Petersburg and forces the young lovers to flee to Italy in pursuit of happiness, but after they return to Russia, their lives further unravel.