There is also a novel about a doctor in rural Russia, as well as a novel about Moliere's life: both of those are not opaque at all, and need next to no Russian context to read them.
"A Young Doctor's Notebook" was also turned into a TV miniseries a few years ago, with Daniel Radcliffe as the young doctor and Jon Hamm as his older self. The series is a bit zany at times, but captures the Russianness and humour of the book very well.
