The reason why literature exercises such an influence in Russia is self-evident. There is no open political life, and with the exception of a few years at the time of the abolition of serfdom, the Russian people have never been called upon to take an active part in the framing of their country’s institutions.

The consequence has been that the best minds of the country have chosen the poem, the novel, the satire, or literary criticism as the medium for expressing their aspirations, their conceptions of national life, or their ideals. It is not to blue-books, or to newspaper leaders, but to its works of Art that one must go in Russia in order to understand the political, economical, and social ideals of the country—the aspirations of the history-making portions of Russian society.

As it would have been impossible to exhaust so wide a subject as Russian Literature within the limits of this book, I have concentrated my chief attention upon the modern literature. The early writers, down to Púshkin and Gógol—the founders of the modern literature—are dealt with in a short introductory sketch. The most representative writers in poetry, the novel, the drama, political literature, and art criticism, are considered next, and round them I have grouped the less prominent writers, of whom the most important are mentioned in short notes. I am fully aware that every one of the latter presents something individual and well worth knowing; and that some of the less-known authors have even succeeded occasionally in better representing a given current of thought than their more famous colleagues; but in a book which is intended to give only a broad, general idea of the subject, the plan I have pursued was necessary.

Literary criticism has always been well represented in Russia, and the views taken in this book must needs bear traces of the work of our great critics—Byelínskiy, Tchernyshévskiy, Dobrolúboff, and Písareff, and their modern followers, Mikhailóvsky, Arsénieff, Skabitchévskiy, Venguéroff, and others. For biographical data concerning contemporary writers I am indebted to the excellent work on modern Russian literature by the last named author, and to the eighty volumes of the admirable Russian Encyclopædic Dictionary.

I take this opportunity to express my hearty thanks to my old friend, Mr. Richard Heath, who was kind enough to read over all this book, both in manuscript and in proof.

Bromley, Kent,
January, 1905.

CONTENTS

Preface[v]
Chapter I: Introduction[1]
The Russian Language—Early folk literature: Folklore—Songs—Sagas—Layof Igor’s Raid—Annals—MongolianInvasion; its consequences—Correspondence between JohnIV. and Kúrbskiy—Religious splitting—Avvakúm’s Memoirs—Theeighteenth century—Peter I. and his contemporaries:Tretiakóvskiy—Lomonósoff—Sumarókoff—Thetimes of Catherine II: Derzhávin—Von Wízin—TheFreemasons: Nóvikoff—Radíscheff—Early nineteenth century:Karamzin and Zhukóvskiy—The Decembrists—Ryléeff.
Chapter II: Pushkin; Lermontóff[39]
Pushkin—Beauty of form—Pushkin and Schiller—Hisyouth; his exile; his later career and death—Fairytales: Ruslán and Ludmíla—His lyrics—“Byronism”—Drama—EvghéniyOnyeghin—Lermontóff—Pushkin orLermontóff? His life—The Caucasus—Poetry of nature—Influenceof Shelley—The Demon—Mtsýri—Love of Freedom—Pushkinand Lermontóff as prose-writers—Otherpoets and novelists of the same epoch.
Chapter III: Gógol[67]
Little Russia—Nights on a Farm near Dikánka and Mírgorod—Villagelife and humour—How Ivan Ivanovitchquarrelled with Ivan Nikíforytch—Historical novel: TarásBúlba—The Cloak—Drama: The Inspector-General—Itsinfluence—Dead Souls: Main types—Realism in theRussian novel.
Chapter IV: Turguéneff; Tolstóy[88]
Turguéneff—The Character of his art—A Sportsman’sNote-book—Pessimism in his early novels—His series ofnovels representing the leading types of Society: Rudin—Lavrétskiy—Helenand Insároff—Bazároff—Why Fathersand Sons was misunderstood—Hamlet and Don Quixote—VirginSoil—Movement towards the people—Tolstóy—Childhoodand Boyhood—During and after the CrimeanWar—Youth: in search of an ideal—Small stories—TheCossacks—Educational work—War and Peace—AnnaKarénina—Religious crisis—His interpretation of the Christianteaching—Main points of Christian ethics—Latestworks of art—Kreutzer Sonata—Resurrection.
Chapter V: Gontcharóff; Dostoyévskiy; Nekrásoff[151]
Gontcharóff—Oblomoff—The Russian malady of Oblomoffdom—Isit exclusively Russian? The Precipice—Dostoyévskiy—Hisfirst novel—General character of his work—Memoirsfrom a Dead House—Down-trodden andOffended—Crime and Punishment—The Brothers Karamázoff—Nekrasoff—Discussionsabout his talent—His loveof the people—Apotheosis of Woman—Other prose-writersof the same epoch—Serghéi Aksákoff—Dal—IvanPanaeff—Hvoschinskaya (V. Krestovskiy-pseudonyme)—Poetsof the same epoch—Koltsoff—Nikitin—Pleschéeff—Theadmirers of pure art: Tutcheff; A. Maykoff;Scherbina; A. Fet—A. K. Tolstóy—The Translators.
Chapter VI: The Drama[191]
Its origin—The Tsars Alexei and Peter I.—Sumarókoff—Pseudo-classicaltragedies: Knyazhnín; Ozeroff—Firstcomedies—The first years of the nineteenth century—Griboyedoff—TheMoscow stage in the fifties—Ostróvskiy:his first dramas—The Thunderstorm—Ostrovskiy’s laterdramas—Historical dramas: A. K. Tolstóy—Other dramaticwriters.
Chapter VII: Folk-Novelists[221]
Their position in Russian literature—The early folk-novelists—Grigórovitch—MárkoVovtchók—Danilévskiy—Intermediateperiod: Kókoreff; Písemskiy; Potyekhin—Ethnographicalresearches—The realistic school: Pomyalóvskiy—Ryeshetnikoff—Levítoff—GlebUspenskiy—Zlatovrátskiyand other folk-novelists: Naúmoff—Zasódimskiy—Sáloff—Nefédoff—Modernrealism: Maxim Gorkiy.
Chapter VIII: Political Literature; Satire;Art-Criticism; Contemporary Novelists[263]
Political Literature—Difficulties of censorship—Thecircles: Westerners and Slavophiles—Political literatureabroad: Herzen—Ogaryóff—Bakunin—Lavróff—Stepniak—TheContemporary and Tchernyshévskiy—Satire: Schedrin(Saltykoff)—Art-Criticism—Its importance in Russia—Byelinskiy—Dobrolúboff—Písareff—Mihailóvskiy—Tolstóy’sWhat is Art?—Contemporary Novelists:Oertel—Korolenko—Present drift of literature—Merezhovskiy—Boborykin—Potápenko—Tchehoff.
Bibliographical Notes[319]
Index[321]

PART I
Introduction: The Russian Language