Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky (1828–89) was a Russian literary critic, philosopher, journalist, and revolutionary whose works shaped socialist thought and 19th-century intellectual discourse, influencing Russian nihilism and revolutionary movements.
Born in Saratov, Russia, he studied at Saint Petersburg University, embracing materialist philosophy and democratic ideals. As chief editor of Sovremennik from 1853, he used the journal to promote socialist and revolutionary ideas.
His most influential work, Chto delat? (1863, What Is to Be Done?) is a political novel advocating rational egoism and activism, inspiring figures like Vladimir Lenin. Other notable works include Esteticheskoe otnoshenie iskusstva k deystvitel’nosti (1855, The Aesthetic Relation of Art to Reality,) which shaped materialist aesthetics, and Ocherki po filosofii iskusstva (1853, Essays on the Philosophy of Art,) exploring art’s role in social progress.
Chernyshevsky’s radical views led to his 1862 arrest, imprisonment in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and exile to Siberia (1864–83.) Despite harsh conditions, he continued writing, profoundly impacting Russian revolutionary thought.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Nikolay Chernyshevsky
History is fond of her grandchildren, for it offers them the marrow of the bones, which the previous generation had hurt its hands in breaking.
—Nikolay Chernyshevsky
Topics: History, Posterity
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