Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky (1811–48) was a Russian literary critic, often called the father of the Russian radical intelligentsia. His work shaped literary criticism, advocating social progress and realism in literature.
Born in Sveaborg, Finland, he studied at Moscow University but was expelled in 1832 for political activism. He later worked as a journalist, writing for Teleskop, Otechestvennye Zapiski, and Sovremennik, influencing Russian literary and social thought.
Belinsky’s notable works include Literary Reveries (1834,) introducing Romantic nationalism; Essays on Russian Literature (1840,) analyzing Pushkin and Gogol; and Letter to Gogol (1847,) a scathing critique of autocracy and Orthodoxy. His writings emphasized reason, individual rights, and literature as a tool for social change.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Vissarion Belinsky
Do not worry about the incarnation of ideas. If you are a poet, your works will contain them without your knowledge—they will be both moral and national if you follow your inspiration freely.
—Vissarion Belinsky
Topics: Literature, Books
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