Vissarion Belinsky
Vissarion Belinsky was a prominent Russian literary critic and social thinker born on May 30, 1811, in Sveaborg, Finland, during the period of the Russian Empire. His early education was disrupted when he withdrew from school to prepare for Moscow University, where he was later expelled due to his political activism and absenteeism. Throughout his life, Belinsky faced health challenges, including a battle with tuberculosis, which ultimately led to his death in St. Petersburg on June 7, 1848.
Belinsky wrote during a time of significant political repression under Czar Nicholas I, whose regime enforced strict censorship and limited intellectual freedom. In this oppressive environment, he developed a philosophy that argued literature should reflect societal realities and serve as a catalyst for social change. His influential essays, particularly "Literaturnye mechtaniia" (Literary Reveries), expressed a deep passion for literature and criticized the lack of a truly national literature in Russia. He was known for his fervent critiques of major Russian writers like Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, and Ivan Turgenev, and his work significantly impacted the Russian literary scene, earning him the nickname "Furious Belinsky." Today, he is celebrated as a foundational figure of the radical intelligentsia and is regarded as one of Russia's greatest literary critics.
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Vissarion Belinsky
Literary Critic
- Born: June 11, 1811
- Birthplace: Sveaborg, Finland
- Died: June 7, 1848
- Place of death: St. Petersburg, Russia
Biography
Vissarion Belinsky was born on May 30, 1811, in Sveaborg, Finland, which was then part of the Russian Empire. At the time of Belinsky’s birth, his father, Grigorii, had qualified as a doctor in the St. Petersburg Medical Academy and was serving with the Baltic fleet. In 1816, the family moved to Chembar, Penza Province, when Belinsky’s father took an appointment there as the district doctor. Belinsky was educated locally in Chembar, but withdrew from school in 1828 to prepare himself at home for the entrance examinations for Moscow University. In 1832 he was expelled from that university for absenteeism, for disputes with university authorities, and for writing a politically sensitive play that criticized the institution of serfdom. He began a lifelong battle against tuberculosis at this time and traveled to the Caucasus to convalesce. In spite of this illness, he had intermittent periods of relative health. He was married to Mariia Vasil’evvna Orlova; the couple had one son and one daughter. Belinsky died of tuberculosis in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 7, 1848.
Belinsky wrote during a time of significant social, artistic, and political repression. The Russian population of the era was closely monitored by the secret police force of Czar Nicholas I, which imposed strict censorship. Nicholas’s regime promoted the theory of Official Nationality as the guiding principle of the Russian Empire; this theory left little room for independent thought or criticism of existing conventions. In this context, Belinsky developed a philosophy of art and literature that rejected the limitations of traditional Russian folk poetry and other art forms. He came to believe that literature should reflect the reality of culture and act as a source of transformative energy in society. In arriving at this utilitarian philosophy, Belinsky embraced a variety of ideas, but consistently maintained his thirst for absolute values and truths, his absorption with grand patterns in art and philosophy, and his fierce intellectual passion.
One of Belinsky’s more influential essays was his first major work to be published, a piece titled “Literaturnye mechtaniia” (Literary Reveries) that appeared in ten installments in the Russian journal Molva in 1834. In this essay, Belinsky sought to apply a philosophical system to the history of Russian literature. In tone, the piece was remarkable for the warmth of feeling with which it discussed literature. This tone carried over into critical essays on the works of such Russian writers as Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol and Ivan Turgenev. Belinsky was so passionate in the expression of his views that he earned the sobriquet “Furious Belinsky.” He was especially fervent about what he perceived as the absence of a national Russian literature that reflected the true spirit of the people. His social and literary criticism, his essays, and his personality influenced a number of writers, including the novelist Fyodor Dostoevski. Belinsky is widely considered to be the greatest Russian literary critic and the father of the radical intelligentsia.