Nikolai Konstantinovich Mikhailovsky
Nikolai Konstantinovich Mikhailovsky was a notable Russian literary critic and social thinker, born on November 15, 1842, into a noble family in Kaluga, Russia. He experienced a challenging upbringing, losing his mother in childhood and gaining limited involvement from his father. Mikhailovsky began his literary career while studying at the Institute of Mining Engineering in St. Petersburg, where he was expelled for organizing student protests advocating for social change. His belief that art should serve social purposes became evident early in his career, particularly through his reviews and essays that addressed societal issues.
Throughout his life, Mikhailovsky interacted with prominent writers and social activists, which influenced his perspectives. He was an advocate for the "narodniki" or populists, who believed in the importance of peasant communes in Russian society, and he argued against revolutionary actions, positing that peasants understood their social challenges best. His critical essays examined the works of notable authors like Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, often taking a socially conscious stance in his interpretations. Mikhailovsky passed away on January 28, 1904, leaving behind a legacy of engagement with social issues through literature and criticism.
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Nikolai Konstantinovich Mikhailovsky
Publicist
- Born: November 15, 1842
- Birthplace: Meshchovsk, Kaluga, Russia
- Died: January 28, 1904
Biography
Nikolai Konstantinovich Mikhailovsky was born on November 15, 1842, in a family of nobility in the province of Kaluga, Russia. His father was a gentry landowner, and his mother a Russianized German. Mikhailovsky’s father was little concerned with his son’s upbringing, and his mother died when he was a small child. Mikhailovsky attended high school in Kostroma. After the death of his father, he enrolled in the Institute of Mining Engineering in St. Petersburg.
There he began his career of a literary critic, when he wrote a review of Ivan Goncharov’s novel about the treatment of women in 1861. This revealed early Mikhailovsky’s belief that art should serve social purposes. He was expelled from the Institute for organizing student protests. He wanted to continue studying in the school of law, but it also was closed to him because of his role in the student protests. In 1869, Mikhailovsky married a music student, but the marriage was short- lived. He entered a common-law relationship with a woman and they had two sons.
Mikhailovsky found temporary jobs in publishing houses, where he continued to write articles and reviews in the so-called “thick” journals. He also became acquainted with many social activists, who inspired him to study the works of social thinkers, notably Pierre Joseph Proudhon’s defense of individuals from any kind of authority. He also befriended many writers, notably the famous poet Nikolai Nekrasov, who edited a leading journal Otechestvennie zapiski (notes of the fatherland), for which Mikhailovsky wrote from 1869 to 1884.
Mikhailovsky expressed his ideas about social problems in many essays, such as “Chto tako progress?” (1869; what is progress?). He saw progress in the role of society enhancing the development of human personality. A society develops in stages, he argued. Basically, he sided with the people, joining the so- called “narodniki” (populists), whose main belief was that peasant communes are the backbone of the Russian society. He argued against a revolution because he believed that the peasants know best the answers to basic social problems.
Mikhailovsky wrote some important critical essays about leading Russian writers. He did not believe in pure art and remarked that even Alexander Pushkin was basically a poet of nobility. In the article “Desnitsa i shuitsa L’va Tolstogo” (1875; the right and the left hand of Count Leo Tolstoy), he saw Tolstoy’s “right hand” in his practical approach to issues, and “left hand” in his anarchism, leading him to personal upheavals. Even though on friendly terms with Fedor Dostoevsky, he criticized in the essay “Zhestokii talant” (1882; a cruel talent) his emphasis on suffering among the Russian people. Ivan Turgenev presented his characters in the same way. Mikhailovsky was negative about all of these writers because he interpreted their works from a socially tinted position. Mikhailovsky died on January 28, 1904, and was buried according to Russian Orthodox rites.