Introduction

This chapter recounts Fyodor Dostoevsky's popularity as a young Russian writer in early 1846 after his publication of Poor Folk. It elaborates how Dostoevsky was hailed as a savior, a prophet, and an idol whom God had chosen to lead Russian literature from alleged deserts to promised lands during his time. It also mentions Vissarion Belinsky and Nikolai Nekrasov, who had been educated in the school of hard knocks and were particularly taken with Dostoevsky. The chapter describes Belinsky and Nekrasov as romantics, staunch realists, and avid proponents of progressivism in Russian literature and life from 1846 to 1847. It then explains how Dostoevsky was alien or indifferent to sociopolitical discussions despite the cosmopolitan formation of his early years.