Aleksey Feofilaktovich Pisemsky

Aleksey Feofilaktovich Pisemsky (born March 23 [March 11, Old Style], 1821, Ramenye, Kostroma province, Russia—died February 2 [January 21], 1881, Moscow) was a novelist and playwright whom many critics rank with the great masters of Russian Realism, though his Realism borders on Naturalism and he lacks the philanthropic conscience that informs the work of his great contemporaries. Pisemsky came from an impoverished noble family, attended Moscow University, and was a civil servant in his native...