How does Virgin Soil portray young Russian populists?

In his 1877 novel Virgin Soil, Ivan Turgenev provides realistic and somewhat sympathetic portraits of the young populists who sought to incite revolution among the Russian peasantry.12

Turgenev depicts a variety of revolutionary types, illustrating both their dedication and their frequent failures:12

• Nezhdanov: An ardent young man whose revolutionary speeches serve only to confuse the peasants.1
• Marianna: A committed revolutionary who adopts peasant dress and mannerisms in an attempt to connect with the people.1
• Markeloff: A crude figure whose calls for total armed revolution lead the peasants to betray him to the police.1

While Turgenev portrays some of these socialists as would-be manipulators driven by resentment, he contrasts them with the conservative and moderate characters, whom he depicts as even more vain, frivolous, and heartless. The novel’s most effective character is Solomin, a pragmatic factory manager who rejects the aristocracy and advocates for gradual liberalization, a figure who largely represents Turgenev’s own moderate views.1