[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia":3,"chapter-my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-17":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","My Life as a Literary Giant in Russia",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2317192,4531,"Chapter 17: Publication","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-17",17,"\u003Cp>Listening to the voices around him, publisher Krayevsky, though showing no clear stance, had already revealed much by simply standing among these people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, though Belinsky had long tried to spark a new tide in the literary world, the conservatives now undeniably held greater power, and the prevailing literary climate largely revolved around French classicism and romanticism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, literature in this era was often the exclusive domain of the nobility; for many among them, the ideal was to preserve this life unchanged for ten thousand years, and thus literature largely reflected this trend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Conservative, dull, preoccupied with flowers, snow, and moonlight—had it been otherwise, Gogol would not have faced such fierce condemnation over Dead Souls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, under Tsar Nicholas’s censorship system, isn’t it better to write safe, harmless things? Why keep daring to dance on the Tsar’s forbidden grounds?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In today’s Russia, loyalty to the monarch and patriotism have always been mandatory lessons; every youth received this education in school, and over time, most came to genuinely love their homeland and revere the Tsar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only a few outliers persistently seek to criticize and attack the Tsar; even if His Imperial Majesty is magnanimous and ignores these outliers, can His great subjects truly endure their existence?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overall, Krayevsky, the current owner and erudite editor of The Fatherland Chronicle, is an unambiguous liberal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s hard to pin down his specific leanings, but if the magazine’s subscription numbers rise, he will quickly embrace that ideology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet in truth, he has long held certain disagreements with Belinsky; however, at this moment, given the magazine’s rising subscriptions, though Krayevsky finds Belinsky too reckless and bold, he largely tolerates such behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At most, he merely listens to others vent their frustrations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the novels, Krayevsky had read them and indeed acknowledged that both displayed the author’s astonishing talent and unmistakably introduced fresh elements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But given that only these two stories existed and the future of his works remained uncertain, Krayevsky felt it unwise to offer such high praise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, publication would proceed regardless; the details could be discussed after release.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the publication date of The Fatherland Chronicle soon arrived: on the twenty-fifth of this month, outside major bookstores in St. Petersburg, though dawn had not yet broken and the biting cold still swept through the city’s streets, wave after wave of well-dressed university students had gathered spontaneously at the bookstore doors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One must admit that, in any era, intellectuals are invariably the most radical among their peers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It cannot be denied that some among them are indeed parasites, nor can it be denied that many treat radicalism as a fashionable trend—but ultimately, in an age where most seem content, they are willing to step forward and challenge it, thereby pushing that age forward in some measure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combine youth with university students, and the effect is amplified; in today’s Russia, they are nothing less than a natural reserve of revolutionaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though their family backgrounds, origins, and economic conditions are generally favorable, seemingly leaving them no reason to resent society, young people are born challengers of order; even if they may not be right, they persistently seek their own truth, convinced they alone are correct, and refuse to blindly accept their elders’ nonsense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If every generation truly obeyed their parents without question, humanity would still be living in caves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as these young people gathered, their atmosphere grew ever more heated, their voices louder, the fire they ignited seeming ready to drive away all of St. Petersburg’s winter winds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re also waiting for this issue of The Fatherland Chronicle?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course! I came specifically to read Vissarion’s critique! I’ve never seen a critic with more personality.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every time I read his reviews, I feel my understanding of certain things is overturned—like his last critique on Russian society.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I love how he defended and explained Dead Souls. Have you read Dead Souls?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course! The landowner Plyushkin in the book is just like my father’s friend! Did you know? Every time he visits our house, something always goes missing—God knows what he wants with all those trinkets.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the young people began their heated exchanges, in some unremarkable corners, men in overcoats who looked utterly cold and indifferent watched the youths with clear annoyance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On a day like this, if not for these idle youths, why should they have stepped onto the streets to monitor these kids causing trouble?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, such gatherings don’t warrant attention—but who knows what a group of young, thinking men might do when gathered together?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So a couple of men were sent to keep watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As secret police under the Tsar, their duties were many, and surveilling these idle youths was among the more tedious tasks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was simple: university students of this era were generally from noble or landowning families—either their ancestors had served under Peter the Great, or they were distantly related to Tsar Nicholas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These people were hardest to handle; after arrest, their identities had to be carefully verified to avoid mistakes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for those whose families weren’t from St. Petersburg or who came from the taxpaying class, it was much easier: first give them a punch the size of a potato, then a fresh lash with a whip and a club; under threat and intimidation, most of them quickly grew obedient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who wouldn’t fear fists and whips?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who truly didn’t fear them—well, one must wonder if their brains were broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These secret police had no interest whatsoever in the youths’ antics or ideas; they only wanted to finish early, collect their generous salary from His Great Imperial Majesty, and go home to sip tea by a warm fireplace and play with their children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young people, of course, noticed their presence; though they didn’t provoke them, they cast looks of contempt toward these dogs of the Tsar—clearly, neither side could understand the other, and both were certain they alone were right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid this atmosphere of fervor tinged with gloom, daylight gradually broke, the bookstore doors swung open, and the youths surged inside, rushing toward the literary magazines brimming with fresh ideas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they picked up The Fatherland Chronicle, they quickly realized the star of today’s issue was not the familiar Belinsky, but a young author whose name they had never heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail Romanovich Raskolnikov\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone spoke the name aloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1057,"2026-06-20T14:41:53.633Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","870f11986d5ecfe4697857be314d2f084e3633a87ce53fa1b7001d7516cc2aa4","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-18","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-16",105,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-cover.jpg"]