[{"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-19":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},2317194,4531,"Chapter 19: Forced to Key Politics","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-19",19,"\u003Cp>While young people near the bookstore and in the cafés enthusiastically discussed the stories “Wan Ka” and “Kunnao,” and the mysterious new author Mikhail, Mikhail himself was sound asleep on his sofa wrapped in a blanket, a stack of handwritten manuscript pages lying on the desk beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before his royalty payment arrived, Mikhail had been minimizing his activities these days—after all, the less he moved, the better his body could withstand hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, aside from occasionally mooching meals off Dmitri, Mikhail had simply become a homebody, continuing his current grand endeavor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as expected, he’d soon be busy for a while—once the stories were published, the now-free Belinsky would naturally introduce Mikhail into his circle, and social obligations would inevitably follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Mikhail was still lost in dreams, a knock came at the door; after a few moments of knocking, he finally opened his eyes and yawned his way to open it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good morning, Mikhail,” said the elderly maid Nastasya, holding something in her hand as she sized up the sleep-dazed Mikhail. “Your sleeping habits are downright nobleman-like. The package arrived this morning, but it’s nearly noon now, lunch is about to begin, so I came to knock and find you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, Nastasya had never seen such sleeping habits before—in contemporary St. Petersburg, an ordinary citizen struggling to feed themselves and their entire family barely had time to breathe, let alone lie around sleeping all day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a hired maid like her, rising at four or five in the morning to work was standard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then again, remembering he was a university student, Nastasya felt she might understand a little…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Nastasya’s words, Mikhail paused, then chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment—thanks, dear Nastasya.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, considering the average working hours of workers in most capitalist countries today, Mikhail suddenly thought—well, isn’t 996 kind of a blessing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I declare it’s genuinely superior in this era…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, timing-wise, that bearded German fellow probably won’t be long now before he releases his manifesto.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Mikhail reached out and took the package Nastasya handed him, weighing its thickness and weight—he already knew: it must be the sample issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this a book someone sent you? So thick,” asked the ever-talkative Nastasya before Mikhail could open it. “A book like this isn’t cheap.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Undoubtedly, though printing technology had reached Russia, for most Russians books were still a luxury—and most couldn’t read anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sort of,” Mikhail said, remembering Nastasya’s loose lips—he stopped unwrapping and gave a vague reply. “I’ll head down to eat soon. You go ahead, Nastasya.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright,” said the slightly disappointed elderly maid as she left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After seeing Nastasya off, Mikhail finally opened the package and began examining the magazine of this era with interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper quality was poor, but it was thick, filled with all kinds of literary genres; while briefly checking how “Wan Ka” and “Kunnao” had been printed, he quickly flipped to the back to find Belinsky’s review.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading it carefully, Mikhail’s lips twitched, and his face turned slightly green.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why? That requires explaining how Russian critics of this era conducted their reviews.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, these critics loved using their reviews of others’ works to express their own views on social reality, political systems, artistic ideals, culture, and more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take Gogol, for example: though most of his later works carried strong satirical tones, Gogol himself was gentle, kind, and deeply affectionate toward his homeland and even the Tsar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His early sensation, the story collection “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka,” celebrated the dreamy sweetness of Russian village life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after his writing shifted direction, Gogol always insisted his works were benevolent—that he used “laughter” to correct society and offer some help to his beloved Russia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after “Dead Souls” was published, democratic critics like Belinsky repeatedly emphasized its critical significance toward reality, constantly stressing its author’s hostile stance toward the existing order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This relentless pressure frightened Gogol, who was always cautious, hesitant, and timid; he began trying to portray Russia and Russians positively in the second volume of “Dead Souls.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But positive, affirming writing is always hard—especially when reality lies bare before everyone’s eyes. How blind must one be to ignore it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a great writer like Gogol kept retreating on this issue, unable to finish the second volume of “Dead Souls.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, Gogol was by nature no fighter—but his works clearly carried such tendencies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Critics, eager to benefit society, inevitably infused their literary interpretations with personal bias and passion—but the problem was, their fierce political commentary led the public to genuinely believe the authors themselves held fierce discontent toward reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This contradiction and division became the root of Belinsky’s eventual break with Gogol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t an isolated case—later, our own Turgenev was so frightened by a critic’s article that a whole series of events followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But we’ll leave that for later—Mikhail’s meeting with Turgenev is probably just around the corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back to now: Belinsky’s review was, overall, flawless—he was truly elevating Mikhail as a genius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then again, given Belinsky’s deep concern for social reality and the clear pro-lower-class stance in Mikhail’s two stories, this brilliant critic inevitably slipped into… keying politics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail truly didn’t want to key politics—anyone who dared to do so in this era knew the consequences, even without thinking. But someone else had already keyed for him…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, to be fair, Belinsky’s keying aside, his review was truly excellent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In later eras, critics often didn’t even speak plainly—let alone discuss social reality, criticize the times, or speak for the many.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You could say, once funding stopped, most of them became quiet…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he read, Mikhail suddenly felt Belinsky’s words seemed… quite right…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pfft!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This thinking was far too dangerous…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading carefully for a while, Mikhail sighed and shook his head, then picked up the magazine and headed downstairs for lunch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever. Let him key. It’s probably fine for now…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",991,"2026-06-20T14:41:53.633Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2f2c7881b9a9cece8fe7762d704d12876caa9506627a44475255baed857a7a45","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-20","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-18",105,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-cover.jpg"]