Chapter 81: The Contemporary

Regarding the founding of a magazine, to some extent, it is about seizing the high ground of public opinion; thus, no matter what wave arrives, there will always be some opportunity to make one's voice heard, and a chance to fight for certain rights for this era, for this society, and for the individual.

But if the opportunity to speak out is gradually lost, and the faint voices of individuals are gradually crushed by other louder and greater voices, then the so-called media and magazines have in fact gradually lost their meaning.

In this current era, intellectuals often spread ideas and enlighten the populace by founding magazines, thereby creating opportunities for the arrival of a new age.

In normal history, it was precisely through the efforts of Nekrasov, Belinsky, Panaev, and others that The Contemporary, after they took it over, became a cradle for promoting materialism and peasant revolutionary thought.

And in later history, the founding of a magazine named New Youth would also provide ideological impetus for the arrival of a new era.

So the question arises: if intellectuals can understand this, could His Majesty the great Tsar not understand?

Thus, after 1848, the Tsar Your Majesty, deeply fearful of the revolutionary tide, waved his hand, which existed between the formless and the formed; consequently, magazines and newspapers became the Tsar's mouthpiece, so-called progressive magazines and media were banned one after another, and no discordant voices were allowed throughout the Empire—a scene of vigorous vitality and all things competing for growth still lingers before the eyes!

However, at present, since the major revolutionary hotspots in Europe have not yet begun to exert force, although Russia's control is strict, the great hand of Tsar Your Majesty has ultimately not continued to wave.

But even an occasional wave resulted in a policy prohibiting the founding of new magazines.

This means that if Mikhail and the others wish to launch a new magazine, they can only take over an existing one and then proceed to transform it into a magazine belonging to people like themselves.

After deciding to start a magazine, the group led by Nekrasov actually discussed for a long time which one to take over, simply because most magazines of this period were run lifelessly, leaving them able to choose only from a small few such as The Lighthouse, The Finland Herald, and Son of the Fatherland.

However, this problem did not trouble them for long; with Mikhail's appearance, a direct statement—"How about The Contemporary? I think it is the most suitable."—resolved everyone's dilemma, thus pushing the matter of founding a magazine one step further.

Incidentally, the matter of launching a new magazine was actually in a semi-secret state; Mikhail had certainly mentioned it, but he did not elaborate on specific details before the crowd, after all, it would be bad if influenced by any extraneous factors.

Not to mention others; just take Turgenev, that big mouth—if one talks a little too much in front of him, I reckon he'd get drunk on horse urine some other day and start bragging, then in no time flat spill the whole story.

Therefore, although Mikhail immediately said those words to Belinsky, the more detailed matters were actually discussed only after the gathering ended and everyone had departed.

Those present were roughly Panaev and his wife, Nekrasov, Belinsky, and Mikhail.

Overall, Mikhail and Nekrasov had naturally earned a large sum of money, but to run the magazine well, this amount was somewhat tight; therefore, it was best to bring in Panaev, who had both some money and connections, and was also an excellent publisher.

However, even at this stage, Panaev still had some doubts, simply because the money required to run a magazine was indeed not a small amount, and once the magazine sank into a quagmire, even a noble like Panaev could likely become deeply entangled in debt and unable to extricate himself.

After all, although Panaev was a noble, he could hardly be called a great noble, so economically he would inevitably face some pressure.

Furthermore, regarding his view on running a magazine in Russia at present: "With Mikhail's joining, money seems less of an issue, but I feel it will be very difficult to compete with Notes of the Fatherland; it has already established a solid position for itself."

"Who established it? It was Vissarion and most of the contributors belonging to his circle. And only a fool fears competition."

After a long overnight talk with Mikhail, Nekrasov, now determined to do this, reminded him: "Notes of the Fatherland has its subscribers, and a new magazine will have its own subscribers; Kraevsky did not fear competition from Library for Reading back in the day; Notes of the Fatherland was built by him from nothing."

"It was easy for him to start back then," Panaev retorted. "In the first few years, most manuscripts published in his magazine cost no money; even when he paid manuscript fees, he paid extremely little. Now, one should not harbor any hope for free manuscripts, especially since we are a new magazine."

"Perhaps we can credit some at the beginning, but if subscribers remain insufficient, what shall we use to repay our debts?"

"If we run the magazine earnestly, and if all of Belinsky's friends in the literary world are willing to contribute, why can we not hope for the magazine's success? Taking a risk is also good; in recent years, people's demand for reading has greatly increased."

"Someone has always predicted to me that St. Petersburg Collection would definitely lose money; if not for Mikhail's constant confidence, I would absolutely not have dared to print so many copies."

Glancing at Mikhail, and recalling those words he had spoken, Nekrasov continued:

"If the new magazine aligns with modern trends, there will be readers. One by one, new social issues are obviously ripening day by day; studying these issues should not be done with a dry, pedantic air, but must be filled with fiery passion, only then can we infect readers and awaken their desire to act. All beginnings are difficult; continuing becomes easy."

Hearing Nekrasov's words, Panaev, who already had a very good relationship with Belinsky, did not hesitate for long; moreover, Panaeva behind him had always sympathized with Belinsky's situation, mentioning Belinsky's plight more than once before those noble friends, yet always receiving such a reply:

"Belinsky is less capable than anyone else at managing the financial affairs of a magazine; could he refuse the demands of any contributor?... He would advance manuscript fees to others, leaving himself penniless; furthermore, he is unlikely to be willing to undertake such a task that requires responsibility for others' money."

But now,

Before the final decision was made, the eyes of everyone present turned to Mikhail, who had hardly spoken, looking at that youth who seemed hidden in the darkness.

As their gazes fell upon him, Mikhail, who had been leaning against the chair back calculating accounts in his heart, finally reacted; thus, he sat up straight again, and his face once more appeared in the glow of the candlelight.

Looking at the eyes turned toward him, Mikhail merely smiled slightly, then spoke those words he seemed to have said many times before:

"We will succeed."

And with just that one sentence, Panaev immediately slapped his thigh, declaring, "Good, I, Panaev, will do this!"

Originally, Panaev greatly admired Mikhail's literary talent; coupled with the success of this great gamble, Panaev's trust in Mikhail reached a new level, so he immediately said:

"I know Pletnyov, the current publisher of The Contemporary; at the latest tomorrow, I can go talk to him, though he will most likely require us to pay a fee for the transfer of publishing rights, so we must be mentally prepared."

"Then we trouble you, Panaev."

Mikhail nodded solemnly and said, "Money should not be a problem; if worst comes to worst, I have other methods."

These methods can be simply summarized in one sentence: At the end of the road of loans, who stands at the peak?!

Alternatively, relying on a soft rice meal is also not impossible.

As for the magazine The Contemporary, as mentioned before, it was founded by Pushkin, the boss of the Russian literary circle, and has always maintained a fairly good reputation and influence in the Russian literary world.

The reason it passed into Pletnyov's hands is said to be that before the boss Pushkin was forced to resort to the ruthless act of a duel, before his departure, he handed the magazine over to Pletnyov.

While The Contemporary under Pushkin could be called the most progressive magazine, in the hands of Pletnyov, the president of St. Petersburg University and a professor of the Faculty of Letters, its ideological tendency became increasingly moderate and conservative, going from bad to worse.

Actually, if one must say so, Mikhail also has some connection with this president, and he and Turgenev are alumni.

Additionally, when Turgenev was studying at St. Petersburg University, Gogol happened to have used backdoor connections to serve there as a professor of history, and Turgenev even attended his classes.

As for Gogol's academic level, just as Turgenev once bragged to Mikhail:

"Hey! Mikhail, you know Gogol, right? Back in the day, I even attended his lectures! His works are written truly well, but there is not a shred of historical knowledge in his brain! He also mumbles and cannot speak clearly; if you ask me, he is indeed inferior to me in this aspect!"

Although there was an element of bragging, the facts seem to be indeed so; after teaching for a while and collecting wages for a spell, Gogol quickly chose to resign, probably feeling that continuing to teach might ruin his reputation in his later years.

So, returning to the main topic, as Panaev made up his mind, matters were quickly settled one by one; Belinsky, who had been sitting aside with wide eyes listening to everyone speak, upon hearing the final result, excitedly stood up and enthusiastically joined the conversation.

For Belinsky, those things he had once fantasized about seemed truly about to become reality.

(End of Chapter)