I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 134 The First Intimate Encounter with the Third Hall

Normally, a literary authority like Krajewsky would sit with gentlemen of high society, but seeing Mikhail extend his hand to one editor and author after another under the banner of "Chronicles of the Fatherland," Krajewsky couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

After apologizing to the gentlemen around him, he hurriedly went to the study and found a prominent spot to sit down.

With him sitting down, the editors and authors under the "Chronicles of the Motherland" became a little more sober and dared not talk too deeply with Mikhail. At most, they simply greeted him and then automatically gathered around Krajevsky.

However, there was one exception: Valerian Maikov, the young critic whom "Chronicles of the Fatherland" was currently promoting to challenge Belinsky. After greeting Mikhail, seeing that the owner of "The Contemporary" had no hostility towards him, the young critic could no longer suppress his curiosity and respect. He chatted enthusiastically with Mikhail and highly praised Mikhail's novels and literary reviews.

He was speaking with great enthusiasm, but Krajevsky, sitting opposite him, was growing increasingly gloomy. Even Mikhail and his group looked at the young commentator with a hint of hostility.

In any circle, it's normal to have many small factions. This young critic dared to challenge Belinsky, so even if he's praising Mikhail now, some people won't give him a friendly look.

However, Mikhail did not seem to have such "sectarian prejudice". Even competitors did not prevent him from communicating with editors and authors of other magazines. If we think about what he just said, it is probably because he has absolute confidence in his own magazine, and this absolute confidence naturally gives rise to the spirit of treating everyone equally.

Thinking of this, Krajewsky decided it wouldn't be appropriate to simply ask the magazine's critics to come back, as that would make him seem petty.
Young people these days really know how to brag!

Krajevsky's face flushed slightly as he thought about what Mikhail had just said. He would have started criticizing anyone else long ago, but on the one hand, it seemed that Mikhail's work was indeed going to be published in Paris, and on the other hand, Mikhail's tone was too calm and not at all arrogant, making it impossible to find fault with him.

So Krajewsky could only sit there with a sullen face, not saying a word, and then put on a very dignified air, only occasionally responding to the people around him.

And since he is now a literary authority in the literary world, there are indeed quite a few people surrounding him.

After Mikhail finished greeting the others, he was surrounded by members of the "Modern Man" magazine and asked to sit down. Since there weren't many seats in the study, and some people didn't even want to sit down after hearing what Mikhail had said.

So on the side of "Modern Man," almost everyone was standing, except for the young man with black eyes who leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced, one leg crossed over the other. His originally gentle smile had become a mysterious one in everyone's eyes. When he showed this expression and didn't speak, it seemed that no one could know what he was thinking.

Since it was an arts and culture salon, there were many famous painters present. When they saw this scene, some of them couldn't help but feel a little itchy to paint. If the occasion hadn't been so inappropriate, they might have actually painted a portrait of this young writer.

Of course, Mikhail was simply tired from talking to people, so when others asked him to sit down, he didn't think much of it and plopped down in the chair. As a result, he was the only one sitting down among the group, and others had to bend down and get close to his ear to talk to him.

To avoid bumping into other people's faces, and since there were people on both sides of him talking to, Mikhail simply stopped turning his head and just turned his body slightly to listen to what others were saying.

Well, it made people feel kind of embarrassed.
If it weren't for the possibility of embarrassing others, Mikhail would have already launched himself off the ground and gotten back on his feet.

However, upon seeing Mikhail in this state, Krajevsky felt a surge of inexplicable anger.

What a grand display!
Young people these days not only know how to brag, but they can also convincingly act like authority figures!

As Krajevsky was thinking this, the people around Mikhail were not only talking to him, but before long, one of them poured Mikhail a cup of tea, and even more surprisingly, one of them took out a rather thick cigar from somewhere and was about to light it for Mikhail.

Mikhail: “?”

Although smoking a cigar at this time might seem pretentious, unfortunately, Mikhail is a university student and hasn't yet mastered this skill, let alone had much experience with high-end items like cigars.

However, by now, Mikhail must have seen him many times at gatherings of high society.

Tobacco was not actually native to Europe. It was not until the 15th century that Columbus brought it back from South America, and it quickly became popular among European royalty and nobility.

However, since European religions at the time considered exhaling smoke as "possession" and even convicted and imprisoned smokers, these prohibitions could not stop the enthusiasm of smokers. As a result, another more refined smokeless tobacco product became popular: snuff made from dried tobacco leaves.

The nobles called the container for snuff a snuffbox.

During this period, nobles, in order to demonstrate their status and wealth, also put a lot of effort into making snuff boxes, often inlaid with precious gemstones such as diamonds, emeralds, and agates, and crafts such as painting, ceramics, enamel, and gold were also common.

However, by the 19th century, cigars had returned to the social scene of the nobility, and this was also the case in Russia.

Catherine the Great, a famous figure in Russian history, was a devoted cigar enthusiast and a heavy smoker. She reportedly smoked at least double digits of cigars a day, to which Mikhail could only say that she truly loved smoking.

Just as Mikhail was politely declining the cigars offered by others, some other writers and magazine owners who did not have any obvious stance also began to take action. For them, the goal was, of course, to become familiar to those authorities or their peers.

The name of Krajevsky, the owner of *The Fatherland Chronicle*, is already familiar to many, as he frequently appears at social events. However, the name of Mikhail, the owner of *The Contemporary*, is equally well-known. Although they had only been running the magazine for a few months, one thing was already undeniable: *The Contemporary* was now one of the most-subscribed magazines in St. Petersburg. In this context, even though most of the people present were several years, even ten years, older than Mikhail, they still readily approached him to greet him.

Now that things had come to this, Mikhail quickly got back to work. Socializing with others was fine, and doing some work for the magazine was to be expected, but some of the people among them offered compliments that really made Mikhail uncomfortable:

“Mr. Mikhail Romanovich, I’ve wanted to meet you for so long! You’ve appeared in my dreams so many times!”

"My wife also greatly admires your works. You are welcome to visit our home!"

"After hearing Turgenev talk about the popularity of your novels in Paris, I can only say that it's not enough! The gentlemen of Paris are not humble enough; they should hold you high!"

Mikhail: “.”

It sounds like there are quite a few swindlers in your group.
After greeting these people one by one, Mikhail, led by Prince Odoevsky, soon went to meet the gentlemen of high society who had been secretly observing him for a while.

Normally, even if Mikhail's appearance and temperament were quite good, these gentlemen might not necessarily think highly of him. But with Turgenev's groundwork, especially the line: "For a long time, we Russians have seemed to be cultural vassals of the European countries, but with the appearance of such a man, we might be able to accomplish what even the sword could not."

It seemed that this really touched the gentlemen, and coupled with his reputation in poetry, they became almost enthusiastic when speaking to Mikhail.

Even though Mikhail didn't know any of these gentlemen, he greeted them with repeated expressions of admiration, but when Prince Odoevsky introduced one of them to Mikhail, Mikhail's smile stiffened slightly:
"This is Mr. Churberk, who is currently working in the Third Office."

"Hello."

The official, who was not young and looked somewhat uncouth, nodded somewhat reservedly to Mikhail. Although he didn't seem like someone who would be interested in literature, seeing that the gentlemen before him had all talked about Mikhail's poetry, this gentleman simply pretended to speak as well:

"I've heard of you too. Your poems and novels are excellent; I can feel a powerful and moving force in them!"

He must have heard that from the rambling of those gentlemen earlier.

Mikhail: “?”

"You're absolutely right."

Upon hearing the other person's words, Mikhail was taken aback for a moment, then smiled knowingly.

Strictly speaking, what is most prevalent in the bureaucratic system of a highly authoritarian country like Russia?
Of course, there are the most insects.

I already have absolute power and am largely unsupervised, so why should I bother with you? I can do whatever I want! I'll accept the consequences of my bet! Besides, even if I lose, I'll just go back to my noble estate and continue living my quiet life.

This claim is not entirely unfounded; there is, in fact, a perfect example within Mikhail's literary circle.

Simply put, there was a novelist in the literary world named Vladislavlev who served as an adjutant in the military police headquarters of Tsarist Russia.

He had no talent for writing, but he published a series of periodicals called "Morning Glow," and while getting to know some literary figures, he also cleverly used his position to promote his publications in considerable numbers.

Most people bought these literary journals on orders from the gendarmerie authorities, but the gendarmerie authorities' actions, contrary to their own principles, actually aroused the Russian public's interest in literature.

Meanwhile, he never paid writers a penny for publishing literary journals, and he acted arrogantly in front of the writers who helped him make a fortune, which was probably because he was very proud of his position.

At the same time, he had a very close relationship with Krajewsky. It is said that in the early days of the founding of the "Chronicle of the Fatherland", he also helped promote the publication through the Third Department. However, when the situation became more serious in 1851, the Third Department banned several issues of the "Chronicle of the Fatherland" that had published several articles by Herzen and destroyed them.

However, this kind of typical left-brain versus right-brain conflict is not hard to see in politics.

It can only be said that in Russia today, when the situation is good, people will take advantage of any opportunity to gain something, otherwise, wouldn't they be sitting in this position for nothing?
Literary censorship did not become truly strict until after 1848.

Prior to this, the Third Department seemed to have focused more on revolutionaries, political prisoners, and religious heretical organizations, since these were the things the Tsar cared about most at the time.

Thinking of this, Mikhail relaxed a little. After chatting with the gentleman for a few moments, he naturally looked at the next person.

After finishing his casual conversation with Mikhail, Mr. Chuherbock, who didn't want to be seen as uncultured, breathed a slight sigh of relief. Reflecting on the impression Mikhail had left on him and some things he'd heard from colleagues, the gentleman shook his head inwardly and said:
Without a doubt, he was a mild-mannered and quick-witted young man, showing no signs of cynicism whatsoever, unlike what some of his colleagues had described. Besides, what could a college graduate like that possibly do?
As he thought this, Mikhail finally temporarily ended his social activities. Things had progressed to this point, and Mikhail was truly close to collapsing from exhaustion. Fortunately, the banquet finally officially began, so Mikhail tried to sit in an inconspicuous spot and then began the final battle.
(End of this chapter)