I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 17 Published
Listening to the voices of the people around him, although publisher Krajewski did not express a clear attitude, the fact that he could stand among these people already explained a lot.

In fact, although Belinsky has been trying to set off a new trend in the literary world, the conservatives undoubtedly have greater power now, and the current literary trend is generally revolving around French classicism and romanticism.

First of all, literature in those days was often exclusive to the aristocracy. For a large number of them, they wished that such a life could remain unchanged for thousands of years, so this trend was basically also reflected in literature.

Conservative, dull, and full of romance, if not for this, Gogol would not have been subjected to so much criticism recently for Dead Souls.

At the same time, under Tsar Nicholas's current press control system, wouldn't it be better to just write something safe? Why keep trying to tread on the forbidden zone of the great Tsar?
In today's Russia, loyalty to the emperor and patriotism have always been a compulsory course. Every young person has received such education in school. Over time, most people love their motherland and respect His Majesty the Tsar from the bottom of their hearts.

There are only a few minority elements who always want to criticize and attack His Majesty the Tsar. Even if His Majesty the Tsar is magnanimous and does not bother with these minority elements, can the many subjects of His Majesty the Great Tsar really tolerate the existence of these people?
And generally speaking, Krajewski, the current owner and knowledgeable editor-in-chief of "The Fatherland Chronicle", is an out-and-out liberal.

It's hard to say what his specific inclinations are, but as long as the magazine's subscriptions keep growing, he'll quickly accept this idea.

But in fact, he and Belinsky have always had certain differences on some aspects, but at this point in time, considering the number of magazine subscriptions, although Kraevsky felt that Belinsky was a bit too aggressive and bold, he basically acquiesced to this behavior.

At most, I can just listen to others complain.

As for the novels, Krajewski also read them and did admit that the two novels reflected the author's amazing talent and undoubtedly contained new elements.

But with only these two novels and uncertainty about future works, Krajewski felt that it was inappropriate to give such high praise.

But no matter what, it is going to be released. We will discuss the details after it is published.

The day of publication of "Fatherland Chronicle" soon arrived. On the 25th of this month, in front of the major bookstores in St. Petersburg, even though it was still dark and the cold wind was still sweeping and spreading in the streets of St. Petersburg, groups of well-dressed college students had already gathered spontaneously in front of the bookstores.

It has to be admitted that no matter what era, intellectuals are relatively the most radical group of people.

It is undeniable that there are indeed many parasites among them, and it is also undeniable that a considerable number of them regard radicalism as a fashionable thing to pursue. But after all, in an era where most people seem to think there is no problem, they are willing to jump out and challenge this era, and to a certain extent stimulate such an era to move forward.
If young people are combined with college students, the buffs will be stacked up even more. In today's Russia, the main force is a congenital rebellious reserve army.

Although their family background, origin and economic status are generally good, and it seems that they should not have any dissatisfaction with such a society, young people are born challengers of order. Although they may not be so correct, they are always trying to pursue their own rightness, and even believe that they are right, and will not directly believe the lies of their parents.

If younger generations really always obeyed their parents, then humans would still be living in caves today.

When these young people gathered together, the atmosphere among them became more and more heated, the discussions became louder and louder, and the fire they created seemed to drive away the cold wind of St. Petersburg.

"Are you also waiting for this issue of 'Motherland Chronicle'?"

"Of course! I came here specifically to read Vissarion's reviews! I've never met a critic with more personality than him." "Every time I read his reviews, I feel like my understanding of certain things has been overturned, just like his description and explanation of Russian society in his last review."

"I like his defense and explanation of the book 'Dead Souls'. Have you read the book 'Dead Souls'?"

"Of course! That landowner Plyushkin in the book is just like my father's friend! You know, every time he comes to my house, there's always something missing, and God knows what he wants those little things for."

.........

When the young people began to communicate enthusiastically, in some inconspicuous places, some men who were also wearing coats but looked particularly indifferent were looking at these young people with annoyance.

In such weather, if it weren't for this group of idle young people, why would they take to the streets to watch these young people making trouble?

Normally, there’s no need to worry about gatherings like this, but who knows what a group of young and thoughtful men can do when they get together?
So let’s have two people keep an eye on it.

As the Tsar's secret police, they had a lot to do, and monitoring these idle young people was a relatively tedious part of their job.

The reason is very simple. The college students of this period generally came from aristocratic and landlord families. Either their ancestors followed Peter the Great into the Qing Dynasty, or they were related to Tsar Nicholas.

This type of person is the most difficult to deal with. After arresting him, his identity must be carefully confirmed to avoid any mistakes.

As for those guys who didn't come from St. Petersburg or from the tax-paying class, it was much easier to deal with them. First, treat them to a meal of potato-sized fists, and then treat them to a fresh beating of whips and iron rods. Under the combined threats and intimidation, most of them really became much more obedient.

Who is not afraid of fists and whips?
Those who are really not afraid, I don’t know if their brains are broken or not
These secret police had no interest in the young people's nonsense and thoughts. They just wanted to finish work early, collect a fairly generous salary from the great Tsar, drink tea and play with children in front of the warm fireplace.

Of course, the young people also noticed their presence. Even if they did not take the initiative to provoke them, they still cast contemptuous eyes on these Tsar's lackeys. It was obvious that they could not understand each other and they both thought they were right.

In this warm yet slightly gloomy atmosphere, the sky gradually brightened, the doors of the bookstores opened, and young people flocked in, heading for their favorite literary magazines that were full of freshness and ideas.

When they picked up "Fatherland Chronicle", they soon realized that the protagonist today did not seem to be Belinsky, whom they had long been familiar with, but a young author whose name they had never heard of.

Mikhail Romanovich Raskolnikov
Someone pronounced the name.

(End of this chapter)