Chernyshevsky, N G

Chernyshevsky, N(ikolay) G(avrilovich)

(born July 12, 1828, Saratov, Russia—died Oct. 17, 1889, Saratov) Russian radical journalist and politician. In 1854 he joined the staff of the review Sovremennik (“Contemporary”), where he focused on social and economic evils. Arrested on charges of subversion, he was imprisoned in 1862 and then exiled to Siberia, where he remained until 1883. While in prison he wrote the classic novel What Is to be Done? (1863), which greatly influenced future Russian revolutionaries.