The Presidential Library marking the 195th anniversary of Nikolai Chernyshevsky

A publicist, writer, materialist philosopher, scientist, revolutionary democrat - this is a familiar portrait of Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky. He was an outstanding personality who left a noticeable mark on the development of social philosophy, literary criticism and literature. He was also a gentle romantic, sincerely and selflessly devoted and loving husband according to the Presidential Library’s materials.  

After graduating from the historical and philological department of the philosophical faculty of St. Petersburg University in 1851, Chernyshevsky returned to his homeland in Saratov. This period of the writer’s life is spotlighted in the book by Yu. M. Steklov, available on the Presidential Library’s portal Chernyshevsky: His Life and Career (1928).

In the Saratov gymnasium, a young teacher of literature, a revolutionary-minded Chernyshevsky, brought a fresh, life-giving spirit to teaching. In his diary, he notes that in the gymnasium he said things that "smelled like hard labor". At the beginning of 1853, an explanation took place between the director of the gymnasium Meyer and Chernyshevsky, after which the young teacher was forced to leave this place of work. Then he decided to return to St. Petersburg, but first he wanted to take a serious step in his life - to get married. Chernyshevsky meets the daughter of a local doctor, Olga Sokratovna Vasilyeva. The young man was captivated not only by the beauty of the burning brunette, but also by the girl's briskness, lively temperament, initiative and ease of communication. At first, he struggled with the feeling that arose, analyzing it in detail and entering in a diary a list of motives for which, on the one hand, he cannot marry, and on the other, he must marry.

The delights of the enamored Chernyshevsky were not shared by his relatives. According to the writer's inner circle, Olga Sokratovna did not understand the significance of her husband's social work. Serious conversations bored her. For Chernyshevsky, in spite of everything, his wife always remained dearly beloved, incomparable and infinitely dear.

Chernyshevsky's arrest took place on July 7, 1862.

In the Alekseevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress, Chernyshevsky was listed as a prisoner under №9. He spent 678 days in solitary confinement doing translations and fiction. Among the literary works, the most famous is the novel What Is to Be Done?, which the writer dedicated to his wife.

The second volume of the book Chernyshevsky: His Life and Career spotlights the exile of the writer and his death. Emperor Alexander II reduced the writer's term to seven years. In 1864 Chernyshevsky went to hard labor in Siberia. In the summer of 1866, his wife and son Mikhail came to visit him. Meeting her in the presence of a gendarme was so difficult for Chernyshevsky that, with all his love for Olga Sokratovna, he persuaded her to leave after four days. She was no longer allowed to see him.

Hard labor conditions greatly undermined the health of the writer. On February 12, 1874, Olga Sokratovna Chernyshevskaya filed a petition addressed to Alexander II to transfer her husband to a settlement with more favorable climate, but the request remained unanswered. His sons took care of their father. Chernyshevsky was not allowed to return to his native Saratov. They sent him to a settlement under police supervision in Astrakhan, where, after a long separation, he was able to reunite with his wife. In November 1885, son Mikhail sent a new petition to Alexander III, in which he petitioned for permission for his father to live everywhere in Russia, not excluding St. Petersburg, and engage in literary work. Only on June 24, 1889, Chernyshevsky got the opportunity to leave Astrakhan and move to his homeland in Saratov.

In August 1889, son Mikhail and his wife visited their father, who struck them with his unusual vigor and youthfulness. There was not a single gray hair in his thick hair. He looked ten years younger, especially when he was having an ordinary conversation. But his health was only apparent. In August he had his first attack of fever, and in September he had another one. On the night of October 16-17, the writer died. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage without regaining consciousness.