Vissarion Belinsky
Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky (.|Vissarión Grigórʹjevič Belínskij|vʲɪsərʲɪˈon ɡrʲɪˈɡorʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʲɪˈlʲinskʲɪj}}; – ) was a Russian literary critic of
Westernizing tendency. Belinsky played one of the key roles in the career of poet and publisher
Nikolay Nekrasov and his popular magazine ''
Sovremennik''. He was the most influential of the Westernizers, especially among the younger generation. He worked primarily as a
literary critic, because that area was less heavily censored than political pamphlets. He agreed with Slavophiles that society had precedence over
individualism, but he insisted the society had to allow the expression of individual ideas and
rights. He strongly opposed Slavophiles on the role of
Orthodoxy, which he considered a retrograde force. He emphasized reason and knowledge, and attacked
autocracy and
theocracy.
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