LITERATURE, CONTINENTAL, IN l-'.M. 



441 





Tli.-y Imlil tluit "the barrenness of Russian lit- 



::icivly !l reflection (if the cmptineSS Of 



: exists ill tin- empire. Count 



i is as iiiticli ii pti/./.le us ever, anil tin- inii- 



joriiy ate at. a loss what to make of or do with 



him "tinil his peculiar theories and practices. 

 iir fresh ideas und new impressions from 



tin- outer world, intelligent Russians look abroad 

 . un-es of inspiration. TchekholT travels 

 into Asia, Korolenko wanders along the Volga, 

 and (ileli Ouspeiiski is found in the Caiic-a-ns, 

 .intinople, or Siberia. They do not, how- 

 i'riiig from distant travels exotic pictures 

 of nature, but only the old groans over prevulent 

 discuses. Tolstoi's school of quietist self- 

 renunciation exercises a certain influence be- 

 >f adopting a sort of Christian socialism, 

 which after all will never gain any great supcess 

 in Russia. The leading critics, like Mikhailov- 

 ski, Shelgounoff, or Skabitchevski, either for- 

 sake their legitimate field of activity, or turn to 

 the past and write reminiscences. Thus Mikhail- 

 ovski reviews the character of John the Ter- 

 rible; Shelgounoff appends to his published 

 works " Recollections of the Past and Present " ; 

 and Skabitchevski publishes a ' History of Mod- 

 ern Russian Literature (1848-1890)," in which 

 the writer of memoirs becomes a historian. 

 These publications furnish printed material for 

 a history of the celebrated movement of the 

 "Sixties," which one not in the inner circle of 

 Russian literature finds it difficult to under- 

 and. " Men of the Eighties " designate the 

 younger class of writers, and the controversy be- 

 tween these and the older occupants of the field 

 offers much room for reflection on the part of 

 e student of Russian literature. Another lit- 

 ry controversy has been between the liberals 



,nd the " Narodniki " or peasant worshippers, 

 'he latter seemed to be possessed with the no- 

 tion that agrarian socialism is the summum 

 bonum of human life, while the other party de- 

 sires culture and proper use of capital. The 

 dispute has been eager and waged with energy : 

 but neither of the contestants appears to have 

 satisfied any but those who believed as he be- 

 lieved. In belles-lettres Potapenko, a young 

 writer who made his debut ten years ago, has 

 attained remarkable success. He. has published 

 this year three productions, and made a collec- 

 tion of his works in two volumes. The critics 

 give long and careful reviews of his books, and 

 blight to point out his admirable skill, his deli- 

 cacy of touch, his keen observations, his deep 

 feeling. Potapenko's " In Actual Service," "Com- 

 mon Sense," " Secretary of his Excellency," and 

 " Never " are said to illustrate his ability to the 

 full extent. Stanukovitch's "The First Steps" 

 and Borboruikin's "Grown Wiser" are worthy 

 of mention. Karonin satirizes Tolstoi and his 

 peculiar gospel in "The Teachers of Life" and 

 " A Borsky Colony." Count Tolstoi's influence 

 is said to be on the wane in Russia. The poet 

 A. Fet (Shenshin), who belongs to the conserva- 

 tive camp, has published two volumes, entitled 

 " My Recollection* (1848-1889)." There is said 

 to be, along with a good deal of senile gossip, 

 much entertaining matter in these volumes. The 

 diary of Nikitenko, of St. Petersburg, professor 

 and censor, is being published in a Russian pe- 

 riodical. The diary abounds in interesting ma- 



terial for the history of Russian censorship and 

 the ministry of public instruct ion for the period 

 of the fifties and the sixties. The aged pnflolo- 

 I'rof. Bousluyev is also writing his rcn.i- 

 ni-ernees, which reach bock to the thirties 

 Note here may be made of Vengeroff's great 

 " Crilico- Biographical Dictionary," which hits 

 reached to half of the letter II. In philosophy 

 there, is nothing remarkable this year. B. N. 

 Tchitcherin carried off the prize for the best es- 

 say on Comte's classification of the sciences. 

 Prof. Redkin, at the age of eighty-two, has just 

 died. He, like Tchitcherin, wasanold Hegelian, 

 and was about to finish the publication of his 

 lectures (seven volumes already have appeared; 

 on the history of legal philosophy. \\ orthy of 

 mention here are P. Kaptarev's "History of 

 the Soul: Outline Sketches of the History of 

 Mind," A. Andreyev-ski's "Genesis of Science, 

 its Principles and Methods." and I.esscvitch's 

 "Scientific Philosophy." Historical works of 

 the year have been chiefly devoted to recent 

 times. Vol. II of Bilbassofr's " History of Cath- 

 erine II " is ready for publication (waiting on 

 the censorship). Madame E. Stchepkin is bring- 

 ing out interesting sketches of the life of an 

 " Old Land-owner at Home and in the Service " 

 during the eighteenth century. " The Archives 

 of Prince Th. Kurakin" are considered valu- 

 able for the period of Peter the Great ; Vol. I is 

 now in course of publication. The Imperial 

 Russian Historical Society is bringing out vol- 

 umes of dispatches of foreign ambassadors to 

 the Russian court during the eighteenth centu- 

 ry. Senator N. P. Semenoff has reached nearly 

 the close of his work on "The Emancipation (if 

 the Peasants in the Reign of Alexander II." It 

 is elaborate, full, painstaking, and reliable. A 

 work has just appeared, by A. Exemplyarski. on 

 " The Grand Dukes and Princes Appanage of 

 Northern Russia during the Tartar Penod (1238- 

 1505)," two volumes. Ilovaiski has published 

 Vol. Ill of his " History of Russia," devoted to 

 the sixteenth century, which has received a good 

 deal of adverse criticism. Butzinski's " Coloni- 

 zation of Western Siberia in the Beginning of 

 the Seventeenth Century " and Shlyapkin's " St. 

 Demetrius Rostoffski and hisTime"*' (1651-1709) 

 deserve to be named here. A new historical 

 society has been founded, and it publishes a 

 "Historical Review" which gives promise of 

 well-earned success. In art and archaeology 

 has appeared Vol. Ill of "Russian Antiquities 

 recorded in our Art Monuments," by Count 

 Tolstoi and Kondakoff. The volume is regarded 

 as a great acquisition for this department. Vol. 

 IV and last or " Transactions of the Sixt h < ' 

 Archojological Congress" has been published. 

 Other volumes relating to " Eastern Antiqui- 

 ties," edited by M. Nikolski, have been is- 

 sued ; also two volumes of " Materials for the 

 Archaeology of the Caucasus." Discoveries on 

 the Orkhon in Mongolia are noted as of spe- 

 cial interest. Western arts have received proper 

 attention in the "Complete Collection of the 

 Engravings of Rembrandt," edited by Rovinski, 

 and Vol. I of a new book, entitled "Italian 

 Art in the Renaissance." Ethnology gets its 

 fair share in a new periodical, "The Living 

 Past," and in several published volumes on 

 the subject. Folk-lore and kindred topics 



