25 1843 October, the
Gleb Uspensky was born in Tula. He was a writer, publicist, and a prominent figure in 19th-century Russian realism. He was the father-in-law of a Socialist Revolutionary. Boris Savinkov.
Before, nations fought, but the rulers of nations fought simultaneously—the rulers even fought… Now, rulers are on the best of terms with their rulers, writing to each other only of friendly feelings, while their subjects fight. And for what?
He began writing at the age of 19, for Tolstoy's pedagogical journal, Yasnaya Polyana. The 1860s were underway, the populist movement was gaining momentum, and the progressive intelligentsia, searching for self-identity, was actively seeking "rapprochement" with the common people. Uspensky explored the lives of the urban poor—this is the subject of his cycle, "The Customs of Rasteryaeva Street," which coined the term "rasteryaevshchina."
Everyone thinks that tomorrow, Sunday, will somehow be a lighter day, although at the same time everyone knows for certain that tomorrow will be the same deadly melancholy and boredom, only slightly reddened by the thick ringing of bells and huge pies, thickly buttered
Since 1868 he collaborated with "Notes of the Fatherland" edited by Nekrasov and Saltykov-Shchedrin. Uspensky's work was respected Turgenev, Korolenko, Gorky. And even Tolstoy, although he criticized his “Tula language” and generally considered that he “wrote poorly,” he admitted that “the strength of his sincerity reminds one of Dostoevsky.”
What have they come up with: the Venus de Milo is undeniable, the “principles” are already questionable, and I, Tyapushkin, sitting for some reason in the wilderness of the village, exhausted by its present, saddened and absorbed by its future – a man talking about bast shoes, village kulaks, etc. – I’m supposed to be so insignificant that there’s no place for me in the world!
From the late 1870s onward, he explored the nature of the Russian peasantry. He criticized the populist idealization of the village. He sought the principle that guides the peasant's life. And he found it.
For the first time in my life I saw one truly important feature in the foundations of the life of the Russian people - namely, the power of the land
In 1889, Uspensky suffered a nervous breakdown that led to insanity. He died in 1902.
