Chernyshevski, Nikolai Gavrilovich (1828–1889)

Russian publicist and literary critic. He was the leader of the radical intelligentsia in the 1850s and 1860s. His novel Chto delat'?/What Is to Be Done? (1864) was an inspiration to the Russian revolutionary movement, as were his many articles in the radical monthly the Contemporary 1854–64. He appealed to both Populists (see Populism) and Marxists. Chernyshevski's opposition to tsarist rule led to his being sentenced to 7 years' forced labour and 12 years' exile in Siberia.

In his aesthetic writings, such as the essay ‘The Aesthetic Relations of Art and Reality’, Chernyshevski expounded a utilitarian view of art.