Ieronim Ieronimovich Yasinsky (russian: Иерони́м Иерони́мович Яси́нский; April 18 (30), 1850 – December 31, 1931) was a Russian novelist, poet,

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

and essayist. Among the numerous pseudonyms he used, were Maxim Belinsky, Nezavisimy (The Independent One) and M.Tchunosov.

Biography

Yasinsky was born in Kharkiv, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) to the lawyer and landlord Ieronim Yasinsky, a nobleman of Polish origins, and Olga Maksimovna Belinskaya, the daughter of a 1812 Borodino hero Colonel Maxim Belinsky (whose name he later used as a literary pseudonym). From the age of eleven, Yasinsky began to write verses and recite them at family literary and musical parties. Yasinsky, who received a good home education, continued studying in the Chernigov gymnasium and in 1868 enrolled into the Kiev University, which he left in 1871, after marrying V.P.Ivanova. A person of strong character, keenly interested in women's liberation movement, she exerted strong influence upon her husband. In September 1870, having returned to Chernigov, Yasinsky debuted as an essayist and started to publish articles in two newspapers, ''Kievsky Vestnik'' and ''Kievsky Telegraph''. Many of these earlier pieces later found their way into ''The Kiev Stories'' (1885) collection. Yasinsky's first short novels (''Natashka'', 1881; ''The Sleeping Beauty'', 1883) were lauded by the Russian leftist literary elite ( Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin in particular) who hailed their author as "the new

Garshin Garshin (Russian: Гаршин) is a Russian masculine surname derived from the masculine surname Gerasim, its feminine counterpart is Garshina. The surname may refer to the following notable people: *Vsevolod Garshin Vsevolod Mikhailovich Ga ...

." Several years later his major novels (''Irinarkh Plutarkhov'', 1886; ''The Old Friend'', 1887; ''The Great Man'', 1888, and later ''Under Satan's Cloak'', 1909), fell under sharp criticism for allegedly ridiculing the "revolutionary movement." Yasinsky saw his mission in "compiling an encyclopedia of the Russian intelligentsia types, as observed in all possible aspects of life."

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

, who once characterized him as "either an honest garbage collector or a sly crook," was unconvinced. Similarly Maxim Gorky, who treated Yasinsky's books as cheap anti-revolutionary pamphlets, once described their author as "dirty and spiteful old man". Ieronim Yasinsky accepted the

1917 Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

and even declared himself "an instant Bolshevik."A History of Russian Literature, Taylor and Francis. He worked for Proletkult, edited Soviet magazines (''Krasny ogonyok'', ''Plamya'', 1918–1919), wrote science fiction for children and translated Friedrich Engels's poem "The Evening" in 1923, but still was unpopular with critics. In retrospect, his book of memoirs ''The Novel of My Life'' (1926) has been recognized as an insightful and valuable documentation of the Russian literary and cultural life of the late 19th-early 20th century, as were his biographical essays on Saltykov-Shchedrin,

, Leykin and Chekhov. He died, aged 81, in Leningrad, USSR.

Selected works

*''Natashka'' (1881) *''The Sleeping Beauty'' (1883) *''The Kiev Stories'' (1885) *''Irinarkh Plutarkhov'' (1886) *''The Old Friend'' (1887) *''The Great Man'' (1888) *''Under Satan's Cloak'' (1909) *''The Novel of My Life'' (1926)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasinsky, Ieronim Ieronimovich Russian male novelists Russian male essayists Russian literary critics Soviet novelists Soviet male writers 20th-century Russian male writers Soviet science fiction writers Russian male short story writers Soviet short story writers 20th-century Russian short story writers Bolsheviks Russian male poets Soviet poets Soviet translators Russian people of Polish descent Writers from Kharkiv 1850 births 1931 deaths 20th-century Russian translators 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Ogoniok editors