Prologue: Roman. Chernyshevsky N.

Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky (1828-1889) - Russian philosopher - materialist of the 19th century, revolutionary - democrat, theorist of critical utopian socialism, scientist, encyclopedist, literary critic, publicist and writer.

The novel “Prologue”, dedicated to the Russian socio -political struggle on the eve of the reform of 1861, canceled serfdom, was saturated with the bitterness of the awareness of the lost illusions of the author, which did not wait for the revolutionary coup. Describing the spring Petersburg of 1857, Chernyshevsky hints to the reader at the desire for public awakening, the expectations and hopes, which now caused only a bitter irony: “admiring the spring, the city continued to live in winter, behind double frames. And he was right in this: Ladoga ice has not yet passed. "