Opinion Journalism by N. I. and I. S. Turgenev in Light of the Problem of Intergenerational Communication

Abstract

Purpose . The article analyzes the contribution of the opinion journalism by the outstanding Decembrist-Liberal Nikolay I. Turgenev in comparison with the publicist activity of his younger distant relative and like-minded Liberal, author of the famous novel “Ottsy i deti” (“Fathers and Sons”) Ivan S. Turgenev to the development of intergenerational communication. The attention focuses on the experience of the relationships of both Turgenevs as representatives of the 1820s and 1840s generations with their own generations and with the 1860s generation. Results. The comparison of memoir essays wrote by I. S. Turgenevin1868–1869 and of his open letter to the editor of the “Vestnik Evropy” (“Bulletin of Europe”) in 1879, which raised the topic of his interactions with a young cohort, with articles by N. I. Turgenev in the Russian-language periodicals of 1858–1869 (including his polemical dialogue with editorial board of the “Kolokol” (“Bell”) magazine in 1858–1863) reveals the great communicative potential of both publicists. The article raises the question on the foundation for the late inclusion of the liberal “Vestnik Evropy” (“Bulletin of Europe”), with which I. S. Turgenev constantly collaborated, in a dialogue with the N. I. Turgenev. Conclusion. The article concludes that the liberal tolerant intention played the decisive role in the intergenerational communication, built by both Turgenevs and aimed to avoid “generational gaps”.