Turgenev and the Russian liberal idea. Proceedings of the Russian Academic and Practical Conference marking Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev’s 200th birth anniversary

Abstract

The review of the book Turgenev and the Russian Liberal Idea... [Turgenev i liberalnaya ideya v Rossii…] focuses on the interpretation of liberalism in Turgenev’s works by Russian scholars of various schools and branches of the humanities. Treatment of liberal ideology always remained at the heart of many scholarly interpretations of Turgenev, yet the researchers were often influenced by political environment. The review emphasizes that the compilers did not care for uniformity of opinion, but were trying instead to present contemporary polemics about Turgenev’s political, philosophical and literary principles. These, the reviewer concludes, make the collection particularly valuable. The book also contains numerous new discoveries about the writer’s life and work.