Ivan Turgenev: 3 things you need to know about this Russian writer

He was born in 1818 and, for some reason, was a little lost in the shadow of Tolstoy’s and Dostoyevsky’s glory. Though, in Russia, he is considered of the same importance and his writings are also part of the school curriculum. 

Here's three things you should know about him.

1. Raised 'Fathers and Sons' eternal problem

A scene from the play “Fathers and Children” at the Gorky Moscow Art Theater

Turgenev was most famous for his realistic novels. His most famous one is 'Fathers and Sons'. We recently published a short summary and wrote more about it here. 

But, what you need to know is that Turgenev was the first author to focus on the problem of two generations who don’t understand each other and don’t even try. And, because of his work, more often than not, this problem is now referred to as ‘the problem of Fathers and Sons’.

Russians admit that this problem is eternal and that despite more than a century passing, it’s still very relevant.

2. Created 'Turgenev girl' phenomenon

A still from the movie 'A Nest of Gentle Folk' (1969), directed by Andrei Konchalovsky

In many of Turgenev’s novels a woman plays the central role: Natalya in 'Rudin', Asya in 'Asya', Yelizaveta in 'A Nest of Gentlefolk', Yelena in 'On the Eve' and others. 

Usually, they are young ladies grown up in provincial countryside estates reading books. They are a little dreamy, however, very well educated, modest and intelligent, having good manners. They seem to be fragile, but, eventually, it turns out they have much stronger characters than men. They are frank and open and men usually can't stand those traits and flee.

3. Tolstoy & Dostoyevsky became famous abroad because of Turgenev

Ivan Turgenev

Being lost in translation himself, Turgenev did a lot to popularize Russian literature in the West. He stayed for long periods of time in Europe, mostly in Germany, France and Italy. And there, while meeting literary circles, he talked about Russian literature and made sure that Dickens, Hugo, Maupassant, Flaubert and others got to know Pushkin, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. Turgenev himself translated many works of Russian writers into French and German. And, vice versa, he translated Western writers' works into Russian. 

Here are Turgenev's most important novels to read.