Dmitry Pisarev

Who was Dmitry Pisarev?

Dmitry Ivanovich Pisarev was a radical Russian writer and social critic who, according to Georgi Plekhanov, "spent the best years of his life in a fortress".

Pisarev was one of the writers who propelled the democratic-revolutionary trend in Russia during the 1860s. The next generation of Russians, made famous by the events of 1905 and 1917, acknowledged Pisarev's influence. Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's wife, once wrote, "Lenin was of the generation that grew up under the influence of Pisarev".

Pisarev was also noted for his support of Russian natural science, particularly biology, and his works greatly influenced the career choice of the young Ivan Pavlov.

Pisarev wanted, more than anything else, an end to poverty and misery. This desire he pursued through philosophy, literary criticism and social and family analyses.