Russia away from the artificiality of the eighteenth century, and
exhibited the possibilities of native material in the native tongue.

The founder of the mighty school of Russian Realism was Gogol. Filled
with enthusiasm for Pushkin, he nevertheless took a different course,
and became Russia's first great novelist. Furthermore, although a
melancholy man, he is the only Russian humorist who has made the world
laugh out loud. Humour is not a salient quality in Russian fiction.
Then came the brilliant follower of Gogol, Ivan Turgenev. In him
Russian literary art reached its climax, and the art of the modern
novel as well. He is not only the greatest master of prose style that
Russia has ever produced; he is the only Russian who has shown genius
in Construction. Perhaps no novels in any language have shown the
impeccable beauty of form attained in the works of Turgenev. George
Moore queries, "Is not Turgenev the greatest artist that has existed
since antiquity?"

Dostoevski, seven years older than Tolstoi, and three years younger
than Turgenev, was not so much a Realist as a Naturalist; his chief
interest was in the psychological processes of the unclassed. His
foreign fame is constantly growing brighter, for his works have an
extraordinary vitality. Finally appeared Leo Tolstoi, whose literary
career extended nearly sixty years. During the last twenty years of
his life, he was generally regarded as the world's greatest living
author; his books enjoyed an enormous circulation, and he probably
influenced more individuals by his pen than any other man of his time.

In the novels of Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevski, and Tolstoi we ought to
find all the prominent traits in the Russian character.