ABSTRACT
The reign of Alexander II (1855-81) was an age of great literary achievement, the Golden Age of the Russian novel. It saw the making of almost every one of the great works of Russian fiction, from Turgénev’s Rúdin and Aksákov’s Family Chronicle to Anna Karénina and The Brothers Karamázov. The best forces were attracted to the novel, but by its side other forms of imaginative literature continued to flourish and helped to produce the impression of a Golden Age. But there was a worm in the flower: all this great achievement was by men of an older generation, and they had no successors. Not one of the younger men who had entered the literary career since 1856 was felt worthy to stand beside them, and as one by one the old men disappeared, there was no one to take their place. The turning point came soon after 1880: Dostoyévsky died in 1881, Turgénev in 1883. Tolstóy announced his withdrawal from literature. The great age was over.
