(9.05.1835 – 11.1.1918)
Antonovich, Maxim Alekseevich [27.IV (9.V) .1835, Belopole Kharkov Gub., – 14.XI.1918] – Russian literary critic, philosopher, publicist. Born in the family of the sexton. He studied at a theological school, the Kharkov seminary, the Petersburg Theological Academy (1855-1859). With the help of N. G. Chernyshevsky broke out of the spiritual department. Was an employee of “Contemporary”. In 1862, after the death of NA Dobrolyubov and the arrest of Chernyshevsky, he entered the editorial office of the magazine, and headed the department of “Russian Literature.” The study of the works of VG Belinsky, Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov and L. Feuerbach contributed to the formation of materialistic, democratic and atheistic beliefs. In articles on questions of philosophy and natural science he was an ardent supporter of Darwinism, opposed Kant and Schopenhauer’s idealism, fought against the Russian idealists and reactionaries
P. Yurkevich, N. Strakhov, and others, with reactionary theories propagated in Dostoevsky’s magazines “Time” and “Epoch”. Defending views on the art of Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov, as well. advocated for democratic, raznochinskaya literature. However, he vulgarized the provisions of materialistic aesthetics, which affected his negative evaluation of Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons” (article “Asmodeus of Our Time”, 1862), which he described as a caricature of raznochintsy; in the poetry of Nekrasov A. saw “didactics.” In the article “Modern Aesthetic Theory” (1865), making concessions to idealism, he gave an incorrect description of the category of beauty. In a polemic with DI Pisarev’s journal The Russian Word on the fundamental questions of the modern liberation movement (see p. his article “The Lzrealists”, 1865), A. simplified the principles of revolutionary democracy. With the closure of “Contemporary” (1866), he moved away from active literary and social activities. Later, he spoke against decadent
art. Sharply criticizing the reactionary tendencies of Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov (article “Mystic-ascetic novel”, 1881), A. ignored the complex and contradictory problems of the novel. Wrote valuable memories of Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov, Nekrasov, containing a truthful description of these figures and the era of the 60’s. Sharply criticizing the reactionary tendencies of Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov (article “Mystic-ascetic novel”, 1881), A. ignored the complex and contradictory problems of the novel. Wrote valuable memories of Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov, Nekrasov, containing a truthful description of these figures and the era of the 60’s. Sharply criticizing the reactionary tendencies of Dostoyevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov (article “Mystic-ascetic novel”, 1881), A. ignored the complex and contradictory problems of the novel. Wrote valuable memories of Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov, Nekrasov, containing a truthful description of these figures and the era of the 60’s.
A short literary encyclopedia in 9 volumes. State Scientific Publishing House “Soviet Encyclopedia”, v. 1, M., 1962.
