“At the end of the nineties, Russian belles-lettres literature was experiencing a significant crisis. After an era of long-term literary “impoverishment,” an era of increased activity in artistic creativity began. The progressive intelligentsia, which until then had focused exclusively on developing a new social worldview, having just experienced a stubborn struggle between two irreconcilable social doctrines, began to become noticeably interested in the field of fine literature; There was a great demand for literary masterpieces, and questions about the technique of artistic works were hotly discussed. ..."