Among the extensive literature about Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky (1828–1889), the book stands out for its breadth of source research. It consistently covers various periods of the writer’s life, and uses extensive archival material to describe in detail the conditions for the formation of his personality and democratic beliefs. Many biographical facts have been clarified or revised. As a result, the specific situation of early childhood in the family of an Orthodox priest becomes clearer (chapters about ancestors, parents, years of study at a theological seminary), stay at the university and in the teaching field in the Saratov gymnasium. The circumstances of marriage, friendships, teaching service in the 2nd Cadet Corps, biographical details of the defense of the master's thesis “Aesthetic relations of art to reality” are examined in detail, special attention is paid to participation in the editing of “Contemporary” and “Military Collection”.