At the epicenter of the ideological struggle: V.V. Krestovsky as the author of the anti-nigilistic novels

The article is devoted to the study of dilogy by V.V. Krestovsky's “Bloody Poof” (1875) in the context of the anti-nihilistic fiction of the 60-70s. of the XIX century that was represented by the names of N.S. Leskov, F.M. Dostoevsky, I.A. Goncharov, A.F. Pisemsky, V.P. Klyushnikov, V.P. Avenarius and others. The ideological approach towards Krestovsky's writing has long served an obstacle for the objective assessment of his literary works. Meanwhile, the dilogy organically fits into the context of the anti-nihilistic literature whose level of artistic value is different, but equally not embracing a concept of denial. The anti-national character of radicalism is obvious to Krestovsky: as per him, the nihilism is viewed as a consequence of the Polish intrigue. The "kitschy" artistry of the writer's works was associated with emphasized tendentiousness, pamphleteering, cartoonish view of the nihilists, adventurous theme, and fiction hypocrisy. Despite the rightfulness of the metamorphosing literary genre, the critics ignored the artistic merits of the dilogy: the historical outlook of Krestovsky's works revealed the genre transformations and the development of the first historical and contemporary novel in the Russian literature. The setting for the objective day-to day life was the impulse for the new realism development. Consequently, Krestovsky's dilogy was not only a responsive reaction to the life requirements, but also a literary warning supportive the general context of the anti-nihilistic literature of the 60s and 70s of the XIX century, as well as an important element in the understanding of the literary process' features.