e Peter-Paul Fortress. Together with Dostoevsky and
nineteen others he was condemned to be shot, but all the prisoners were
pardoned by the Emperor (the charge was high treason) at the last
moment, and after spending nine months in the fortress, Pleshtcheeff was
sent to serve as a common soldier in the troops of the line, in the
Orenburg government, with the loss of all his civil rights. There he
remained nine years, taking part in several border campaigns, and rising
to the rank of ensign, after which he entered the civil service. In 1859
he was allowed to return to Moscow, whence he removed to St. Petersburg
in 1872.[30]

The principal writers of satirical verse during this period were:
Alexyei Mikhailovitch Zhemtchuzhnikoff (1822), V. S. Kurotchkin
(1831-1875), who founded the extremely popular journal "The Spark," in
1859, and D. D. Minaeff (1835-1889).

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW

1. What had been the progress of the drama in Russia up to the
time of Ostrovsky?

2. How did "It Is All in the Family" make its appearance, and
with what result?

3. What especial value has the play "The Thunderstorm"?

4. What variety of subjects are treated in Ostrovsky's plays?

5. Why does his work rank so high?

6. What plays by Turgeneff hold the next place to Ostrovsky's?

7. What are the best historical novels in the Russian language?

8. What was the character of the poetry of this period?

9. What ballads by Polonsky have a national reputation?

10. Give the chief events in the life of Nekrasoff.

11. What hostile criticism have his works received?

12. What may be said in his favor?

13. What is the story of "Red-Nosed Frost"?

14. What pictures of Russian society are given in "Russian
Women"?

15. How is the poet's wide knowledge shown in his poem "Who in
Russia Finds Life Good"?

16. Give an account of the eventful career of Shevtchenko.

17. What are the noteworthy features of his poetry?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

_The Thunderstorm._ Ostrovsky.

_Prince Serebryany_; _The Death of Ivan the Terrible_. Count
Alexei K. Tolstoy.

_Red-Nosed Frost._ N. A. Nekrasoff.

FOOTNOTES:

[26] I had the pleasure of knowing Polonsky and his wife, a gifted
sculptress. He was a great favorite in society, for his charming
personality, as well as for his poetry. He served on the Committee of
Foreign