Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

Wikipedia

Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin โ€“ 19th-century Russian writer, author of The History of a Town and The Golovlyov Family. A master satirist, he fiercely mocked bureaucracy, despotism, and social hypocrisy. Though he served as a civil servant, his biting satire made him a leading critic of Russian society.

๐Ÿ“– His early works were so sharp that he was exiled to Vyatka in 1848. ๐Ÿ–‹๏ธ Adopted the double surname to separate his civil service career from his literary one. ๐Ÿ“š The History of a Town satirises the entire course of Russian governance and absurdity. ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ’ผ Served in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, known as a diligent official. ๐Ÿ  The Golovlyov Family depicts the moral decay of a noble family. ๐Ÿ“ฐ Edited the influential journal Otechestvennye Zapiski. ๐ŸŽญ His grotesque allegories are often compared to Swift and Gogol. ๐Ÿ“– Created โ€œfairy tales for adultsโ€ โ€“ biting satirical fables like The Wild Landowner and The Wise Minnow. ๐Ÿ˜ฒ Curious fact: friends nicknamed him โ€œShchedrinโ€ for his generosity with biting satire. ๐Ÿ˜„ Funny fact: joked that the best censorship is โ€œthe healthy laughter of the reader.โ€