What to do?

The novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky «What to do?» — one of the most ambiguous works of Russian literature. The novel was published in 1863 and immediately sparked a heated debate: from sharply negative reviews by conservative literati to enthusiasm... among revolutionary-minded youth. According to contemporary accounts, there was no student or even gymnasium student who had not read «What to do?». In the Soviet era, Chernyshevsky occupied an honorary place on the literary Olympus, and his main work became part of the mandatory school curriculum. Today, engaging with the novel «What to do?» forces a reconsideration of its significance in the history of Russian literature and social life. The appendix includes two of Chernyshevsky's most important works on aesthetics, where he criticizes the theory of «art for art's sake»; responses to the novel «What to do?» by N. S. Leskov and D. I. Pisariev are also included here. The novel is published with illustrations by the artist Vladimir Petrovich Panov (1931–2007).