Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov (1812-1891) stands out as an anomaly in the Golden Age of Russian literature. Unlike many of his famous contemporaries, such as Ivan Turgenev and Leo Tolstoy, he was not a member of the landed gentry, was not devoted to romantic ideals, and did not promote liberal social change. If it were not for his literary works, and his novel
Oblomovin particular, Goncharov’s life would have very few interesting facets. Like Oblomov, his famous protagonist, Goncharov was more comfortable adhering to the status quo than pursuing change, setting him apart from his contemporaries and many of the intellectual movements of his time.
Goncharov was born in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk) in 1812. Located nearly 100 kilometers from Moscow in the Volga valley, this picturesque,
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Citation: Malone, Nora. "Ivan Goncharov". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 January 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1797, accessed 09 December 2024.]