Belinsky (Russian: Белинский) is a 1953 Soviet biopic film directed by Grigori Kozintsev, based on the life of Russian literary critic Vissarion Belinsky (1811–1848). The production of the film was completed in 1951 but it was not released until 1953, following the reshooting of various scenes demanded by Stalin.
Contents
Plot
Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky—a Russian thinker, writer, literary critic, publicist, and Westernizer philosopher—lived a remarkable but brief life. Initially captivated by Hegelian philosophy, particularly its assertion that "all that is real is rational," Belinsky passionately embraced this idea. However, as he delved deeper into the realities around him, he became a fervent critic of their irrationality.
Belinsky argued that Russian literature did not truly exist until the works of Nikolai Gogol emerged. Nevertheless, he dedicated a series of articles to Russian writers in the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski (Notes of the Fatherland), which were later compiled into a separate volume. This collection effectively served as a history of Russian literature, spanning from Mikhail Lomonosov to Alexander Pushkin.
Cast
Sergei Kurilov as Vissarion Belinsky
Aleksandr Borisov as Alexander Herzen
Georgy Vitsin as Nikolai Gogol
Yuri Lyubimov as Frolov
Yuri Tolubeyev as Mikhail Shchepkin
Vladimir Chestnokov as Nikolay Nekrasov
Mikhail Nazvanov as Nicholas I
Igor Gorbachyov as student
Arkadi Trusov as sergeant
Nikolay Simonov as landlord
Olga Aroseva as actress
Nikolay Trofimov as typographic worker
Bruno Freindlich as Professor Shcheplovidov