Editing Vissarion Belinsky (section)

{{Short description|Russian literary critic (1811–1848)}}
{{Family name hatnote|Grigoryevich|[[Belinsky (surname){{!}}Belinsky]]|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name             = Vissarion Belinsky
| image            = Vissarion Belinsky by K Gorbunov 1843.jpg
| imagesize        = 
| caption          = V. Belinsky, lithograph by [[Kirill Gorbunov]]
| pseudonym        = 
| birth_name       = Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1811|6|11|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Sveaborg]], [[Grand Duchy of Finland]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1848|6|7|1811|6|11|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russian Empire]]
| resting_place    = {{ill|Literatorskiye Mostki|ru|Литераторские мостки}}, Saint Petersburg
| occupation       = Editor of ''[[Sovremennik]]'', and ''[[Otechestvennye Zapiski]]''
| nationality      = Russian
| period           = 1830s–1840s
| genre            = Criticism
| subject          = Literature
| movement         = [[Westernizer]]s<br>[[Russian Schellingianism]]<ref>''[[Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'' (1998): [https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/schellingianism-russian/v-1/sections/schellingian-philosophies-of-history "Schellingianism, Russian"].</ref>
}}
[[File:Vissarion Belinsky Bust.jpg|thumb|A bust of Belinsky]]
[[File:The Soviet Union 1957 CPA 1973 stamp (Vissarion Belinsky (after Kirill Gorbunov) and Titles of Literary Works).jpg|thumb|A 1957 Vissarion Belinsky Soviet postage stamp]]

'''Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky''' ({{langx|ru|Виссарио́н Григо́рьевич Бели́нский}};<ref group=note>[[Reforms of Russian orthography#Post-revolution reform|Pre-reform spelling]]: Виссаріонъ Григорьевичъ Бѣлинскій.</ref> {{OldStyleDate|June 11|1811|May 30}} – {{OldStyleDate|June 7|1848|May 26}}) was a Russian literary critic of [[Westernizer|Westernizing]] tendency.<ref>{{cite book |last=Leier |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Leier |year=2006 |page=68 |title=Bakunin: The Creative Passion |publisher=[[Seven Stories Press]] |isbn=978-1-58322-894-4}}</ref> Belinsky played one of the key roles in the career of poet and publisher [[Nikolay Nekrasov]] and his popular magazine ''[[Sovremennik]]''. He was the most influential of the Westernizers, especially among the younger generation. He worked primarily as a [[literary critic]], because that area was less heavily censored than political pamphlets. He agreed with Slavophiles that society had precedence over [[individualism]], but he insisted the society had to allow the expression of individual ideas and [[individual rights|rights]]. He strongly opposed Slavophiles on the role of [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodoxy]], which he considered a retrograde force. He emphasized reason and knowledge, and attacked [[autocracy]] and [[theocracy]].<ref>Neil Cornwell, "Belinsky and V.F. Odoyevsky." ''Slavonic and East European Review'' 62.1 (1984): 6–24. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4208792 online]</ref>