Belinsky as a Literary Theorist

It is important to note that there is a lack of serious study of the work of V. Belinsky. During the Soviet period, this nineteenth century famous Russian critic was often a victim of “vulgar sociologism”; today he is a victim of prejudice due to his personal political beliefs and not the qualities of his work. The methodology of this study is based on the descriptive, historical and comparative approach; the objective is to study Belinsky's contribution to literary theory. The originality of this approach lies in the attempt to provide a progressive study of Belinsky's contribution to the theory of literature. The study has identified the main directions of his thinking in the field of literary theory: the study of realism as a new literary movement, the study of the concept of national character in art, work on the development of the theory of literary genres. In the article, Belinsky's main conclusions in the field of literary theory are presented concisely. The study showed some possible directions for further analysis of Belinsky's work in the field of literary theory: a comparative study between his aesthetic thinking and the aesthetic theories that existed at that time (especially Hegel's theories), the analysis of Belinsky's contribution to the theory of realism, the development of the theory of literary genres and reflection on the concept of national character.