About the book: 1888 / The plot of the novel is the activities of the Russian administration in the Western Territory... We cannot understand only one thing: why is this denunciation written in the form of a novel? Of course, it has no strictly artistic interest. It is important and interesting only to the extent that it contains actual truth, since in essence it is not even a picture of morals, but simply a description of a whole series of “crimes in office.” In reality, such a work should be written with documents in hand, and the answer to it should be the appointment of a Senate revision (“Week” St. Petersburg, No. 4 of January 25, 1887.)