Satirist. Born in Tula, Russia, he spent much of his life as a mid-level civil servant in the provinces, which gave him plenty of material for his writing. He left government service in 1868 and immediately set to work on "The History of a Town" (1870), a collection of sketches that brilliantly satirized Russian bureaucrats and the middle class. "The Golovyov Family" (1876), Saltykov's only novel, lacks the bite of his sketches but is a revealing look at the apathy of his time. With "Fables" (1885) he presented his pointed satirical thrusts as tales in the manner of Aesop, a shrewd device to circumvent the censor. For a time he was editor of the literary magazine "The Contemporary".
Satirist. Born in Tula, Russia, he spent much of his life as a mid-level civil servant in the provinces, which gave him plenty of material for his writing. He left government service in 1868 and immediately set to work on "The History of a Town" (1870), a collection of sketches that brilliantly satirized Russian bureaucrats and the middle class. "The Golovyov Family" (1876), Saltykov's only novel, lacks the bite of his sketches but is a revealing look at the apathy of his time. With "Fables" (1885) he presented his pointed satirical thrusts as tales in the manner of Aesop, a shrewd device to circumvent the censor. For a time he was editor of the literary magazine "The Contemporary".
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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