Ivan Goncharov

Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov

Oblomov, novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, published in 1859. The work is a powerful critique of 19th-century Russia, contrasting aristocrats with the merchant class and condemning the feudal system.

Its hero, Oblomov, is a generous but indecisive young nobleman who loses the woman he loves to a vigorous, pragmatic friend. A perpetual daydreamer, he lives his life in his mind and spends his time in bed. From this character derives the Russian term oblomovshchina, epitomizing the backwardness, inertia, and futility of 19th-century Russian society.