The New International Encyclopædia/Potekhin, Alexei Antipovitch

POTEKHIN, pṓt-yĕK'ĭn, Alexei Antipovitch (1829—). A Russian dramatist and novelist. He was born at Kineshma, in Kostroma, studied at Jaroslav, and settled in Saint Petersburg. As a novelist he is a realist of much the same school as Pisemsky and especially able in his portrayal of dismal village life. His earlier works on the drama were slow in getting to the stage, as they were blocked by the censors for their attacks on present conditions. They include: The Voice of the People Not the Voice of God (1853); Ill-Gotten Gains Do Not Prosper (1854); Tinsel (1858); The Severed Limb (1865); and A Vacant Place (1870). His novels and tales of peasant life include: The Poor Nobles (1859); For Money, a story of factories; The Sick Woman (1876); Under the Spell of Money (1876); Before the Community (1877); Young Inclinations (1879); and Village Vampires (1880).