One of the grestest of the classic Russian novels, this universal tale of generational conflict is set at a moment of historic social upheaval, just before the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. When Arkady Kirsanov returns home from university, his father and uncle find to their bafflement and dismay that the naive and impressionable young man has come under the sway of the charismatic new friend he brings with him. A fervent nihilist, Yevgeny Bazarov passionately rejects traditional values and authority and wants to overturn the oppressive landowning system that supports Russian society (and his own parents). As Bazarov provokes the disapproval of his elders, falls unsuccessfully in love, and fights a duel, he moves like a storm cloud through this sensuous, dramatically paced account of Russia on the brink of change. Ivan Turgenev's greatest fictional character is as compelling and as enigmatic as the country whose turmoil he so vividly represents.  Introduction by John Bayley; Translation by Avril Pyman