Nikolay Chernyshevsky is exiled to Siberia in 1863, the year his novel What is to Be Done? a fictional illustration of his political theories, sees print.

The book will inspire many later Russian revolutionaries, who would seek to emulate the novel's hero, who was wholly dedicated to the revolution, ascetic in his habits and ruthlessly disciplined, to the point of sleeping on a bed of nails and eating only meat in order to build strength for the Revolution. (Among those who will draw inspiration from the character is Lenin, who will name a work of political theory of the same name, and who will be ascetic in his personal life: lifting weights, having little time for love, and so on).