Nikolai Gerasimovich Pomyalovsky, born on April 11 (23), 1835, in St. Petersburg and died there on October 5 (17), 1863, was a well-known Russian writer and prose author, known for his realistic novellas.

He grew up in the family of a deacon and received his education at the Alexander Nevsky Spiritual School, later graduating from the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary in 1857. After completing his studies, while awaiting an appointment, he read prayers for the deceased and sang in church, simultaneously engaging in self-education. He was also a free listener at St. Petersburg University and taught at a Sunday school.

His early death is associated with apathy and alcoholism, caused by societal reactions and personal failures.

Pomyalovsky began writing while still in school, participating in the manuscript magazine "Seminary Leaflet," where he published articles and started the story "Makhilov." His debut in print occurred in 1859 with the essay "Vukol" in the "Journal for Education." In 1861, his novellas "Bourgeois Happiness" and "Molotov" were published in the magazine "Sovremennik." In 1862 and 1863, his "Sketches of the Seminary" appeared in the magazines "Vremya" and "Sovremennik." The novel "Brother and Sister" and the novella "Porechane" remained unfinished.

Pomyalovsky's worldview was shaped by the influence of revolutionary democrats like N. G. Chernyshevsky. He criticized noble culture and bourgeois accumulation. The heroes of his works, plebeians and various classes, struggle for their place in life, despising the gentry and liberal chatter, but often find themselves powerless against reality. In "Sketches of the Seminary," he criticized the education system, noting the soullessness and conservatism characteristic of spiritual educational institutions and all of Russian life under autocracy. Pomyalovsky was a convinced realist and a continuer of the traditions of N. V. Gogol.

The novellas "Bourgeois Happiness" and "Molotov" form a dilogy that tells the story of the fate of the various-class Molotov. These works raise social issues such as education, women's emancipation, and the relationships between various classes and the nobility, but the main question remains the fate of educated various classes in society.

In "Bourgeois Happiness," the main character Yegor Ivanovich Molotov appears as a naive romantic striving for justice. He believes that the landowner Obrosimov sees him as an equal, but soon realizes that there is a chasm of class contradictions between them. Molotov understands that he must independently seek his path and achieve independence.

In 1862 and 1863, four parts of "Sketches of the Seminary" were published in the magazines "Vremya" and "Sovremennik," while the fifth part remained unfinished and was published after the author's death. Initially, Pomyalovsky planned to write 20 sketches about the life of seminary students, but in September 1863, he fell ill and died of gangrene.