Gleb Ivanovich Uspensky (1843, 1902) was a renowned prose writer. He was born on October 13 (new style October 25) in Tula to a family of officials. His childhood was spent in a warm and friendly atmosphere among loving relatives. From an early age, he was fascinated by reading fairy tales and poems by Pushkin and Lermontov, as well as the works of Karamzin.

In 1853, Uspensky began his studies at the Tula gymnasium, but after his father was transferred to Chernigov, he completed his gymnasium course in Chernigov in 1861. Uspensky's first literary attempts date back to his time in the gymnasium.

He enrolled in the law faculty of St. Petersburg University, but due to student unrest and financial difficulties, he was expelled the same year. In 1862, he entered Moscow University, but studied there for only a year, as he could not afford the tuition and was forced to leave. During this time, he worked as a proofreader in a printing house. After his father's death in 1864, Uspensky took on the responsibility of caring for his four sisters and three brothers.

In 1862, Uspensky's first stories "Idyll" and "Mikhalych" were published. The writer found support in the magazines "Russian Word" and "Contemporary." An important event for his literary career was his acquaintance with Nekrasov, who highly appreciated his talent and observance. In "Contemporary," Uspensky's first major work "The Customs of Rasteryayeva Street" (1866) was published. Later, when Nekrasov began publishing "Native Notes," Uspensky became a regular contributor to the magazine, where his essays and stories, such as "The First Apartment," "The Need for a Song," "Up the Dark Stairs," and others were printed.

In 1869 and 1871, Uspensky wrote his second major work "Devastation." He was close to the figures of the Narodnik movement, such as N. Mikhailovsky, P. Lavrov, and V. Figner. Important for his connections with revolutionaries were his trips abroad in 1872 and 1875, 1876. He lived for about a year in Paris, where he was shocked by the traces of the Commune of 1871 and the repressions against revolutionaries. In Paris, he met I. Turgenev, and their friendship lasted a long time. The impressions from his trips abroad were reflected in his essays and stories, such as "A Sick Conscience," "From a Memoir Notebook," "A Provincial's Foreign Diary," and others.

In the 1870s, Uspensky studied village life after the reforms and lived in villages for a long time. The result of these observations was a cycle of essays "From a Village Diary" (1877, 1880). In his opinion, the peasantry would retain its powerful and meek character as long as the power of the land dominated over it.

In 1884, the government closed "Native Notes," and a period of wandering began for Uspensky: he traveled to the Caucasus, Siberia, the Volga region, Ukraine, the forests of Novgorod, and the steppes of Samara. However, new impressions did not bring him joy, and everything seemed hopeless. Illness began, and literary activity ceased to please him, although in 1885 his famous story "Straightened Out" was published, and in 1888, "Living Figures." From 1892, Uspensky was in the St. Petersburg psychiatric hospital, where he died on March 24 (new style April 6) 1902.