About the book: year / The article was a response to the speech of the publicist I. I. Lkhovsky, who, in a review of the correspondence and biography of N. V. published by P. V. Annenkov Stankevich denied its social significance on the grounds that, while pursuing science and art for his own pleasure, Stankevich did not struggle, did not suffer, and did not leave any material traces of his activities. Rejecting such “petty utilitarianism”, which measures the value of a human personality solely by the amount of “benefit” it has brought, Dobrolyubov affirms the independent significance of any honestly lived life.