http://college.hmco.com/history/west/mosaic/chapter13/module43.html

Russian intellectuals engaged in a spirited debate about their nation throughout the nineteenth century. Two major camps emerged in this debate: the "Westernizers," who believed that Russia should continue to develop along a Western European model, a fulfillment in part of Peter the Great’s reforms; and "Slavophiles," who believed in the ability of Russia to develop through its older traditions, particularly Orthodoxy. In 1847, Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852), the celebrated author of Dead Souls and The Inspector General, published a collection of letters in which he defended Orthodoxy, autocracy, and even serfdom. In response, Gogol's former sponsor and ardent Westernizer, Vissarion Belinsky (1811-1848), wrote a scathing critique of Gogol's views. Belinsky declared that Russia would find her salvation only in "in the advances of civilization, enlightenment, and humanity." Moreover, Belinsky criticized Gogol for failing to use his position as a writer to advocate these goals for Russian society.