The Dutch writer Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker 1820–1887) has played a significant role in 20th century Russian literature. To the Russian reader he was presented as a bold freedom fighter, an anti-colonialist, both a fine example of a positive hero and a “Solzhenitsyn of the 19th century”, who in his home country was never given the honour he deserved. Multatuli’s heroic example has been emulated by prominent Russian writers such as Konstantin Paustovsky and Viktor Astafyev.
Couvee Petra. FROM THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO TO THE GULAG: MULTATULI’S FAME IN RUSSIA