This publication brings together the aesthetic heritage of the great Russian revolutionary democrat N. G. Chernyshevsky. In the book, along with the dissertation "Aesthetic Relations of Art to Reality," articles and reviews include (where completely, and where in the extracts) works that are generally not directly devoted to aesthetics, but somehow clarify the aesthetic position of N. G. Chernyshevsky and his views on art. The book is designed for both specialists and a wide readership.