Stasov wrote in an interesting way that made the reader become enthusiasic about the subject. He talked a lot about ‘nationalism’ and ‘realism’. ‘Nationalism’ meant that it should reflect the daily lives of the Russian people. He encouraged painters such as Repin, Kramskoi, Vasnetsov and Antokolsky to paint the lives of the Russian people instead of classical or biblical subjects that were popular with European artists. He became a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1859 and stayed there, even when he was offered better jobs, because he felt that the Academy gave him freedom to express his thoughts. He was made honorary fellow of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1900, together with the great novelist Leo Tolstoy.