Peretz (Peter) Smolenskin (1842-1885), a Russian Jewish novelist, was born near Mogilev (Russia). His story is the Odyssey of an erring son of the Ghetto. He joined and left the opposite parties of the rationalists and the mystics, and followed a variety of precarious occupations. He settled in Odessa, where he familiarized himself with several European languages, and became an anti-nomian in religion, though he never left the Jewish fold. Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Peretz Smolenskin. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peretz_Smolenskin