Karamzin's novella "Poor Liza," written in 1792, tells the typical story of a young girl seduced and abandoned by a wealthy nobleman, serving as a moral lesson for young ladies of that time, reflected in many classic works of world literature. Karamzin infused the tragedy with national color, imbuing the sentimental story with the depth, contradictions, and passion of the Russian soul, capturing the desperate drive to challenge life's paradoxes. Another sentimental novella by Karamzin, "Natalya, the Boyar's Daughter," resonates strongly with "Poor Liza."
Nikolay Karamzin enriched his native language by adapting foreign terms to the Russian mentality, creating numerous works that became part of the golden treasury of world literature. Among them are "Melidor to Philalet," "Thoughts on Solitude," "A Letter from a Rural Resident," and a series of topical publications in the "Vestnik of Europe" magazine