His services in the reformation and improvement of the Russian literary language were very important, despite the violent opposition he encountered from the old conservative literary party.[6] When Alexander I.ascended the throne, in 1801, Karamzin turned his attention to history.

In 1802 he founded the "European Messenger" (which is still the leading monthly magazine of Russia), and began to publish in it historical articles which were, in effect, preparatory to his extended and famous "History of the Russian Empire," published in 1818, fine in style, but not accurate, in the modern sense of historical work.
Karamzin's nearest followers, the representatives of the sentimental tendency in literature, and of the writers who laid the foundations for the new literary language and style, were Dmitrieff and Ozeroff.
Ivan Ivanovitch Dmitrieff (1760-1810), and Vladislaff Alexandrovitch Ozeroff (1769-1816), both enjoyed great fame in their day.

Dmitrieff, while under the guidance of Karamzin, making sentimentalism the ruling feature in Russian epic and lyric poetry, perfected both the general style of Russian verse, and the material of the light, poetical language.

Ozeroff, under the same influence and tendency, aided in the final banishment from the Russian stage of pseudo-classical ideals and dramatic compositions constructed according to theoretical rules.
Dmitrieff's most prominent literary work was a translation of La Fontaine's Fables, and some satirical writings.

Ozeroff, in 1798, put on the stage his first, and not entirely successful, tragedy, "Yaropolk and Oleg."[7] His most important work, both from the literary and the historical points of view--although not so regarded by his contemporaries--was his drama "Fingal," founded on Ossian's Songs, and is a triumph of northern poetry and of the Russian tongue, rich in picturesqueness, daring, and melody.