Russian writer set to keep pressure on northeast (8)
I believe the answer is:
turgenev
'russian writer' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'set to keep pressure on northeast' is the wordplay.
'set' becomes 'tv' (tv is a kind of set).
'to keep' indicates putting letters inside.
'pressure on' becomes 'urge' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'northeast' becomes 'ne' ('NE' can be a synonym of 'northeast').
'urge'+'ne'='urgene'
'tv' going around 'urgene' is 'TURGENEV'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for turgenev that I've seen before include "Ivan -, Russian novelist (Fathers and Sons)" , "Dramatist" , "Russian author (Fathers and Sons, Virgin Soil)" , "Ivan -------- (1818-1883), writer about Russian life as in Fathers and Sons" , "Ivan -, Russian author (A Month in the Country)" .)