The Story of the Decembrists in F.M. Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov

Abstract

The article searches for possible allusions to the Decembrists in F.M. Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov. The novel does not mention the Decembrists directly (compared to Demons, a few chapters of A Writer’s Diary and also some Dostoevsky’s drafts). Nevertheless, some hints, for example, Zosima’s mentioning the year 1826 in his story, give us grounds to suppose that this theme appears and plays its role in the novel. It is especially important to note some possible allusions to the Decembrist Mikhail Fonvisin’s biography (he was the husband of Natalia Fonvisina, who played such an important role in Dostoevsky’s view of life) and also the connection between this theme and the epigraph to the novel.

Keywords

• decembrists
• the brothers karamazov
• natalia fonvisina
• allusion
• father zosima