The image of the Russian people in Notes from a Dead House by F. M. Dostoevsky

Abstract

In modern cultural processes, the problems of the essence of the mentality of the Russian people in Dostoevsky’s artistic works are acquiring critical importance. The article provides a detailed analysis of the images of the Russian people and pictures of their life created by F. M. Dostoevsky in Notes from a Dead House, and reveals the origin of the ideas of Pochvennichestvo in Dostoevsky’s work of the early 1860s. The following main typological groups of images of the people are distinguished: the types of “meek” and “fierce”, “tormentors” and “victims”, “self willed” and “weak-hearted”. It is concluded that Dostoevsky affirmed the religious tolerance inherent in Russian Orthodox culture and called on the Russian people to take on the mission of the messiah. In his opinion, “Europeanized” Russian intellectuals are morally lost souls, temporarily cut off from the roots of the people as a result of the reforms of Peter the Great, who were destined to merge with the people. He opposed the “Blame circumstances” form and utilitarianism, and called for a return to art itself. Although Dostoevsky did not hide the obvious cruelty, barbarity and backwardness of Russian peasant life, he still believed that the noble Christian virtues of mercy and self-sacrifice remained at the core of peasant life. He believed in the spiritual strength and moral power of the Russian people and saw the way of salvation for a developed personality in uniting with the people. The significance of the work lies in the in-depth and detailed understanding of the problem of people and nationality in Dostoevsky’s works. The results of the work can be used in the study of Dostoevsky’s oeuvre in universities.

Keywords

• f. m. dostoevsky
• notes from a dead house
• nationality
• pochvennichestvo
• russian people
• orthodoxy
• russian idea
• spirituality