Dostoievsky and the mission of Russia in Europe, 1876 - 1878

Abstract

The difficulties of the Russian language have prevented the greater part of the literary world from appreciating the Russian masters in their original form. It is commonly acknowledged, however, that Russian literature in the nineteenth century attained an excellence comparable to any national period of cultural activity. This phenomenon has been accepted by the outside world because the worth of the great Russian novels, although this cannot be said of great Russian poetry, is apparent even in the worst translations. The novels are, moreover, the product of their authors' environment, and, through the insight into social conditions which they afford, they have proved of singular value to the historian. They perform an additional function which in present times is, perhaps, of even greater importance: they enable the general reader to acquire some understanding of Russian life and Russian ways of thought.