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The Question of Ambivalent Infl uence of F. Dostoevsky’s Creative Work on the Cultural Discourse
DOI 10.18522/2072-0181-2015-84-4-18-24
The article studies the ambivalent way F. Dostoevsky’s creative work has infl uenced the cultural discourse. The author specifi es and shortly describes the key approaches to the writer’s position on Christianity and the church. Special
attention is devoted to how Dostoevsky viewed existential questions and how this aspect has been characterized by Russian and foreign scholars. In particular, the author juxtaposes V. Solovyov’s point of view who considered Dostoevsky
to be a truly Christian writer, and N. Mikhaylovsky’s position. The latter thought that Dostoevsky regarded Orthodoxy as part of the Russian mentality and social organization and at the same time felt severe personal doubt about belief
in God. This analysis lets the reader conclude that Dostoevsky’s heritage can be said to have resulted both in creation of metanarratives and in their destruction. Besides, the notion of religious belief existing in contemporary mass culture
is viewed in this context. The article observes that the contemporary society sustains interest in the writer’s works but they are perceived in a distorted way: Dostoevsky’s heroes’ complex and ambivalent ideas become a key source for the
common notion of Christianity and at the same time get oversimplifi ed.
The article studies the ambivalent way F. Dostoevsky’s creative work has infl uenced the cultural discourse. The author specifi es and shortly describes the key approaches to the writer’s position on Christianity and the church. Special
attention is devoted to how Dostoevsky viewed existential questions and how this aspect has been characterized by Russian and foreign scholars. In particular, the author juxtaposes V. Solovyov’s point of view who considered Dostoevsky
to be a truly Christian writer, and N. Mikhaylovsky’s position. The latter thought that Dostoevsky regarded Orthodoxy as part of the Russian mentality and social organization and at the same time felt severe personal doubt about belief
in God. This analysis lets the reader conclude that Dostoevsky’s heritage can be said to have resulted both in creation of metanarratives and in their destruction. Besides, the notion of religious belief existing in contemporary mass culture
is viewed in this context. The article observes that the contemporary society sustains interest in the writer’s works but they are perceived in a distorted way: Dostoevsky’s heroes’ complex and ambivalent ideas become a key source for the
common notion of Christianity and at the same time get oversimplifi ed.
ambivalence, post-culture, existential questions, “orthodox titanism”, humanistic values, “mass”