At that time, the translation of Western novels – especially French novels – began in Russia. Dostoevsky’s first written attempt was a translation of a French novel he wrote at the age of twenty, just before the Crimean War. When the translation was done, he decided that he would write his own novel. So he was only 21 years old and an engineering student when he wrote his first novel, Poor People.
He gave the draft to an editor, who traditionally considered it necessary to seek the opinion of a critic before publishing it. This critic was none other than the legendary Russian critic Vassar Belinsky. When he was asked to read the draft of the Poor People, he said to the editor in a very sad tone:
“Now you will ask me for opinion on the drafts of the 21-year-old student.” To which the editor said: “I’ll pay you for the same job. You already have my advance, so read it quietly and give your opinion.” Belinsky took the draft home and began reading it that night. By morning he had finished reading the draft.
And as soon as he had finished, Belinsky left the house in search of Dostoevsky. He arrived at Dostoevsky’s apartment early in the morning. And when he saw Dostoevsky, he gave him three traditional Russian kisses on the cheeks. “Young man! You are a genius,” he told Dostoevsky.
Dostoevsky was stunned. Because he knew Belinsky’s personality. Belinsky’s case is also interesting. Due to his rebellious views, his writings were banned throughout Russia. But there was not a single educated man in all of Russia who did not know Belinsky. His one statement on Dostoevsky’s first novel is sufficient to illustrate latter’s place in Russian literature. He wrote: “This is Russia’s first social novel.”
Belinsky’s opinion made Dostoevsky an overnight celebrity. But it was Belinsky who was about to make things harder for Dostoevsky. Because Belinsky was calling for atheism, and Dostoevsky was going to do his best in the future, not only on the concept of God, but also on the level of psychology. Even Nietzsche in Germany, who claimed the god is death, was about to be forced to talk.
Just think, how powerful would be the pen that would force the greatest philosopher of its time to wail even though Dostoevsky was not a philosopher? When the lava of rebellion began to form in Russia, two things stood out. One was atheism and the other was the tendency towards Western thought.
It liberated 13 million Russians from slavery in 1861, but the situation did not change. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky were also watching the same ripe lava. The only difference was the angle of view. The Czar was in danger of losing his power, so he was remedying it. While Tolstoy and Dostoevsky feared that Russia itself would sink, they were to act to remedy it. The direction is almost the same, just the difference in angle.
With Tolstoy, for example, since the tragedy was that he was only two years old when his mother died, and only nine years old when he lost his father, so “family and community” seems to dominate his psyche. All of his literature seems to promote family and collective thinking. For example, look at the first three novels. His first novel is “Childhood”, the second is “Boyhood” and the third is “Youth”.
Dostoevsky, on the other hand, had his first tragedy when he was about 24 years old, when his father was killed. Then, around the same time, he was imprisoned for four years in the cold hell of Siberia, which changed him completely. He was sentenced to death first. When Death Squad was about to pull the trigger to execute him, a messenger came and said his sentence had been commuted to Siberian imprisonment.
The drama was set up, with the aim of destroying Dostoevsky psychologically. It was a time of captivity whose loneliness brought him closer to God and gave him an opportunity to reflect on the human psyche. Thus, in Dostoevsky’s literature, the role of the “individual” is central, not collectivity.
The second difference between Tolstoy and Dostoevsky is that Tolstoy believes in universality. The idea is that finding a solution to the problems facing human beings is the common responsibility of all human. He is convinced of nationalism but not against intellectual import and export. So when he rejects a foreign concept, he does not emphasize that it is not good for us, but rather that it is harmful to humanity.
Dostoevsky, on the other hand, strongly opposes intellectual imports and exports. He vehemently rejects European thought and philosophy. After proving it unacceptable to the Russians, it proves to be a poison for Europe itself but does not urge Europeans to avoid it. That is, he gives his advice only to the Russians, not to the universe.
The third difference between the two is that Tolstoy also has a woman in the lead role. Anna Karenina is a masterpiece, but apart from that, woman is seen as an important character in her eyes. In Dostoevsky’s literature, on the other hand, women are only male helpers. Women have no central role in society. He did not make any permanent statement on it but you will not find a woman in the main role in his literature.
But they also have something in common with women. Rather, that aspect is the most prominent aspect of Russian literature. That is, they do not use the women’s “lustfulness” in the novel, which is the most prominent feature of Western literature. And in both cases there is a regular intellectual stimulus behind it.
Western writers use women in the name of romance in their lustful philosophical thought. And the failure of Russian writers to do so is a result of their thinking. In short, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky do not force their readers to press their thighs.
Tolstoy and Dostoevsky have the same goals, despite their differences in perspective. European thought was their common goal. Three things were and still are very important in this goal. A free will, that is, the unbridled autonomy of man. The second is rationalism and the third is a powerful man with extraordinary abilities.
Atheism is active as a soul in these three concepts. So, in the following column, we will try to explain briefly what alternative statements Tolstoy and Dostoevsky have against these three concepts. Especially Dostoevsky, whose name Fyodor translates as “Abdullah.” But there should be no misunderstanding, he is a Christian! (To be continued)
