In this blog post, we’ll explore F. M. Dostoevsky’s life and literary achievements, focusing in particular on his masterpiece, ‘Crime and Punishment’. Life and Works Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, a master who, along with Tolstoy, represents 19th-century Russian literature, was born on October 30, 1821 (Russian calendar) in the official residence of the Malinsky Almshouse in...
Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’: A Masterpiece, but Why Is It Rarely Read?
In this blog post, I’ll explain why Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ should remain a classic rather than a relic of the past, and suggest ways to appreciate this vast work relatively easily. The Scale and Paradox of a Masterpiece Leo Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ is a truly monumental work. First of all, it is so vast in scope that it can be called an epic novel, with a cast...
Is Chichikov Don Quixote, or is he the character who sought to save the dead souls of Russia in ‘Dead Souls’?
In this blog post, I will carefully examine the dual meaning of the title and the intention of salvation in Gogol’s ‘Dead Souls’ by exploring the similarities and differences between Chichikov and Don Quixote. Chichikov and Don Quixote — Similarities and Differences Now that you’ve turned the final page of this work—which may feel somewhat unfamiliar compared to the works...
Is ‘Chebengur’ a narrative of resistance against capitalist modernity?
In this blog post, I’ll share my thoughts on ‘Chebengur’ and explore the world of resistance and love toward modernity that this work presents. I first read ‘Chebengur’ in 1988, when I was in high school. Although the full text of ‘Chebenkur’ had already been published abroad in 1978, it was not until 1988—when censorship within the Soviet Union had...
What Can We Discover Through ‘Crime and Punishment’?
In this blog post, we’ll explore the questions we can ask ourselves as we read Fyodor Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ and reflect on them together. As we turn to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s (1821–1881) ‘Crime and Punishment’, let’s imagine ourselves for a moment as earnest young people swept up in passion and pose some profound questions. Though these are weighty...
What are the defining characteristics of Ivan Turgenev’s literature and life?
In this blog post, we’ll take a brief look at Ivan Turgenev’s life, works, and the literary characteristics he left behind. Among the many geniuses produced by Russian literature, Ivan Turgenev is regarded as a writer possessing an elegant artistic sensibility, a delicate sense of beauty, a rich writing style, and keen powers of observation. In this regard, he gained international...
How did Yuri Trifonov, as the son of a “traitor to the motherland,” revive the memory of the revolution through “History and Humanity”?
In this blog post, we examine how Yuri Trifonov, through his life and major works (e.g., ‘The University Students’ and ‘By the Light of the Campfire’), transformed the memory of his father and the scars of the revolution into personal existence and literary truth. Yuri Trifonov’s Life and Early Career Born in Moscow in 1925 and deceased in 1981, the life of writer...
Why is ‘Anna Karenina’ a novel about death rather than love?
In this blog post, I will examine the hidden meanings of ‘Anna Karenina’ by reinterpreting it—not as a simple love story, but through the lens of Levin’s reflections on death and the questions of life and death. There is a book titled ‘The Ideal Library on a Desert Island’, which asks readers to name the three books they would take with them if stranded on a desert...
In Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’, Is Freedom Salvation or Destruction?
In this blog post, we will examine the conflict between “freedom” and “good and evil” as revealed through Dostoevsky’s life and works, his dramatic approach to characterization, and the impact his ideas have had on modern literature and philosophy. On Dostoevsky “Among writers who have transcended the boundaries of literature, Dostoevsky remains the greatest today. No one else has...
What is the secret behind the second volume of ‘Dead Souls’, hidden within Gogol’s life and literary world?
In this blog post, we will examine how the burning of the second volume of ‘Dead Souls’, his stay in Rome, and his religious conversion brought about changes in his literature, focusing on Gogol’s life and literary world. Gogol’s Life Gogol was born on March 19, 1809 (Julian calendar), in Poltava, Ukraine. While early records contained confusion regarding his date of birth...