Концепт «Россия» в письмах Достоевского из-за границы 1867–1871 гг.
The Concept of “Russia” in Dostoevsky’s Letters from Abroad in 1867–1871

Summary/Abstract: Dostoevsky’s epistolary legacy is distinguished by a variety of genres and subgenres. Among them, the writer’s letters from abroad in 1867–1870 occupy a special place, above all his correspondence with the poet A. N. Maykov. By force of circumstances, the concept of “Russia” became key in Dostoevsky’s life and work in the last decades of his life. The word “Russia” itself is stylistically neutral, soviet and postsoviet lexicographers exclude it from dictionaries. Under the guise of scholarly expertise, dictionary entries are subjected to political censorship, although it is obvious that thesauruses should be complete and include all words in their direct and figurative meanings. The concept of “Russia” is polysemantic in the thesaurus of the Russian language. The word has an ontological meaning. It carries both geographical and political significance. The name of Russia is based on ethnonyms and toponyms: rus’, Rus’, Russkaya Zemlya (the Russian Land), and later russkiy (Russian), Rusiya/Rossiya (Russia). Under Peter the Great, Russia became an Empire. A thousand years of history have formed Russian civilization. Beginning in the 1860s, Dostoevsky insisted that Russia must be studied as a science, that Russians must become Russian, and strive for an intensified knowledge of Russia; this idea should be the task of national education and enlightenment. One of the key episodes in the correspondence between Maykov and Dostoevsky was their discussion of a cycle of stories from Russian history (1869). Dostoevsky conceived this cycle as a “great national book,” a “science,” a “sermon,” a “feat,” a “new word.” He expressed the idea of Russia, its “all-Orthodox” and “all-Slavic” significance, and the renewal of Christianity. Russia is a “Sphinx”; its mystery was prophetically guessed by Dostoevsky and unraveled by many, including the Venerable Nestor the Chronicler and Justin (Popović): the strength of Russia is concentrated in Orthodoxy. Politicians still reject this truth. For how long? Dostoevsky’s idea is embodied by an eternal ideal.

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