In search of a Russian identity
Returning to Petersburg in
1859
to resume a literary career in–
terrupted by ten years in Siberia, Dostoevsky found a Russia in
the throes of transformation from a primitive empire into a
modern European state. The loss of the Crimean War shocked the
nation into an awareness of its military and technological inferi–
ority. The regime of Alexander II and the move to emancipate the
serfs brought a fundamental but uneasy shift from serfdom to
capitalism.
In this challenging study, Geoffrey
C.
Kabat shows that these
crucial changes in Russian society are central to Dostoevsky's
work. Drawing on the full range of his later writings–
journalism, letters, notebooks, and fiction from
1860-1881-
Kabat skillfully illuminates Dostoevsky's determination to provide
a divided and uncertain Russia with a strong, independent
national identity. Kabat's insightful analysis offers a fresh reading
of Dostoevsky's work in the context of Russian history and
society.
~IDEOLOQY~
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AND
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IMAQINA'fION
~
'The
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mage of Society
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in GDostoevsky
~
gEOFFREY
C.
KABA'T
212
pages,
$15.00
To order send check or money order to Dept.
IN
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