Modern Relevance of Dostoevsky

Dostoevsky sets the events of his Brothers Karamazov in the style of Greek Tragedy.

At least the events concerning Fyodor Karamazov, the father of all Karamazov’s brothers.

Throughout the novel, Fyodor is on the collision course. All he does is challenging invisible hand of justice, pushing further and further into moral black hole.

He rapes the holy fool — unappealing demented woman — just on a dare. He abused his wives and children. He incessantly mocks religion, including spitting on the icons. The novel starts with Fyodor’s trip to monastery, where he manages to insult everyone, from elders, to church officials, to his own sons. He then returns home and continues telling his sons — Ivan and Alyosha — about his abuse of their mother.

In short, he is asking for it. At the very moment of this story of abuse, another son (from another mother) breaks in and beats up his father, stopped only by the efforts of Alyosha and Ivan. But Fyodor obviously refuses to hear the warning. Eventually, a rather unsavory individual — Fyodor’s fourth son (born as the result of this rape of the holy fool) kills him. Chicken come home to roost.

Dostoevsky — despite his strong Christian believes — recognizes that in the affairs of this world not everything runs on the principles of atonement, sacrifice, and forgiveness. Greeks clearly understood how hubris and hamartia dig their own grave. They belabor it again and again.

Which takes me to current Ukrainian leader and the regime that he represents. The outrages that the regime had perpetrated and continues to perpetrate are as revolting as those of Fyodor. Now they call butchers and rapists of thousands of Jews, Poles, and Russians — national heroes.

Now they bomb their own population in Donbas, now they are — in the words of Zelenski — are trying to bring war home — to Russia, killing pregnant women and children all over the country from Briansk to Voronezh, as if Russians didn’t experience the most brutal war brought home by Nazi Germans.

Dostoevsky is very clear in his depiction of Fyodor’s punishment. It is diffused. It is not carried out by some Romantic avenger. It is in the nature of things. If not one outraged son, then another, will make Fyodor pay for the suffering of his mother.

Pushkin — contemplating the nature of revenge, was very clear: God save us from Russian rebellion — mindless and merciless. Yet, Zelenski and his ilk are doing all they can to court this Russian rebellion.

They can mock Putin any way they want in the manner of Fyodor mocking religious leaders. They can mock Russian suffering, feeling self-righteous and justified. But they are courting rebellion, mindless and merciless.

The western pundits can spend their time counting amount of drones and computer chips in each country’s possession. I prefer to read Greeks and Dostoevsky for the proper assessment of today.