Dostoevsky

Vladimir Golstein18.04.2026

What makes Dostoevsky forever relevant is his dialectical approach to the most pressing issues of human predicament. Only in the eyes of the extremely naïve thinkers — doesn’t matter if they come from the right, left or center the issues that face modern day materialistic capitalist societies can be quantified, computerized, and resolved. For the […]

Tatiana Kasatkina31.03.2026

Film adaptations and interpretations not only have different goals, but also appeal to different audiences. A film adaptation is offered, in a sense, “in place” of the book, a simplified version for those who may never read it; the director here plays an educational role, addressing the ignorant as one who knows, the superior as […]

Michael Mozzhechkov25.03.2026

Dedicated to Dostoevsky Days: August 7 to 16, 2026, in Tokyo and Osaka. The enduring fascination of the Japanese public with Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is not merely a niche literary preference but a cornerstone of modern Japanese identity. For over a century, Dostoevsky has served as a mirror for a nation navigating the turbulent waters […]

Yuri Chekalin20.03.2026

At a time of growing geopolitical tension, we, a group of authors of the international online journal “The CommentaTHOR,” express concern about the current state of cultural exchange, as well as the negative processes that are redefining the generally accepted values of literature and art in general. It is clear that world culture represents a […]

Vladimir Golstein13.01.2026

Long time ago I formulated a principle that I still follow: the opposite of crap, is not necessarily a candy, but most likely, a stinking crap, or total crap, or any other crap. Since then, I realized that it is just a version of an old Russian proverb, “horseradish is not sweeter than black radish.” […]

Vladimir Golstein19.12.2025

Dostoevsky’s Demons/Possessed is usually viewed as the satire of Russian nihilists of the 1860s, and their random acts of violence, including the murder of the student, named Ivanov, in Moscow. But Dostoevsky sets his novel not in Moscow or St. Petersburg, but in a small provincial town, and besides individual crimes and a set of […]

Vladimir Golstein30.11.2025

Here is a dialogue in which I’ve participated thousands of times. Literally. — Ukrainian leaders are crooks and thieves. — No, they are building democracy in hostile circumstances created by Russia. — They are banning Russian language and Russian culture and bringing back ultra-nationalist hateful rhetoric. — No, they are building democracy in hostile atmosphere […]

Vladimir Golstein28.09.2025

This is too funny to miss. Dostoevsky complaining about lies and BS that western press publishes about Russia. Not much has changed since then. European and American media is as bigoted and as myopic now as it was 150 years ago. And probably even more mean-spirited. In 1868, while in France, Dostoevsky drafted a letter […]

Tatiana Kasatkina11.09.2025

The author’s voice is never equal to the character’s voice — but often sounds through it. In the case of Dostoevsky’s novels, everyone regularly wants one thing: to find where it is no longer the hero who speaks, but the author himself. The presupposition here must be absolutely unbreakable: where the Dostoevsky’s hero speaks, we […]

Vladimir Golstein18.05.2025

Who Are the Guardians Who Lead us to … Perdition. Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov has this insightful episode. Drunken Fyodor, the father of the Karamazovs, embarks on one of his favorite diatribes against the church. They are dishonest, they trade in superstitions, they exploit the peasants, they make up stories, and they try to shame scoundrels […]

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Perennial Relevance of Dostoevsky

“Demons”: Film Adaptation or Interpretation?

A Century of Russian Fever in the Japanese Psyche

Memorandum on the “Days of Dostoevsky” Festival in Japan

Binary Thinking, Politics, and Dialectics

When Societies Go Mad… Or Become Possessed

New “Demons”

Dostoevsky About European Views on Russia

About the Author’s Voice in Dostoevsky’s Novels

“The Road to Perdition”

Our Magazine is 6 Years Old!

Disability in Japan

Perennial Relevance of Dostoevsky

The Era of Mobile Antimatter