"Whether I am a trembling creature or whether I have the right?" Why Russia so sparingly celebrated the 200th anniversary of the genius

An amazing fact is eloquent evidence of the mid-level state of modern Russia: the country managed to sleep through the 200th anniversary of one of the greatest writers in world history - Fyodor Dostoevsky. A man whose books have been published for at least 100 years with billions of copies around the world, translated into more than 170 languages, and still have a strong influence on world literature, philosophy and psychology. But in fact, Russia has nothing more to be proud of than classical literature and classical music, since even the first flight into space was primarily of propaganda significance for a country whose population was languishing in slavery and poverty.

However, such an attitude towards Dostoevsky can be explained by his contradictoriness. On the one hand, in prose he is an unconditional genius, on the other hand, in journalism he was often banal, and even - paradoxically - insane. This is the clearest case of how talent is overwhelmingly more powerful than intelligence. It is not for nothing that Dostoevsky made all his philosophical and psychological discoveries in an artistic, and not in a scientific and journalistic, form.

But he did it!

Probably, these contradictions prevent the state from giving an unambiguous assessment of Dostoevsky, and therefore it evades any assessment at all. That is why Putin wrote in the book of honored guests about his visit to the museum center "Moscow House of Dostoevsky" (renovated museum-apartment of the classic): "Many thanks to the organizers, ascetics for preserving the memory of FM Dostoevsky - a genius thinker and patriot of Russia ..." And no more.

The remarkable Russian poet Alexey Tsvetkov writes on his blog:

“And who has any idea why they let Fyodor Mikhalych go on the brakes for 200 years? It seems to me that Moscow would be very much adorned with streamers like "I am trembling creature or have the right", "You killed, sir" and "Or I shouldn't drink tea."

The bicentennial was celebrated very reluctantly, without any celebrations - but remember Pushkin, with whom Luzhkov decorated all the pillars, fences and urinals of the capital. Pushkin, of course, is our everything, but rather for internal consumption, and after all, Dostoevsky is the most popular Russian writer in the world, it would seem criminal to miss such an opportunity. A solid guardian of braces, an inexhaustible fountain of the notorious spirituality, and even a polonophobe, which is very useful now. Where are they all looking there?

But they, of course, reason correctly, albeit with their spinal cord for lack of a better one. Dostoevsky is a very dubious figure for the national brand, he has a vast double bottom, nullifying all suitability for propaganda. His guardianship is crystallized in "Pushkin's speech", initially almost a parody, and they love him in NATO at all for what the Kremlin beacons of culture would like.

To begin with, his atheists and villains (fools and clowns too) are always more convincing than his saints and ascetics, leaving the author no choice but to compel them to commit suicide. At one time it was extremely fashionable to gut novels in search of prophecies and divinations, but this is already in the past. For me, for all my love for novels, in a sense, his three fundamental parables are more important. This is "The Village of Stepanchikovo", for me forever coincided with the return of Solzhenitsyn, "The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor", about Soviet power and any utopia, and, of course, "Notes from the Underground" - this is already about today and always. If Foma Fomich and the Inquisitor have at least some projects in the name of which they perform acts, then the underground person does not have a project by definition, he lives to spit on strangers. Than he is tirelessly and busy today.

Dostoevsky's lesson: in Russia only the bad is convincing, the good is always half-feigned and quickly dissipates. It was he who first and in all details described the primordial Russian fun, showing the ass against the background of the temple. As you wish, but it is impossible not to love such a writer. "

Congratulations, nevertheless, on my own behalf! "

Playwright Marina Ptushkina answers Tsvetkov:

“Well, not really on the brakes. According to Kultura, Metropolitan Hilarion tells how deeply Dostoevsky was a believer, and Belinsky, Herzen and other atheists were foes and scoundrels-revolutionaries. Several films are shown on different channels: Pyriev's The Idiot, The Bad Joke, etc. But so that in the Bolshoi Theater, with fanfare, as the centenary of Sergei Mikhalkov was celebrated, this is not. Illarion said that Vladimir Lenin recognized himself in Petrusha Verkhovensky and disliked Dostoevsky. The communists pushed it in, the fact..."

Journalist Andrey Zbarsky wittily notes:

“Considering that all current ideology / propaganda boils down to two phrases of Dostoevsky referring to Petrusha Verkhovensky (“Demons”).

"Whoever disagrees with him is bribed with him".

"All of them, from their inability to conduct business, are terribly fond of being accused of espionage," then it is quite understandable..."

The poet Dmitry Plakhov gives an amusing testimony about the "celebration" of the anniversary:

“Still, there are excesses on the ground. In Kaliningrad, an emergency meeting of the local Duma was convened with one single issue: renaming the city boulevard into Dostoevsky Boulevard. Tsimes is that the boulevard used to be Mickiewicz. Well, that is, a blow to the pshek with FMD polonophobia. (in his novels, the classic did not spare the Poles, ed.)"

Unlike the state, popular bloggers wrote about Dostoevsky. So, the historian and public figure Vera Afanasyeva noted the inconsistency of the great writer:

"My friend, remember that it is good, safe and beautiful to be silent".

Exactly 200 years ago, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky made the world happy with his appearance.

Why is Dostoevsky so good? After all, one often hears: “I do not like Dostoevsky. Well, there are no such people who are described by him! This is all nonsense".

I think there are - few of them, but there are. Difficult, restless, sometimes ridiculous, strange, suffering, sinful, madly in love.

And Dostoevsky himself was like that - a complete oxymoron.

A revolutionary who has become a fierce conservative.

A very educated person, sometimes reaching obscurantism.

A great humanist who hated Western Christianity.

An unsurpassed master of words, whose books are difficult to read, and sometimes even bored.

And his texts are the same - imperfect, stylistically incorrect, too long - but sometimes they tremble, sadness, longing, delight and tears.

Precisely because he is so complex, Dostoevsky does not fit into any "isms", trends, trends - literary, political, ideological.

And he himself nourishes many things, is the basis for very different things.

Philosophy of life and existentialism literally follow from Dostoevsky - it is no coincidence that Nietzsche considered him the only psychologist from whom you can learn a lot.

But the nationalist "Russian idea" is also a child of Dostoevsky, and the Black Hundreds of all stripes are happy to call him their forerunner. I can't understand Dostoevsky, I don't understand - I just love. I think his prose is incredible and I have not read anything better than some of his lines.

And only he was able to formulate the most cherished desire of everyone: "I want to talk about everything with at least one person, as with myself" - this is a hymn to human loneliness and human hope to find a close soul in a huge world..."

The writer Alina Vitukhnovskaya does not share this pathos:

“Send tortured reflections about Dostoevsky. It looks like the literary-centered logocratic satrapy is bursting at the seams.

Personally, I feel Dostoevsky as an actual author not even 100 years ago, but all 500. This is from the point of view of modern civilization.

In Russia, however, they always return to the "origins", albeit pretty dirty. Especially when there is a need to fall into the next moralizing tablets against the background of an approaching real danger, a social apocalypse.

The passion for Dostoyevsky reflections is deeply mixed with the desire to look good, blaming others. Therefore, now pop-psychological profane gatherings have become relevant, where, for example, everyone, having gathered, scolds "daffodils" in chorus (as an option, you can replace it with something else).

One question arises - if everyone around me is so good, practically saints, what is happening to the country now? Who created this authoritarian, wild, cruel Russia? Not you? Of course, "others" are narcissists, psychopaths, aliens, in a word. So you have created!"

The popular channel "Fat People in Large T-shirts" originally suggested celebrating the anniversary of the writer:

In honor of the bicentennial of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, of course, it was necessary to build a theme park. Not in Petersburg. In Moscow - because everything needs to be built only in Moscow. Better in some sacred place, which will defiantly not feel sorry for developers and others ... In front of the Novodevichy Convent, for example.

It is necessary to put a lot of rotten rooms in the form of jars with spiders, gazebos and spans of black stairs. The decoration and decor must be made from the waste of the agricultural complex.

Admission with win-win yellow tickets.

In the center is a huge gaming table. All the money lost at the roulette table by the visitors are added to the burning fireplace by Nastasya Filippovna, who will be played by actress Perisild in a spacesuit stylized as a ball gown.

From entertainment - a shooting gallery with old women, throwing axes, sewing a loop under a coat for speed. Everything is in virtual reality glasses, of course.

Zoom webinar with the Grand Inquisitor, theme - “Personal growth of a trembling creature”.

Because, in fact, Dostoevsky has long become a part of popular culture, while remaining the basis of an elite culture. You need to be able to..."