On the Idiot

What a fantastic novel! Although I myself am not religious, I have a deep and unabiding respect for the Christian faith. I don’t mean to politicize this excellent book, but I think it has a great deal of contemporary resonance, given the rise of Russian imperial-philia among the Russian Orthodox. Dostoyevsky’s book is ultimately a scathing critique of Russian imperial society from the perspective of a devout Christian. He argues that Russian society is so corrupt that not even Jesus Christ himself could endure it. Of course, this story may well be interpreted as heretical, but the character of Prince Myshkin is depicted so highly that it is clear Dostoyevsky has much more respect for (Orthodox) Christianity than Russia itself, patriot as he was. Dostoyevsky’s make this a superb case for why admiration for the Russian Empire is misguided at best. True, Orthodoxy was far more widespread and was institutionalized in the state, but it is important to ask to what extent the imperial Orthodox hegemony was Christianity as it was intended, or whether Myshkin’s attack on Catholicism could just as well be the case for the Orthodox establishment in the mid-19th century.

I am not Russian, so perhaps my review here is unfair, but I think there is something in this book capable of combatting imperial nostalgia (admittedly, the Soviet Union was no better). I’d be very interested in hearing the opinions of others in the comments and any comment or criticism of this write-up will be welcome.