Dostoevsky’s writings influenced a great lot of European thinkers and writers. As the leitmotif of all recent major Kantor’s publications is the theme of ‘European face of Russia’, the same underlying theme (or more likely, a problem) is clearly seen in his new book about Dostoevsky who, as Kantor states, has created his personal concept of European civilization.
Vladimir Kantor analyses Dostoevsky’s novels and diaries from a new angle. The author sees great novelist’s works as prophecies, as statements of a biblical prophet, exposing the sins and shortcomings of his contemporaries. Dostoevsky forces the Russian people to become a chosen nation, able to live by God’s commandments. The book is divided into two equal parts quite different in their tone and content. The first part is dedicated to Dostoyevsky’s ‘Brothers Karamazov’ and represents an attempt to unravel the mystery of ‘Karamazovshina’ (the essence of the Karamazov). The second part of the book examines European Christianity values as seen through Dostoevsky’s eyes, and their compatibility with the Russian idea.