Dostoevsky's Pan-Slavism

Dostoevsky frames what he calls the “Eastern Question” differently in Diary of a Writer. Pan-Slavism comes from a desire for “blessed and genuine union of all humanity in a…universal alliance whose fundamental principles are already found in the animating spirit of the Slavs and above all in the spirit of the great Russian People” (Dostoevsky, 1063-64). It is not a quest for vengeance and murder as posited by Levin. Even in interactions with the Turkish enemy, Russians are noted for their “most humane actions” (Dostoevsky, 1097). The conflict is one for morality and the protection of the weak. He admits that while some among the ranks of the Volunteers are “drunken carousers and idlers”, those types of men are not at all representative in the way Tolstoy presented the men train to represent Volunteers (Dostoevsky, 1084). By and large, the Volunteers are individuals who seek to stop injustice. To employ Levinas, a …show more content…
For all his good-heartedness and interaction with the peasants, Levin is from the landowning class and cannot escape this fact. No matter what Levin attempts, “his soul will still show the effects of…idling…part of his inheritance and which, of course, the People see in every nobleman” (Dostoevsky, 1076). Is distance is also demonstrated by the way in which he acquires faith from a peasant. Dostoevsky claims that this incident should make Levin realize the fundamental differences between himself and the mass of people, but such a consciousness never arises. This distance undermines Levin’s claims to feel the desires of the people, which Dostoevsky claims show a lack of compassion for suffering Slavs. Even within the novel there are indications that the people may want the war. In conversation it is presented by its supporters as having broad popular support, including the “unanimous and complete expression of public opinion rendered by the Press” (Tolstoy,