About the utility of Russian literature outside of Russia

This article analyzes the excellence, uniqueness and specific elements of Russian literature that make it valuable in the eyes of a Western reader, helping him or her to better understand Russia and enrich his or her spiritual dimension. There are many such elements, and while I cannot touch on all of them, I would like to remind the reader of the fact that Russian literature has always been that particular point where social, humanitarian, political and philosophical thought comes together. Russian literature also sheds light on the mindset of the Russian people (narod), offering a different perspective to a Western reader. In addition, Russian literature, with its cultural ‘explosions’ (vzryvy) and the writers who embodied these explosions, greatly influenced European literature, inspiring entire generations of readers and writers. What turned out to be most unique in Russian literature was a perpetual attention to the great questions of human existence, the so-called “damned questions” (proklyatye voprosy). But Russian literature has an additional quality, starting from that moment when its hero became the human soul. It is precisely the soul, the protagonist of Russian literature, which unites Russian writers in a unique and inimitable community, and their readers and admirers — in a community moved and grateful. Ultimately, Dostoevsky — probably the most beloved Russian writer in the West — was right when he asserted in his wellknown Pushkin speech, “the capacity for universal compassion (otzyvchivost’) is the most important quality of our national character”.