Petrashevsky Circle and Dostoevsky

When we talked about Dostoevsky's bio in the beginning of this unit, we touched on his socialist, antigovernment leanings during his youth. In particular, we brought up his involvement in the Petrashevsky Circle. The Petrashevsky Circle consisted of a group of Russian, progressive intellectuals who discussed literature in 1840s St. Petersburg. Founded by Mikhail Petrashevsky, the group was majorly opposed to tsarist aristocracy and serfdom in Russia and supported utopian socialism. Members of the group deliberated over works banned by Tsar Nicholas I and topics of Western philosophy. Aside from Dostoevsky, others connected with the Circle are Saltykov-Shchedrin, Pleshcheyev, Maikov, and Shevchenko.

After seeing revolutions spread across Europe in 1848, Nicholas I feared the same with Russia and specifically grew suspicious of gatherings of intellectuals such as the Petrashevsky Circle. In result, he ordered for the arrest and execution of many members of the Circle including Dostoevsky. This is where Dostoevsky's near execution occurs, an incident that deeply impacted him in later years.

I think it's pretty interesting how Dostoevsky completely changed his political views after his near execution. After this incident, he abandoned his anti-government, radical outlook and took on a more conservative, nationalistic view. As we talked about, Dostoevsky sought out for an identity that was purely Russian and separate from Western ideals. We further discussed how perhaps his views changed because after seeing peasants in Siberia, he realized that elite progressives only claimed to support the lower class but did not actively work towards helping the less fortunate or relating to them. Thus, Dostoevsky decided that the best way to help the lower class and establish this distinct Russian identity was through the "back to the soil" movement, or Pochvennichestvo in Russian. This movement emphasized patriarchal family life, democratic relations between families, the importance of the Russian Orthodox Church, personal accountability, mutual support, and brotherly love.



Above: Mikhail Petrashevsky (organizer of the Petrashevsky Circle)