Russian literature

RussiaDostoevsky and Christianity

Belyustin, "Life of a Russian Rural Priest in the Nineteenth Century" - A rural priest's plaintive cry lamenting the state of the Russian Orthodox Church in the nineteenth century.

The author, I. S. Belyustin (c. 1820-1890), was born into a family of Russian Orthodox priests and entered the priesthood himself.

This book is just so intense. You can hardly believe your eyes that the churches in rural Russia were in such bad shape.

The author then goes on to tell why this is so.

I felt that this book helped me to see more clearly how important the Optina monastery was and what Christianity meant to Dostoevsky.
RussiaDostoevsky and Christianity

Sergey Bolshakov, "Russian Mystics" - History of Great Russian Monks

The book is unique in that it carefully introduces the life and thought of each of the great Russian monks.

Of particular importance is the chapter written about St. Tikhon, who was renowned in the 18th century. St. Tikhon's ideas greatly influenced later monks and elders, and Dostoevsky was also impressed by his ideas and life, an impression reflected in his writing of "The Brothers Karamazov" and "Evil Spirits.
Opuchina MonasteryDostoevsky and Christianity

S. Chetvednikov, "Opchina Monastery" - "The Brothers Karamazov" Elder Zosima was born here.

In "Opetina Monastery" you can learn about the history of this monastery and the life and thought of its famous elders. The book is richly illustrated with photographs and drawings, making it a very useful tool for visualizing what the monastery is like.

If you are interested in learning more about "The Brothers Karamazov," especially the relationship between Elder Zosima and the main character Alyosha, I highly recommend this book.
God and the devilDostoevsky and Christianity

Yasuyuki Takahashi, God and the Devil: The Greek Orthodox View of Man - A simple explanation of the Russian Orthodox view of man and salvation.

Christianity is associated with the image of original sin, that man is sinful, and with praying to God to be saved from original sin.

However, author Yasuyuki Takahashi states that this is not a traditional Christian idea, but an idea that was added later under Western ideas, and that the idea of the Roman Catholic Church is a unique product of Europe.

This work is especially recommended if you want to read "The Brothers Karamazov" in depth. It will give you a great clue as to where Dostoevsky saw human salvation.
Greek Orthodox ChurchDostoevsky and Christianity

Yasuyuki Takahashi, "Greek Orthodoxy" - This is the book to learn about Dostoevsky and the Russian Orthodox Church! Recommended introductory book!

The book features detailed explanations of the Russian Orthodox Church and Dostoevsky.

I was very surprised when I read this book. I had unconsciously thought of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism when I thought of Christianity, but this book made me realize that the Russian Orthodox Church has a very different teaching and culture from them.

What is the Russian Orthodox Church anyway?

What makes them different from Catholics and Protestants?

They are described in detail in this book.
A considerable amount of space is also devoted to Dostoevsky.
Seiichiro TakahashiDostoevskyism

Seiichiro Takahashi, "Modernization of Russia and Young Dostoevsky: From the "Fatherland War" to the Crimean War" - Focus on Dostoevsky's Youth

There are countless reference books on Dostoevsky, but most of them are based on Dostoevsky's later works, such as "Crime and Punishment," "Evil Spirits," and "The Brothers Karamazov.

In this context, the book mainly discusses the works of Dostoevsky as a young man.

Moreover, it is not merely a commentary on Dostoevsky's works, but a detailed account of the chaotic Russian situation at the time and how Dostoevsky developed his career as a writer.
Toyofusa KinoshitaDostoevskyism

Toyofusa Kinoshita, Dostoevsky: His Dialogic World - Dostoevsky's Theory by the President of Dostoevsky's Society

This work discusses Dostoevsky's works in light of domestic and international research. The book explains in an easy-to-understand manner how Dostoevsky has been studied and is currently being discussed.

In particular, I was able to make new discoveries by learning about the history of Dostoevsky's connections with Bakhtin, whom I introduced previously, and Japanese literary figures such as Soseki Natsume and Hideo Kobayashi.

The second half of the book contains a number of essays on Dostoevsky, and I found the series of tours of places associated with Dostoevsky particularly interesting.