Dostoevsky, The Bible, and History

Fyodor Dostoevsky's Demons (1871-1872) is a novel that depicts a real event in Russian history, the "Nachaev affair" of 1869, in which an individual, Sergei Nachaev, a Nihilist revolutionary who was sponsored by another famous revolutionary, philosopher, and anarchist: Mikhail Bakunin-who has been called the father of anarchist theory, was involved, if not totally responsible for the murder of a student who was intent on revealing some of the activities of Nachaev. Nachaev represents a new form of revolutionary spirit which Dostoevsky imparts to his character Pyotr Steponovich Verkovensky in which what was only a product of intellectual ideation becomes a wild and uncontrollable force unto itself. Dostoesvky translates this anarchist drama into a powerful myth that serves as a testament and warning of the dangers of revolutionary methods and ideas. An important message for today's heavily polarized world.