Three Forms Of Freedom In Russian Culture In The 1860-1870s On The Example Of The Works Of Dostoevsky

The 1860-1870 s were an important stage of great changes in the history of Russia.Alexander II implemented the capitalist modernization reform,which significantly liberated the public consciousness and activated the social atmosphere.The intelligentsia at this time played a vital role in social and cultural life.Nihilism,populism,anarchism,and liberalism became the mainstream social thoughts.“Freedom”and “liberation” were the main content of the social thoughts and the spirit of this time.This thesis divides "freedom" into the three forms from the perspectives: 1)Russian national character,2)the process of Russia’s millennium history,3)the specifics of Russian culture.The first form is will in Russian,which is the absolute freedom without any restrictions;the second is the freedom of Western European liberalism,in which freedom is as a norm of social life;the third belongs to the spiritualreligious category,which is the inner freedom.The three forms constitute the complete understanding of freedom in Russia in the 1860-70 s.Freedom is the reality and dimension of Russian culture.The phenomenon of freedom in the 1860-70 s essentially refers to the study of Russian soul,Russian idea,the type of Russian culture,as well as the choice of Russian way – East and West.Freedom is also the center of creativity of the contemporary of those events –F.M.Dostoevsky,who was good at observing the destiny of individuals in his time from the perspective of freedom.Dostoevsky revealed three roads to freedom in his works:the road to the arbitrariness,the road to the liberalism of Western Europe,and the road to the spiritual freedom.Studying Dostoevsky’s views on freedom will help deepen the understanding of the social and cultural life,reveal the various dilemmas in the pursuit of freedom in the 1860-70 s in Russia,and understand Russian idea and Russian way from Dostoevsky’s points of view.