In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Demons, a novel set in the politically tumultuous Moscow of the 19th century, Dostoyevsky writes about the competing political philosophies of the time by establishing five characters that each represent an influential philosophy. The action of the story is based around the attempts of one man, Pyotr Verkhovensky, to consolidate these men, despite their major differences, in order to unite several different movements and inspire a revolutionary fervor to overthrow the church and czar. However, Pyotr, the son of a liberal intellectual, seems less concerned with releasing Russia from the grip of royalty, like his father, but is lustful for power in-itself. He is ready and willing, through devious and wicked actions, to sacrifice these men to wield power and make himself the leader of a revolution.
The many ways in which Pyotr Verkhovensky’s actions foreshadow Lenin and the Bolsheviks has inspired the description of the novel and of Dostoevsky himself as Orwellian. (more…)
