Fyodor Dostoevsky vs. Nikolai Kostomarov: genesis of Smerdyakov's сharacter in The Brothers Karamazov

Abstract

The author examines one of the episodes of N.I. Kostomarov's Autobiography - the circumstances of his father's murder as the main source of Smerdyakov's image in F.M. Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov and its correlation with Dostoevsky's criticism of the idea “If there is no God, then everything is allowed!”. It is proved that Dostoevsky could have learned this episode in an oral transmission either personally from Kostomarov, or through mutual acquaintances with him. The connection is traced through the common Turkic origin of the surnames Kostomarov and Karamazov. It is proved that in The Brothers Karamazov Dostoevsky stands against Kostomarov's opinion about the differences between the South Russian and Great Russian families, expressed in the article Two Russian Nationalities .