America and Switzerland on F.M. Dostoevsky's Metaphysical Map

Ou Menglian PhD in Philosophy Graduate student, Department of Cultural Studies, St. Petersburg University 190121, Russia, Leningrad region, Saint Petersburg, ul. Khalturina, 15, sq. 211 omenglian@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Evlampiev Igor' Ivanovich PhD in Philosophy Professor, Department of Russian Philosophy and Culture, St. Petersburg University 190121, Russia, Leningrad region, Saint Petersburg, Mendelevskaya str., 5, office 145 yevlampiev@mail.ru

Problem statement

"–In America, you changed your thoughts and, returning to Switzerland, wanted to give up" p^{[3, p. 192]}.

Stavrogin's phrase very well denotes the declared t e mu. In these words Stavrogin describes the evolution of Shatov's worldview. America and Switzerland can be called two turning points in the development of the hero's thought, which makes us think about the relationship of the meanings that are associated with them. As you know, Dostoevsky's work presents images of many geographical places and spaces, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Switzerland, China, Japan, etc. According to K.A. Stepanyan, "Dostoevsky has not just geographical concepts, but philosophical and cultural logical meanings" ^{[16, p. 266]}. In Dostoevsky's artistic world, different geographical places and spaces acquire the importance of alternative points of view on the key problems of human existence and the course of history. Therefore, it is especially important to give a system of definitions of the meaning of different geographical spaces, this will give us a kind of metaphysical map of Dostoevsky.

America and Switzerland are two of the most prominent and frequently appearing geographical images that have very important beginnings. A lot of works have been written about this. The meaning of the image of Switzerland was expressed most deeply and accurately by K.A. Stepanyan: "Switzerland for Dostoevsky is the place that most excites the soul and mind with thoughts about the earthly paradise and the possibilities of achieving it, and at the same time it is due to the centuries-old delusion of people who independently decided that they are kind and free enough to build this paradise (for themselves or for many) on their own" ^{[16, p. 279]}. Let us pay attention to the fact that the researcher sees in this image not only a positive, but also a certain negative meaning, and these opposite semantic aspects are internally connected.

Comprehending the image of America in Dostoevsky, T.V. Korotchenko wrote: "... in Dostoevsky's works of art, America appears not so much as a geo-graphic space <...> where you can start a new life, as a symbol of the idea of a better life that has engulfed society, a marker of the state of loneliness and loss of the hero" ^{[12, p. 249]}. In this semantic aspect, the image of America looks quite complete, but one more quite obvious metaphorical meaning of this image is sufficiently known: America is a metaphor for hell, the otherworldly existence of man; here the image appears with its negative, frightening side. 

The ambiguity of each of these images makes it especially difficult to unambiguously assess them and determine their role in Dostoevsky's works. However, the situation becomes significantly clearer if we notice that these images actively interact and form a dialectical pair, in connection with which it is most convincingly possible to determine the meaning of each in its relation to the other. Something profound brings America and Switzerland closer together in the space of Dostoevsky's creativity, which can be considered as two poles of Dostoevsky's universe, as two sides of his utopia. It can be assumed that their obvious opposite nevertheless resolves into a kind of community that has a fundamental metaphysical character. 

Two meanings of the image of America

Memories of America mainly arise in Dostoevsky's works of 1860-1870, primarily in the novels "Crime and Punishment", "Idiot", "Demons". The novels "Crime and Punishment" and "Idiot" vividly contrast with each other: in the first, the plot is based on a cruel crime; the second tells about the appearance of a good prince who embodies the ideal of love relations between people, which Christ commanded us. And it is not by chance that in the first of them America becomes the most frequently mentioned island, and in the second mention of Switzerland surpasses the number of references to the Americas ^{[13, 14]}.

In the novel Crime and Punishment, America first appears as a place to escape from punishment. Having committed the murder, Raskolnikov plunged into unconsciousness and delirium. When he regained consciousness, his first thought was to escape to Ameri to u. Reflecting on the fate of his sister, Raskolnikov believes that it is better for Dunya to become a slave on a plantation (in America) than to marry Luzhin for profit p^{[8, p. 37]}. Finally, Svidrigailov was seized with the idea of going to America after he finally realized that his love for Dunya was mean and unrequited. It is obvious that in all these cases, America turns out to be the last opportunity to avoid some kind of life catastrophe, it is resorted to in a situation of hopelessness ^[10]. America is a radical alternative choice, both the laws of law and the laws of morality cease to operate on its territory, here you can put aside the reproaches of conscience, finally push all the tragedies you have experienced into the past and start life as if from the beginning. 

American values – liberalism, the individual from m and unlimited freedom - acquire a huge symbolic meaning for Russians. They are seen as the embodiment of a new world order, freed from violence, exploitation and evil. Especially in the 1860s and 1870s. Russia and America have many ties. The analogy between slavery and serfdom was often carried out by Russian magazines at this time, they closely monitored the course of the civil war between the North and the South. Then the idea of emigration to America was very popular among Russians. "At that time, emigration to America," V.G. Korolenko noted in The History of My Contemporary, "attracted many Russians who dreamed of American freedom and communist experiments" ^{[11, p. 178]}. After all, then in Russia the idea of organizing various associations and communes was not feasible because of the reactionary politics of the tsarist government.

Dostoevsky is more sober and cautious about America. Although many of Dostoevsky's heroes were irresistibly drawn there, he sees in this aspiration a symptom of significant problems of Russian society, because the writer saw a significant contradiction between the American and Russian spirit. In the "Diary of a writer" for 1873, he expressed his understanding of the reasons for the flight to America of high school students inspired by great ideas about "free labor in a free state", about the commune and about the pan-European people: "But so far we are surrounded by such a fog of false ideas, so many mirages and prejudices surround us and our youth, and our whole social life, the life of the fathers and mothers of these young people, is taking on more and more such a strange appearance that, involuntarily, you sometimes nod all sorts of means to get out of perplexity. One of such means is to be less heartless yourself, not to be ashamed at least sometimes that someone calls you a citizen, and .... at least sometimes to tell the truth, even if it were, in your opinion, liberal" 4^{[4, p. 136]}. According to Dostoevsky, it is well and understandable that Russians want to develop, to seek their faith, and to go somewhere, but this is often associated with a lack of a clear idea of the purpose and meaning of their aspirations. In this context, Dostoevsky's heroes and himself, in the journalistic reflections of the Writer's Diary, often recall the fact of the discovery of America by Europe as the realization of the cherished aspiration of the European civilization to the ideal, to the absolute embodiment of freedom and creative development of an individual. But the simplest and most natural answer that America gives to these searches turns out to be a deception, an illusion. All the main values of our life – freedom, independence, individuality, creativity – are spiritual and complex in their essence, and in America they acquire an extremely simple, external, material expression. The main meaning of America for the thinking heroes of Dostoevsky becomes a warning against the false path of civilization, against simple and too rational answers to the complex problems of our being.

Dostoevsky's extremely negative attitude towards America as too material and rational a space that does not give permission to those deep searches for freedom and the ideal that overwhelm thinking people is manifested in the novel "Crime and Punishment" during one of Raskolnikov's conversations with investigator Porfiry Petrovich. America attracts Raskolnikov, who lives in a room like a coffin, and often feels stuffy – both literally and figuratively, because of the lack of freedom and opportunities to realize his inner potencies. After the murder, this feeling of "stuffiness", lack of air (i.e. freedom) increases, and Raskolnikov, trying to find a way out, thinks about America. Svidrigailov also talks about fleeing to America to him and his son. But the investigator breaks his dreams about America, pointing out that there will be no "air" in America. Penetrating Raskolnikov's cherished thoughts, Porfiry Petrovich exclaims: "You need air now, air!" p^{[8, p. 351]}. But one of them rejects the possibility that Raskolnikov will be able to find this "air" by running away to America: "And you don't believe your theory anymore, - what will you run away with? D and why are you on the run? It's disgusting and difficult on the run, but first of all you need a certain life and a certain air, corresponding to the air; well, is your air there?" p^{[8, p. 352]}.

The words By rfiriya imply that they mean "air", which is necessary not just for the continuation of bodily existence, but for the inner, spiritual life of the hero. As a real way out for Raskolnikov, the opposite of the false way out that America stands for, Porfiry Petrovich suggests hard labor: "suffering, Rodion Romanych, is a great thing <...>, there is an idea in suffering" p^{[8, p. 352]}. Paradoxically, it is at the ATO that Raskolnikov can find the "air" he needs, i.e. genuine spiritual freedom associated with deep religious faith. Purely external, material freedom, which has nothing to do with faith and even denies it as a kind of "compulsion", becomes meaningless. Russian Russian is what Shatov says, referring to Stavrogin's words: "An atheist cannot be Russian, an atheist immediately ceases to be Russian" p^{[3, p. 197]}. Utopian socialism, an early dream of Dostoevsky himself and the heroes of his novels, leads to atheism, so Ameri kan ska ya svoboda and communist experiences do not have a positive meaning. Although atheism itself has two meanings in Dostoevsky's work. American atheism is a complete rejection of faith and complete indifference to the question of God and immortality, it is a spiritual desert in which a thinking, deep person perishes. But there is Russian atheism, which means the denial of formal, "cold" faith and the search for another, deeper and sincere faith. That's why Dostoevsky has heroes (especially a lot of them in "Demons": Shatov, Kirillov, Sta vro gin) believe in God, and at the same time doubt God: "... it is difficult for a Russian person to decide from his position what he needs more: desperate faith in God or an equally desperate rebellion against Him" p^{[18, p. 704]}. The non-distinction of these two concepts of atheism leads to direct assessments of such complex heroes of Dostoevsky as Ivan Karamazov; a clear example of such an error is demonstrated by the works of S.N. Bulgakov, who turns one of the most famous heroes-ideologists of Dostoevsky, expressing very important features of the writer's own worldview, into an unambiguously negative figure who does not have internal ideological depth ^[2].

The image of America was needed by Dostoevsky to reflect on various forms of denial of faith (atheism) and social utopianism (socialism), it acts as a negative "ideal" of purely material life, life in a "spiritual desert" that does not give a single opportunity to find faith and genuine life. The heroes who actually visited America, Shatov and Kirillov, failed to find their faith there, and in the end they returned to Russia, where their searches could become more fruitful, albeit tragic. Apart from them, no one in Dostoevsky's works went to America: Svidrigailov chose suicide, and Raskolnikov admitted his crime and was exiled to Siberia. This shows that the idea of a trip to America is a momentary impulse, which only more clearly indicates a dead end in life and stimulates a person to search for a real, not imaginary, way out. 

E.M. Sudareva rightly noted that "in a strange way, the image of the Ame rik also doubles in the spiritual space of Dostoevsky's novel. It is both a symbol of escape from punishment, liberation from moral retribution for what they have done, and at the same time a symbol of death, self-murder, godless reckoning with the self of a disbelieving person" ^[17]. This continuity of the meanings of the image of America is especially clear in the story of Svidrigailov. Intending to go to America, and not Switzerland, he understands that, as a rich man, he will be able to fully realize his advantage and his material advantage over people in America. But in the end he doesn't go to America, but commits suicide. His suicide can be understood as an awareness of the sinfulness of the path of superficial material well-being, which he tried to embark on. But before his death, he says again that he is going "to foreign lands. <...> To America" p^{[8, p. 394]}, and here this image already hints at the other world, at hell in that special understanding of it, which is characteristic of Svidrigailov. 

In the first conversation with Raskolnikov, Svidrigailov expounds his version of the id of immortality, according to which deceased people do not ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven, as church teaching claims, but continue their imperfect existence in a parallel world interacting with our world, so they can "manifest" in our world in the form of ghosts. Then he also talks about "eternity", i.e. about the whole otherworldly, posthumous reality, and presents it in the image of a small village bathhouse with spiders in the eye p^{[8, p. 221]}. In both cases, there is no fundamental difference between the earthly and otherworldly reality, the second is a kind of variation or transformation of the first. If a person in his earthly life found himself completely at the mercy of natural laws, because he completely deprived his existence of a spiritual, i.e. truly human and for a long time divine, dimension, then his posthumous existence should be as material, mechanical and rationally natural as the current one pp 4^{[9, pp. 435-490]}. Such a variant of immortality is the exact embodiment of the idea of the eternal return of the same thing that caused such horror in Zarathustra, the hero of the treatise F.Nietzsche said that he fell unconscious and was close to death for ten days. It is this eerie meaning of the idea of immortality, as an endless repetition of the same mechanically constructed life, that America sees in Svidrigailov's ideas. This second meaning of the image quite logically develops its first meaning as a false ideal of human life and humanity.

Switzerland: a paradise to leave

The image of Switzerland plays a particularly important role in the novel "Idiot", and, at first glance, has exceptionally positive meanings. He clearly signifies the beginning of the highest good, which is reflected in the image of Prince Myshkin, who stayed in Switzerland for a long time for treatment. His body was there in organic unity with nature, and his spirit was in contact with the heavenly, divine world. 

It is important to note here that in Switzerland Myshkin's life was divided into two very different periods. In the first, he was devoid of ordinary human understanding and was "almost an idiot." At the same time, he felt alien to everything in the world in which he existed. This can be seen as a metaphor for the divine origin of the hero. Initially, he was absolutely merged with the divine, spiritual world, was like Adam and Eve in their paradise state, when they did not have the need for human reason, because, being in complete unity with God, they did not need to know either their own or any other existence. Switzerland acts in this context as a designation of the earthly world into which the hero enters from paradise, which initially appears to him as a stranger, but in which he must get used to and which he must know. Therefore, the main event with which Myshkin's earthly history begins is the awakening of his consciousness: he, like Adam and Eve, embarks on the path of cognition of himself and the world. Prince Myshkin remembers this well and describes it in his first conversation with the Epanchin sisters: "I remember: the sadness in me was unbearable; I even wanted to cry; I was surprised and worried all the time: it had a terrible effect on me that all this was alien; I understood that. It was killing me. I was completely awakened from this darkness, I remember, in the evening, in Basel, at the entrance to Switzerland, and I was awakened by the cry of a donkey in the city market. The donkey struck me terribly and for some reason I liked it extraordinarily, and at the same time suddenly everything would have become clearer in my head p^{[7, p. 48]}.

But the path of knowledge is difficult and long, thereforeMyshkin again and again experiences the acute feeling that haunted him from the very beginning – the feeling of his alienness to the whole earthly, created nature: "Before him was a brilliant sky, look at the lake, around the horizon is bright and endless, to which there is no end. He looked for a long time and was tormented. He remembered now how he had stretched out his hands into that bright, endless blue and wept. He was tormented by the fact that he was a complete stranger to all this. What is this pi r, what is this ever-present great holiday, which has no end and to which he has been drawn for a long time, always, since childhood, and to which he cannot stick in any way" p^{[7, p. 351]}. Nevertheless, this feeling itself carried proof that the world in which he found himself was part of God and the highest spiritual meanings, in which it was possible for a person to return to the heavenly state. Myshkin will demonstrate this later in the history of relations with the girl Marie and the children. In this sense, we can say that Switzerland, with all its beautiful nature, becomes a place symbolizing a spiritual space containing the original good of man and suggesting the possibility of the full realization of this good.

If, using the example of America, Dostoevsky reflects on the relationship between man and civilization based on material values, then through Switzerland Dostoevsky turned to the relationship between man and nature, which gives birth to man and is close to the heavenly, spiritual world. In the manuscript fragment "Socialism and Christianity" (1864) Dostoevsky divides the historical development of mankind into three stages ^{[5, p. 191-194]}. The first stage is characterized by the united existence of all people in a single humanity and the unity of humanity and nature, however, the writer designates this unity with the term "patriarchy" and evaluates negatively, since it is forced and does not leave a person with choice and freedom. Therefore, humanity must go through the second stage, designated in this fragment as "civilization"; here there is a disintegration of the original unity and the separation of individuals with their freedom. Although this process is necessary and generally positive, Dostoevsky evaluates its results negatively, since there is a complete loss of unity and, therefore, connection with God. America is the embodiment of everything negative and negative in material civilization. And what does Switzerland express? Its primitive and beautiful nature embodies the original divine unity of the world, at the same time it expresses the possibility of a "fallen" person to rebuild harmonious relations within society and in relation to nature, therefore here one can see a symbol of the first stage, "patriarchy", and the path to the third stage, perhaps even bypassing the civilizational stage. This feeling of close heavenly harmony visits Prince Myshkin in front of the waterfall: "That's where it used to call everything somewhere, and it always seemed to me that if you go straight, go for a long, long time and go beyond this line, beyond the one where heaven and earth meet, then there is the whole solution, and immediately you will see a new life, a thousand times stronger and noisier than ours <...>" p^{[7, p. 51]}.

The mountain landscape, of course, causes Prince Myshkin's desire for elevation. However, Dostoevsky himself deeply understood the difficulty of achieving the third stage. He did not fully agree with the theory of the primordial goodness and purity of human nature, as Rousseau believed. It is not enough for Dostoevsky and his hero to simply merge with the primordial nature, which hides divine perfection in itself. Prince Myshkin recognizes this aspiration as a deception that does not realize the highest goals of human life. The sublime spiritual space, divine perfection must be realized in the earthly human world. But in the human world there is not only the power of good, but also the power of evil. Switzerland embodies the primordial nature and the primordial man, who does not yet feel the power of evil in himself, does not understand his power. That is why it is quite easy to achieve a return to the state of divine perfection here, which Myshkin demonstrates at the meeting of the society of children, which he easily translates into a "heavenly" state. But outside of Switzerland, people's lives go differently, evil rather than good dominates in it. Therefore, having arrived in St. Petersburg, Prince Myshkin sets up a very dangerous experiment, torturing to save unhappy people and transform their attitudes to perfection by the same methods that were so fruitful in Switzerland. Unfortunately, now, in a situation of truly liberated evil, they are not so effective, moreover, the feeling and the love that were saving in Switzerland, in St. Petersburg turn into their opposite; Myshkin destroys the women who love him, although in relations with them he acts in the same way, as he did in relation to the dishonored Swiss maid ush ki Marie. As a result, he is forced to admit his guilt in the catastrophe that happened to Aglaya Epanchina and Nastasia Filippovna; Yevgeny Pavlovich reproaches him about this: "You are guilty, but you persist! And where was your heart then, your "Christian" heart!" p^{[7, p. 483]}. Indeed, Prince Myshkin is not Christ, he only has a "Christian heart" that was able to bring harmony to people in Switzerland, which has patriarchal innocence, does not know the full force of evil. But behind the aisles of Switzerland, it was powerless, here evil fully revealed itself, and the boundary between good and evil turned out to be blurred, which did not allow the prince to implement his moral principles in accordance with the logic of primitive and naive nature. 

Thus, the naively patriarchal harmony of man and nature, the harmony of a person who has not revealed his whole essence in himself, i.e. the full depth of good and evil does not guarantee perfect goodness. Only in the context of the final disclosure of evil and good, in the equal coexistence of spiritual and material spaces that make up our world, God and faith have their true meanings. It is not for nothing that the Italian theologian and literary critic D. Barsotti, when analyzing the novel "Idiot", recalled Rousseau: "If Prince Myshkin resembles Christ, it is not like the Christ of the Gospel and not the Christ of the Church, but rather like the one Rousseau knew and preached, a lifeless Christ, neither God nor man" p^{[1, p. 131]}.

Dostoevsky 's Metaphysical Geography

Dostoevsky's world has its own hierarchy of places and spaces, which gradually unfolds and realizes itself in different ways in different contexts. Dostoevsky creates his metaphysical geographical map, where the polar principles of evil and good, material and spiritual, are outlined with the help of America and Switzerland. But this is not yet Dostoevsky's final system. "It's enough to get carried away, it's time to serve the mind. And all this, and all this abroad, and all this Europe of yours, all this is one fantasy, and all of us abroad are one fantasy... remember my word, you will see for yourself!" p ^{[7, p. 51 0]}. The words of Lizaveta Prokofievna and the word "fantasies" used by her hint that America and Switzerland, as the two poles of Europe, are an "otherworldly", fantastic world in relation to the truly real world of Russia. Neither America nor Switzerland can solve the problems arising from Russia. They are regarded only as the two extremes of divinity and sinfulness, as heaven and hell.

Having paid attention to America and Switzerland, Dostoevsky did not shake his confidence at all that the Russian spirit should find its own national path, which, perhaps, in time will become a path to a good future for the whole civilization. The peculiarity of America lies in the fact that it was once a new open world, representing fruitful opportunities for the development of civilization. The discovery of America, together with the Reformation and astronomical discoveries, became the basis of the idea of progress in history. In this regard, America not only testifies to the path of material development of mankind, but also provides rich food for human thought in its search for a path to the future.Switzerland, according to Dostoevsky, is the embodiment of the highest ideal of Europe. He dreamed of going to Switzerland very early, as he admits in "Winter Notes on summer Impressions": "... since the age of sixteen, and very seriously, like Belopyatkin at Nekrasov, he wanted to run to Switzerland, but did not run, and now I am finally entering the "land of holy miracles", in a country of such long longings and expectations of mine, such persistent beliefs of mine" p^{[6, p. 51]}. Switzerland, like the whole of Europe, is designated by the Dostoevsky term "the land of holy miracles" as the realization of all that is most valuable in European civilization. Thus, America and Switzerland are very clearly defined as a kind of pure principles that determine the course of history, the development of civilization. And it is no coincidence that it is in the coordinates they set that Dostoevsky defines the place and role of Russia in history and its peculiar path of development, this relationship is especially evident in the novel "Demons", where "America" and "Switzerland" are equally fundamental and concepts. 

In "Demons" America is mentioned as a fundamental point of contention between conservatives and liberals, as a magical place of finding your true self, as a riddle, on the correct solution of which your fate depends. Stepan Trofimovich recalls how he lectured on the discovery of America and its history; his influence on Lizaveta Nikolaevna turns out to be so strong that she dreams of her "America" and shouts in her sleep: "Earth, Earth!" p^{[3, p. 87]}

Shatov and Kirillov go to America under the influence of Stavrogin to preserve their final faith. There they sought to test their new ideas. Kirillov "was lying to himself in America" p^{[3, p. 111]}, and Shatov in America changed his thoughts p^{[3, p. 192]}, as a result, they experienced a radical transformation of their worldview. Although America caused this reassessment of values, the heroes, after returning to Russia, are very critical of both America and their former teacher Stavrogin. Their dispute with Stavrogin acquires a new and final meaning, in it the whole chapter of the aspirations of the Russian spirit is gradually revealed. Russian Russians are little kids in front of Americans, and you need to be born in America, or at least get along with Americans for many years in order to become at the same level" ^{[3, p. 112]}. Shatov says ironically about the superiority of Americans over Russians: "we, Russians, are little kids in front of Americans, and you need to be born in America or at least get along with Americans for many years in order to become at the same level" p^{[3, p. 112]}. He seems to be laughing at Russia, but in fact his goal is not to ridicule, but to warn. America has very fruitfully passed its path of material, scientific and rational progress, but this path will sooner or later lead it to disaster and death. It is important for Russia not to repeat this path. Later, in a dispute with Stavrogin, Shatov would express his final thought about the essence of Russia's existence: "The goal of the entire national movement, in every people and in every period of its existence, is only the search for God, his own God, and faith in Him as the one true one" p^{[3, p. 198]}.

America shattered Shatov and Kirill's dream of freedom and political utopia, and in Switzerland they rediscovered their faith and will, realizing the greatness of the spiritual ideal that Europe was able to realize, although at the same time it did not reach the true truth and true "paradise". Having restored their faith, they gained the strength and courage to return to Russia to confront the chaos of public sentiment and the crisis of faith. Through the comprehension of "America" and "Switzerland" they gained the ability to understand Russia, which is based on much more complex and contradictory foundations than these unambiguous and understandable forms of civilization. Russia is based on a complex interaction of spiritual and material, good and evil, divine and diabolical, but that is why it is much more "alive" and more indicative of the future than these one-sided forms.

Realizing his mistakes and embarking on the path of repentance and acceptance of punishment, Stavrogin intends to go to Switzerland, to the canton of Uri, to try to revive his moral strength and the desire for good. It is appropriate to recall here that the canton of Uri also appears in Myshkin's words when he comments on an engraving he saw depicting a beautiful Swiss landscape p^{[7, p. 25]}. This can be understood as Stavrogin's attempt to find his "paradise" with the last of his strength (in a letter to Daria Pavlovna, offering her to go to him as a "nurse", he writes that they will "live there forever" p^{[3, p. 513]}). But he is no longer destined to find "paradise", and he ends up in Russia, moreover, he comes to the house of his childhood to commit suicide. In the last scene, when Stavrogin is found in the attic of Varvara Petrovna's house, he is called by the narrator "a citizen of the canton of Uri". On the table is his note: "Don't blame anyone, I myself" ^{[3, p. 516]}. Switzerland turns out to be for Stavrogin not so much a place of spiritual purification as a form of final repentance and acceptance of punishment from himself. 

Ultimately, Dostoevsky creates images of "Switzerland" and "America" in order to show that God can be found not in some foreign place, but only at home. But approaching it requires the utmost effort from each person. And just as epic heroes and fairy-tale heroes often had to make long trips to overseas villages in order to finally truly find their homeland and themselves in it, so Dostoevsky's heroes will know Russia and themselves through the test of America, Switzerland and Europe. Russian Russian is the meaning of chaotic, not very clear, but extremely sincere words of Prince Myshkin at a social evening about his engagement to Aglaya: "Open the coast of the New World to thirsty and inflamed Columbian satellites, open the Russian Light to a Russian person, let him find this gold, this treasure hidden from him in the ground! Russian Russian God and Christ, and you will see what a mighty and truthful, wise and meek giant will grow up before the astonished world, amazed and frightened, because they expect from us only a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword, a sword and violence, because they cannot imagine us, judging by themselves, without barbarism. And this is still the case, and the further it goes, the more! And..." p^{[7, p. 453]}. Russian "heroes" are still passionate about foreign beauties and believe in foreign gods more than in their God and in their homeland, but Dostoevsky is convinced that the time has come to go back and find their final faith.