With the promotion of the trilogy dedicated to Dostoevsky, the author prof. Dr. Sonja Tomović Šundić, started the program marking the 200th anniversary of the birth and 140th anniversary of the death of one of the most significant writers in the history of literature, Fyodor Mihailovic Dostoevsky.
The conversation with Professor Tomović Šundić, who said that her interests were "The Brothers Karamazov", "Crime and Punishment" and "Evil Souls", was conducted MSc Natalija Đaletić.
Through the conversation, the author of the trilogy, "The Grand Inquisitor in the Work of Dostoevsky", "The Grand Inquisitor" and "Evil Souls in the Vision of Dostoevsky", tried to present to the audience what it is in the work, but also in the life of Dostoevsky, that fascinates the world public, not only literary, and how one of the greatest writers of all time converted, from a nihilist to a great Christian, but also how he prophetically predicted the duration of the great inquisitor throughout history.
"It is about a grandiose, almost cosmic phenomenon, about a genius who determined the culture of Russia, first of all, the culture of the South Slavic peoples, but also European and world culture. Writers had an attitude of admiration towards Dostoyevsky and many of them emphasized that they were attracted to literature and literature by this wonderful voice that came from Russia. His literature is a source of meaning and it overwhelms us. Dostoevsky is a great master, a great connoisseur of human psychology. He creates an anthropological novel, and his characters are composed of dark and light tones, good and evil. He never talks about man one-dimensionally and one-sidedly. Man is too complex to be able to place him in a philosophical, psychological or sociological theory", said Tomović Šundić.
She reminded that Dostoevsky belonged to the nihilists in his early youth, that he was sentenced to death, then pardoned and exiled to Siberia, and that during his exile he became acquainted with Christianity and the Bible.
"That was a turning point. He was completely transformed by the familiarity with the biblical text, the depth of Orthodox mysticism. A complete biblical-type metanoia took place, the way the Bible speaks of transfiguration. According to my findings, there is no deeper religious, Christian, Orthodox thinker than Dostoyevsky. He doesn't do it aggressively, it's his attitude and he showed on the deepest grounds what it means to deviate from that concept".
Although many, as the author pointed out, present Dostoyevsky as a dark writer, this is only partially true. He did show where darkness and evil begin in man, where senselessness begins and the search for a reason to leave life, but he is also, as she pointed out, a writer of optimism.
"Where eternity, immortality, God are abolished, when that perspective is extinguished in man, then meaning, love, is also extinguished in his soul, Dostoevsky believes. God is synonymous with meaning, justice, truth, objectivity. I don't think there is a writer in the world who has such an optimistic anthropology, if you take this aspect. Where will you be more optimistic when you guarantee man eternity. For Dostoevsky, there is no doubt - man is immortal, he was created in the image of the creator and that is what is great about him: the inviolability of the human personality and the sanctity of the human soul. Dostoevsky's idea is that man cannot endure godlessness and that every godless attitude leads to crime, to the collapse of the actor who tries to think in such a way. With him it is clear - there is no impiety without violence, whether it is collective or individual. If the criterion of morality is within us, it can be very relative and problematic, but if the criterion is outside of us, in a certain foundation, then it is something that gives hope, eternity", said Tomović Šundić.
According to her words, the end point of man's destruction, according to Dostoevsky, is when he begins to feel the same degree of happiness when he does good and when he does evil. When a person does not distinguish between good and evil and does not know why this difference exists, then it can easily happen that he enjoys evil, and no soul, he believes, is free from it, because "every soul can be lost".
"For Dostoevsky, religion is not a theory. It is for theologians to discuss theological issues. For him, religion is the practical activity of the soul of a man who does to his neighbor what he would like that neighbor to do to him. Who is kind to his neighbor and adheres to the biblical commandments. And not only towards the neighbor, but also towards the enemy for whom he should pray. But Dostoevsky is also a great political thinker. He believes that society cannot be democratic if it only adheres to political values. Naked politics can justify whatever you want, while attitude towards religion makes for social harmony and social well-being. Religion is not separated from life, it is deeply fused with man. Dostoevsky's text is timeless, timeless and timeless," said Tomović Šundić.
At the beginning of the evening, which was organized by the Russian Center of the Faculty of Philology together with JU "Zahumlje", Vesna Vukićević, head of the Russian Center, presented the scientific and literary activities of prof. Dr. Sonja Tomović Šundić. Until November 12, several programs in honor of Dostoyevsky will be held in Nikšić, organized by cultural and educational institutions - a film screening, a performance, a round table, an exhibition.
The spirit of the Grand Inquisitor is not dead, but is being renewed
According to Tomović Šundić, the Great Inquisitor is a cult text of world literature that inspired him to write a play with the same title and look for the great inquisitor in the 20th and 21st centuries.
"The spirit of the Grand Inquisitor is not dead, but is being renewed. It is a force that is very strong and goes through history. Our history is a stage of violence and a dark, violent spirit runs through it. Even great experiences like the Holocaust did not teach us to be more humane. I tried to extend the idea of the great inquisitor to the 20th and 21st centuries. In the 20th century, such inquisitors were embodied in totalitarian leaders, ideologues who tried to sacrifice millions of people in the name of politics, false freedom, utopia. The inquisitor of the 21st century, in my opinion, is the banking oligarchy. Money has become a measure of value, man has become a commodity, life is a spectacle without meaning and substance, the media scene is a promotion of kitsch and junk, spiritual values have been banished, and culture has been reduced to easy entertainment. The ruling elite from the shadows conducts, manages, decides whether we will be rich or poor, healthy or sick, genius or average. She proclaims values, and behind all that is bare material interest - increase of capital, no spiritual value", said the author who has so far, among other things, written about fifteen plays.
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