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figure of Father Zossima, as well as being a double for Fyodor Karamazov, is another attempt at the ideal Christian man. The tenderness of the scenes of Alyosha with children prefigure Dostoyevsky's plans for his next novel, which was to be about children.

From 1876 Dostoyevsky's 'Diary of a Writer' had been a popular success, by now the stain of his crime had decoloured, and he was revered by mainstream Russian culture (though not the reformists who felt he'd betrayed the cause), and he was financially secure, largely thanks to his wife's wisdom. In 1880 his Pushkin address was delivered, at the unveiling of a statue of Pushkin in Moscow. The descriptions of this in books generally describe Dostoyevsky's audience almost falling at his feet at the majesty of the address. The subject: Slavic pride - the best direction for Russia - Russia's destiny. When Dostoyevsky died (1881), of a lung haemorrhage, he was collecting material (anecdotes and information) about children for the next novel.

Dostoyevsky is sometimes criticized for being a wild writer, unorganized, and eccentric. This is perhaps correct. He would write under the influence of inspiration, after epileptic fits. Tolstoy contrasted his sober method of always writing in the morning, with Dostoyevsky's preferred time of night. Stalin loved his work, suggesting to an aide that he read Dostoyevsky so that he could understand people, but banned the work, as he thought it would corrupt young people. Dostoyevsky wrote a lot of his work under pressure of creditors and contracts. But while Dostoyevsky's works lack order and clarity, they have an intense sense of reality beyond any other author. Of all the great writers Dostoyevsky goes furthest in this direction.

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