Relations Between Russia, Germany, and Austria in Fyodor Dostoevsky's Geopolitical Views

The works of the great Russian writer, publicist and philosopher Fyodor Dostoevsky are of considerable interest to both Russian and foreign researchers from a wide range of specialties. Despite this, a number of issues are still very poorly researched, in particular the writer's ideological views on international relations. In the framework of this article, attention is focused on the relations between the Russian, German (Prussia), and Austrian (Austria-Hungary) empires. Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann's concept of social construction of reality, expressed in the symbolic construction of an imaginary geopolitical map of the world by Dostoevsky, was used as the methodological basis of this work. To construct the image and the nature of the relations between the Russian, German, and Austrian empires, Dostoevsky's journalism, notebooks and works of fiction were analyzed using relevant contemporary research literature. The fundamental basis of Dostoevsky's ideas about international relations in Europe is his work "Three Ideas" on the existence and struggle of three key worlds-Catholic, Protestant, and Slavic-associated respectively with France, Germany, and Russia. According to the author of the article, Dostoevsky's Austria is not just equally suitable for the role of the "Catholic element" instead of France, it is even its more vivid embodiment. The study showed that relations between Russia, Germany and Austria, according to the views of the writer, had gone through a difficult development path. The first half of the 19th century (from the victory over Napoleon to the Austrian revolution of 1848-1849) passed under the auspices and domination of the alliance of Austrian Chancellor Metternich, whose image is associated with treachery, intrigue, and the desire for immediate benefits. However, the internal turmoil in Austria and the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War allowed Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who came to power in the 1860s, to take center stage in the alliance. Prussia, with its protest, anti-Roman, decisive and pragmatic policies, using the principle of "iron and blood", not only brought the German Empire together by force, but also made Vienna its "little brother". In this alliance, Russia pursued the policy of a "great nation", being higher than the everyday politics of intrigue or practicality, acting as a stronghold of unity, honor and freedom. According to Dostoevsky, the artificial construction of the borders of European states could no longer meet aspirations of peoples and nations. The writer foresaw a global redistribution. He saw the future of Russia in liberation and construction of the All-Slavic Empire, which would lead to a confrontation with Austria. Germany would defeat France and take up the German-speaking territories that were part of Austria-Hungary; the latter in turn would try to take up the southern Catholic lands from Berlin with the aim of creating a second German empire.

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