Stop blaming the Russian soul

We should celebrate the masterpieces of Russian art, music, dance, and literature.

In an interesting recent article in the Times Literary Supplement , the Ukrainian novelist, essayist, and poet Oksana Zabuzhko took Western readers to task for not recognising Russia’s barbarism. Too many people, Zabuzhko argued, believe that the great Russian writers, such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, expressed humanistic European values. They have not looked deeply enough into the savage Russian soul.