Obraz Polski i Polaków w dyskursie publicystycznym Fiodora Dostojewskiego .......... 123

THE IMAGE OF POLAND AND POLES IN THE JOURNALISTIC DISCOURSE OF FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY

This article highlights and examines the evolution and function of the image of Poland and Poles in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s journalism and literary works. Based on an analysis of A Writer’s Diary, The House of the Dead, The Gambler, and The Brothers Karamazov the paper reconstructs the process of ideologizing Polish characters within the artistic framework of the Russian writer’s oeuvre. In Dostoevsky’s works, Polish characters are stripped of the polyphony and psychological depth typical of his style. The writer deliberately transformed them into two-dimensional caricatures embodying pride, deceit, moral hypocrisy, and superficial ritualism. This phenomenon is linked to a broader ideological conflict: in Dostoevsky’s view, Poland functioned not as a sovereign state, but as a symbol of a corrupt, Catholic, Western European civilization that threatened the identity of Orthodox Russia. The degradation of the language spoken by Polish characters and their ultimate exposure in his novels served as tools to elevate Russian spirituality and demonstrate its moral superiority over the West. The results of the research indicate that Dostoevsky’s literary depiction of Poles reflects the author’s own inner anxieties, complexes, and ideological requirements within the context of nineteenth-century civilizational disputes.