Dostoevsky’s Sequel to The Brothers Karamazov: Tsareubiistvo Revisited

Abstract

Abstract This article explores responses to the sequel sources for Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov – in which Alesha is projected to turn atheist and socialist and attempt to assassinate the Tsar (tsareubiistvo). Highlighting the tls “debate” of 2010 involving James Rice, Diane Thompson, and Joseph Frank, it contends that more attention is due to Alesha’s “idea” in the hysterical “rapture” of his “Cana in Galilee” epiphany, a “rapture” manifested again in his Speech at the Stone. Dostoevsky’s post-Karamazov notes on revolutionary violence and assassin Vera Zasulich would seem to lend credence to the tsareubiistvo ending, while articles in Diary of a Writer (1881) suggest that popular pressure on the “Tsar-Father” for reforms might have figured in the sequel content as revolutionary critique. Focusing on Belinsky in Dostoevsky’s writing, it argues that Alesha would have pursued Dostoevsky’s “Russian” socialism, while Kolia would have been a “European” socialist. It concludes that there is a wealth of untapped material in the novel, making possible more reconstruction of the sequel.