RASKOLNIKOV, STAVROGIN, VERKHOVENSKY, IVAN KARAMAZOV ? ELDER ZOSIMA: THE ATHEISTIC IDEA IN THE LIGHT OF THE CHRISTIAN CONSCIOUSNESS

The article is a study of a set of personological features of atheist characters in Dostoevsky which reveals their status as overcome by evil. Detailed symptoms appear together as a single complex, typical for all atheist characters ? anger, resentment, hatred, contempt, revulsion, and finally, a desire to kill and strangle. The reason for this is found in demonology, with the climax in the meeting between the atheist hero and the primary source of his idea, the devil. The situation is presents from the point of view of Christian consciousness as embodied in Elder Zosima. Through his view, Dostoevsky provides answers to all Ivan's seemingly insoluble questions and provocative challenges. Within the novel's internal structure we can trace a strict hierarchical interconnection of various viewpoints. They do not arise as equal, but are subordinated to one which acts as an outcome of all questioning. Such is the meaning of the apposition of characters ? atheists and the Christian protagonist ? in Dostoevsky's creative world.