“We Were Born Under the Same Star”: Ya. P. Polonsky and F. M. Dostoevsky

The article examines the personal and literary relations of Ya. P. Polonsky and F. M. Dostoevsky. Despite some discord in the later years, they managed to maintain friendly relations. Special attention is paid to the joint work of Ya. P. Polonsky and F. M. Dostoevsky in the journals “Vremya” (“Time,” 1861–1863) and “Epokha” (“Epoch,” 1864–1865). As an active contributor to these publications, Polonsky shared Dostoevsky’s thoughts on the fate of Russia, addressing the issue of responsibility for the spread of liberal ideas and expressing his opinion on the “Polish question.” He was interested in the type of a Russian European, which he depicted in his novel in verse “Svezhee predanie” (“New Tradition,” 1861–1862) and in his drama “Razlad” (“Disagreement,” 1864). Like Dostoevsky in his prose, Polonsky in his poetry gravitated towards paradoxes and absurd proofs, rejecting logic and rationalism. In the poem “Dvoynik” (“The Double”), he reveals the duality of the lyrical hero, who is willing to switch to being a “ghost” from being “himself.” In the poem “Belaya noch” (“White Night”), he expresses the “constrained thought” of the residents of St. Petersburg, who seek release through anger and hatred, foreshadowing the Paradoxalist in “Notes from Underground” and Raskolnikov in “Crime and Punishment.” The two writers held similar principles and were united by moral ideas, Christocentrism, spiritual symbolism, and love for their homeland.