An Analysis of Russian National Character from Russian Literary Works

Russian literature reflects the national characteristics of Russian private capital in aesthetics, religion and heroic complex. Through numerous literary works, we can clearly feel the Russian nation's mentality in dealing with war, religion, literature and art. Understanding these three main national characteristics is of great benefit to our further understanding of Russian culture and Russian literature.

The famous writer Liang Xiaosheng once believed that the cultural quality of Russia created the character of the Russians. Many extraordinary artists have been born in the history of Russia. Their works condense human thinking on the nature and social ethics of the universe. Even in times of war, literature and art have made outstanding contributions to soothing national emotions. Whether it is the profoundness of Leo Tolstoy or the romance of Pushkin, the pathos of Tchaikovsky or the humor of Gogol , we can all truly feel the great significance of art to human beings, brought to the world in Russia Amidst the sadness and contradictions, he realizes the true nature of life.

1. The Utopian Spirit in Art Aesthetics

People who have been to Russia may have two completely different impressions of Russia. If it is a businessman, he may think that the development of Russia is not so fast, and the pace of life is not as compact as that of developed cities, but if an artist has been to Russia, he often You will be amazed by its long national culture and rich artistic atmosphere. Due to the relationship between geography and nature, the Russian people have enough time to cultivate their imagination. In the long and cold winter, they spend a lot of time examining their hearts and enjoying the long forest in the snow. It can be said that, Russia's geographical location and natural features have created the Russian artistic atmosphere. Although they are good at imagining and fantasizing, Russian literature is quite worldly compared with the literature of other European countries. They hope that every ordinary Russian can feel the influence of art. Chernyshevsky once published Live the classic revolutionary-democratic rhetoric: Beauty is life. Let art and life connect, let art and literature better decorate life, become part of a better life, and penetrate the essence of life. This point of view was most evident in Leo Tolstoy, who, in the final stages of his life, thought it was too euphemism to educate people with fiction and simply pointed out the direction of life.

Russians are good at making life artistic, and also good at making art live. In Russian aesthetics, we can see the characteristics of "aesthetic utopia" everywhere. Russian literature is mostly somber and heavy. The protagonist often blames himself and wanders between the two ends of emotion and morality, only to understand what is the right choice for the last time. Russian artists and writers have been working to build an "aesthetic utopia", a fictional world that is more real to them than the real world, through which they need to escape the shackles of reality. The feeling of Russian literature is "carrying a heavy burden, but giving people hope".

2. The “Messiah” Spirit of Religion

The first time that the Russian nation accepted the invasion of foreign cultures was the introduction of the Orthodox Church, which had a huge impact on the Russian nation. Earth rubs, collides, and fuses, so there are two different genes in Russian religious belief. The Orthodox Church advocated the spirit of self-sacrifice, which was in the interests of the Russian rulers at the time and created conditions for the unification of Russia. At the same time, the Mongols ruled Russia for 240 years from the 13th to the 15th centuries, and the Russian nation also has the meekness of the Orientals. Before the 18th century, the history of Russia was gray, with national divisions, religious frictions, struggles with the Mongols, social chaos, etc. Therefore, medieval Russia had almost no proud achievements in science and art.

But religion pushed the ancient Rus artists to continue to explore, although most of the art at this time served religion, with a strong religious color, and even the origin of Russian literature started from recording the daily life of the ancient Rus saints. It can be said that the influence of religion on Russians is deeply rooted. Russians are strong in character and elegant in manners, which are promoted by the Orthodox Church. Coupled with the baptism of wars over the years, it has forged the tenacious and brave character of the Russians. They love their history and the celebrities and heroes who have made outstanding contributions to the nation. Because of the past, every Russian has a sense of mission to act as a "savior" in his bones. This nation has experienced many invasions, from Peter the Great who was able to fight the Swedes for 20 years in order to open the sea to Europe, and finally the establishment of St. Peter's to Napoleon's occupation of Moscow, which ultimately failed, and then to Leningrad's 900 trapped God, the indomitable, brave and unyielding spirit displayed by the Russians in the defense of Moscow and Stalingrad has convinced the world. Gorky said, "Let the storm come more violently!" The verse reflects the "Messiah" spirit reflected in the Russians. Throughout the Russian literature, we can easily find a sense of heaviness and tragedy, and the lingering gloom and sadness of closing the book still haunts our minds. The accordion, known as the "civilian aristocrat", often interprets empty squares, silent birch forests and mysterious tree-lined paths...

"Melancholy" is almost a common feature of Russian literary giants. Whether it is Gogol's critical spirit, Herzen's yearning for socialism, or Chernyshevsky's radicalism, this kind of sacrifice and dedication to the nation can be seen everywhere. This kind of feeling is due to the doctrine of "forbearance, dedication, and suffering" advocated by Dongzhi Church. Today, this kind of "Messiah" spirit is also very obvious in Putin's strategy for governing the country. An important point in Putin's new Russian thought is to reshape the image of a great country. He uses the "Messiah" thought to arouse Russia's national cohesion of.

3. Heroism Complex

Russian literature originated from religion and was achieved in war. Almost all the great literary works in Russian history are related to war. The earliest is "Song of the Strong Man", which can also be translated as "Song of Historical Events". These epics formed by word of mouth are basically the battle deeds of heroes among the various tribes of ancient Rus. There is also the heroic epic "Igor's Expeditions," a monument to the origins of Russian literature, which describes a lost war after Igor was defeated and captured. His wife wept in the city of Kyiv. Her cry is the earliest and most tragic passage in Russian literature. This is also a feature of Russian war literature, which worships war, but often spends a lot of time writing on the tragedies of war. In the 19th century, Russian literature entered the era of Pushkin. Pushkin put himself in the role of a bystander to the war and described the war as a game, which opened a precedent for the theme of war in Russian romantic literature.

Another example of a heroic complex is duel. Almost all the nobles in Russia have been involved in the duel, even if they did not participate in the duel themselves, they also acted as the referee of the duel. Russian nobility regarded the duel as a symbol of honor and decency. "Nobles can lose their lives, but not their personal reputation." For example, Bazarov, the protagonist of Turgenev 's " Father and Son ", doesn't like duels and thinks duels are very stupid, but when Pavel challenged him to a duel, he couldn't refuse, because it was related to him. reputation and self-esteem. Pavel believes that duels are the best way to resolve conflicts, which is very logical, but Bazarov seems very passive, because the cultural system that produces the phenomenon of duels is unfamiliar to him, which makes him feel at a loss. Another masterpiece "War and Peace" also mentioned the duel plot. The villain Dolowe brazenly teases Pierre's wife publicly, taking pleasure in insulting Pierre's reputation. Although Pierre, who has left his anger, is kind and weak, and thinks that dueling is a very boring thing, in order to maintain his dignity as a man, he still wants to fight the rogue Lorraine. From these plots, we can see that the Russian nation is more perceptive, emotions can often overcome reason, and the ability of rational analysis is relatively weak. Although after the reform of Peter I, Russia received the influence of Western culture and ideas, but the consciousness in the bones is still intuitionism, and it is accustomed to be emotional when encountering things. It is precisely because of this national character that Russians are often influenced by various emotions. They are more extreme and irritable, and the heroic complex in their bones often prompts them to make irrational choices. Through the plots of many duels in literary works, the irrational characteristics of the Russian national character can be explored, which is of great benefit to our deeper understanding of Russian literature.

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