Intelligentsia: to be or not to be? Dostoyevsky's answer

The article, based on Dostoyevsky's text is considered one of the characteristics of consciousness of the Russian intelligentsia – her doubts in their own significance. As a result, we come to the conclusion that Dostoyevsky embodied two polar opinions on intelligentsia: confidence in its significance and denial of its need. Thus, we argue that Dostoevsky expressed one of the key oppositions of the educated mind, oscillating between the messianism and alientation.