---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Non-Russian readers do not realize two…"
description: "\"Non-Russian readers do not realize two things: that not all Russians love Dostoievsky as much as Americans do, and that most of those Russians who do, ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-t_2225857.jpg"
---

#  Non-Russian readers do not realize two things: that not…

![“Non-Russian readers do not realize two things: that not all Russians love Dostoievsky as much as Americans do, and that most of those Russians who do, venerate him as a mystic and not as an artist.” quote by Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-t_2225857.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-t_2225857.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-t_2225857.jpg)

> “Non-Russian readers do not realize two things: that not all Russians love Dostoievsky as much as Americans do, and that most of those Russians who do, venerate him as a mystic and not as an artist.”

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Russian readers often view Dostoevsky as a mystic rather than an artist, unlike many Americans.

**In simple terms:** Russians see Dostoevsky mystically, Americans artistically.

Key Takeaway

Recognize cultural lenses in literary appreciation.

Themes

culture literature perception

Mood

analytical curious

Type

critical interpretive

When to use this quote

- book clubs
- academic courses
- translation work

Key Concepts

aesthetic theory cultural studies

Questions to Reflect On

- How does cultural background shape literary taste?
- What aspects of Dostoevsky feel mystic?

A Different Perspective

May generalize diverse reader experiences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Mystic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystic/) [Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russia/)

## Related quotes

> [What might save us, me and you, is if the Russians love their children too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/what-might-save-us-me-and-you-is-if-the-russians-love-their-children/)

[Sting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting/)

> [“Russians love a good plot--camarillas, Masons, whatever--where in fact there is usually just plain sloppiness. Someone mistrusted someone else; someone failed to warn someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-radzinsky/russians-love-a-good-plot-camarillas-masons-whatever-where-in-fact/)

Edvard Radzinsky

> [The Russians love Brooke Shields because her eyebrows remind them of Leonid Brezhnev.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/the-russians-love-brooke-shields-because-her-eyebrows-remind-them-of/)

[Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/)

> [“There is no monopoly of common sense On either side of the political fence We share the same biology Regardless of ideology Believe me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/there-is-no-monopoly-of-common-sense-on-either-side-of-the-political/)

[Sting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting/)

> [I can see why the Russians love Robert Burns, I think that Russians and Koreans have a very similar outlook to Scots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-can-see-why-the-russians-love-robert-burns-i-think-that-russians/)

[Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/)

> [Faith is the commitment of one's consciousness to beliefs for which one has no sensory evidence or rational proof. When man rejects reason as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/faith-is-the-commitment-of-one-s-consciousness-to-beliefs-for-which/)

[Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/)

> [The perfect mystic is not an ecstatic devotee lost in contemplation of Oneness, nor a saintly recluse shunning all commerce with mankind, but "the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-sa-id-abul-khayr/the-perfect-mystic-is-not-an-ecstatic-devotee-lost-in-contemplation/)

Abu-Sa'id Abul-Khayr

> [and while faith based on theological reasoning is today universally engaged in a bitter struggle with doubt and resistance from the prevailing brand of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/and-while-faith-based-on-theological-reasoning-is-today-universally/)

[Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/)

> [“Only God - only Love gets to define us. Anything else is a mere shadow at best and an outright lie at worst.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-toon/only-god-only-love-gets-to-define-us-anything-else-is-a-mere-shadow/)

[Catherine Toon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-toon/)

> [Anywhere everywhere! Anything anyhow! just dance!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/anywhere-everywhere-anything-anyhow-just-dance/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [A Sufi mystic who had always remained happy was asked… For seventy years people had watched him, he had never been found sad. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/a-sufi-mystic-who-had-always-remained-happy-was-asked-for-seventy/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/)

[Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/)

> [It is because I perceive the danger in the practice of mystic wonders, that I loath, abhor, and am ashamed thereof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/it-is-because-i-perceive-the-danger-in-the-practice-of-mystic-wonders/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

## More by Vladimir Nabokov

> [And the rest is rust and stardust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-the-rest-is-rust-and-stardust/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [There is no science without fancy and no art without fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-is-no-science-without-fancy-and-no-art-without-fact/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“My solemn exasperation was to her the silence of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/my-solemn-exasperation-was-to-her-the-silence-of-love/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [ “...under no circumstances would he \[Humbert Humbert\] have interfered with the innocence of a child, if there was the least risk of a row.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/under-no-circumstances-would-he-humbert-humbert-have-interfered-with/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“Ami azt illeti, Vannak kezdtek nagyon tetszeni a fák is, a csodák is meg az Adák is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/ami-azt-illeti-vannak-kezdtek-nagyon-tetszeni-a-f-k-is-a-csod-k-is/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [We live not only in a world of thoughts, but also in a world of things. Words without experience are meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-live-not-only-in-a-world-of-thoughts-but-also-in-a-world-of-things/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“As palavras sem a experiência não teriam qualquer significado.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/as-palavras-sem-a-experi-ncia-n-o-teriam-qualquer-significado/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“It isn’t possible. I cannot imagine it. Come on over here, you foolish little doe, and tell me on what day I shall die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/it-isn-t-possible-i-cannot-imagine-it-come-on-over-here-you-foolish/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“Precautions to be taken in the case Of freak reincarnation: what to do On suddenly discovering that you Are now a young and vulnerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/precautions-to-be-taken-in-the-case-of-freak-reincarnation-what-to-do/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [And this is the only immortality you and i may share, my Lolita.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-this-is-the-only-immortality-you-and-i-may-share-my-lolita/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“Be true to your Dick.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/be-true-to-your-dick/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“It is indeed a tricky name. It is often misspelt, because the eye tends to regard the "a" of the first syllable as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/it-is-indeed-a-tricky-name-it-is-often-misspelt-because-the-eye-tends/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“(T)here exist friendships which develop their own inner duration, their own eons of transparent time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/t-here-exist-friendships-which-develop-their-own-inner-duration-their/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“She was all rose and honey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/she-was-all-rose-and-honey/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

[Explore all 883 Vladimir Nabokov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

## More Art quotes

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

Taf Teh

> [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/)

[Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/)

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

[Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Non-Russian readers do not realize two things: that not all Russians love Dostoievsky as much as Americans do, and that most of those Russians who do, venerate him as a mystic and not as an artist.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Vladimir Nabokov"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-things-that-not-all-russians/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-things-that-not-all-russians/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-t_2225857.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-t_2225857.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/vladimir-nabokov-198_art_non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-t_2225857.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Non-Russian readers do not realize two things: that not all Russians love Dostoievsky as much as Americans…” — Vladimir Nabokov",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Vladimir Nabokov",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Non-Russian readers do not realize two...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-things-that-not-all-russians/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/non-russian-readers-do-not-realize-two-things-that-not-all-russians/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
