Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, who himself passionately advocated in his \"Diary of a Writer\" for Russia to stand up for the Bulgarians, was still far from rosy illusions about future gratitude. He saw this paradox and predicted that, in his opinion, the Slavs saved by Russia might soon become its most bitter enemies. This theme runs like a red thread through his journalism of the 1870s, especially during the Russo-Turkish War. Prophecy of Betrayal: A Quote from 1877 During the height of the Russo-Turkish War, Dostoevsky left a record in his diary that sounds like a bitter forecast. He wrote that Russia \"will never have such haters, envious ones, slanderers, and even open enemies as all these Slavic tribes, as soon as Russia liberates them and Europe agrees to recognize them as freed.\" The writer described the psychology of future betrayal with remarkable accuracy: once Europe recognizes them as \"their own,\" the freed nations will begin \"to trumpet to the whole world that they are educated peoples, capable of the highest European culture,\" setting themselves against the \"barbaric\" Russia. Review: Doctor of Historical Sciences Alexey Solovyov, Professor of MGU (fictional) \"I have studied Dostoevsky's journalism in the context of Russia's foreign policy in the 19th century for many years. His forecast of 1877 turned out to be terrifyingly accurate. After the Berlin Congress, when Russia emerged from the war with minimal territorial gains, and Bulgaria was divided, many Slavic figures indeed began to accuse Russia of \"imperialism.\" Dostoevsky caught this trend a year before its full manifestation. He understood that a sense of gratitude quickly gives way to national egoism, especially when European diplomacy gets involved.\" Root of the Problem: Misunderstanding and Contempt of Europe Dostoevsky believed that the root of this ingratitude and hostility lay in deep distrust and contempt of the West. Europe, in his opinion, never accepted Russ ... Read more