The Fight Against The Oligarchs Of Russia

From the very first page of Crime and Punishment, there is an air of isolation. The novel opens to Raskolnikov leaving his apartment. While on his way out, he is in hopes of not meeting his landlady, who may demand payment for his long overdue rent. From here, it becomes evident early on that Raskolnikov does not truly wish to be in the company of others. He isolates himself from society. This is shown in Part II, Chapter II when Raskolnikov seeks out his friend, Razumikin. He goes to Razumikin’s apartment for no clear, apparent reason. Upon the beginning of a conversation, Razumikin points out that Raskolnikov is ill; Raskolnikov becomes angry with himself for initiating a meeting and storms out of the apartment. Solitude becomes a

The first thing to address while discussing the author’s purpose is to examine the motivation of the main character, Raskolnikov. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov becomes an ubermensch, and part of this is that he does not take into account

This highlighted not only Stalin’s fear of being subsided as leader of the USSR, but his ruthlessness in the face of opposition. Then followed the 1936 Show Trials, in which there were many arrests of party members, ex-opponents, military figures and non-party members. The first involved Zinoviev, Kamanev and their allies, who confessed under force for falsified crimes of being responsible for attempts to wreck Soviet industry and to kill Soviet leaders, and subsequently were shot after being convicted. The second followed in January 1937, in which Karl Radek, a well known Trotskyite and Pyatakov was shot, again on falsified crimes. In March 1938, Bukharin and 20 members of the old Right Deviation were tried, and found guilty of working with Trotsky and foreign governments against the USSR. All confessed and were shot, with Tomsky being so crippled by fear that he committed suicide. The Show Trials were a grotesque sham by which Stalin cast immense fear into the hearts and minds of Russia’s political clout, ensuring total control over any opposition through fear alone. Removal of any potential opposition was extended in July 1937 when Yezhov (Stalin’s head of the secret police from 1936) drew up a list of over 250,000 ‘Anti-Soviet elements’, which included intelligentsia such as artists, writers, musicians, priests and so forth. This became known as the Anti-Soviet List, ad anyone unfortunate enough to be found on it was arrested,

battle with his rationalization of the murders. He claimed that since Alyona, the first murder victim, was such a parasite to people, it was acceptable to kill her. He never mentions his other victim, Lizaveta, because she was the sweet and harmless one who’s murder he could not

Jenson, Caruso’s lawyer, wanted to call two girls from the party to testify against Guadagno. Judge Locallo said the state would then be allowed to call Deena, Caruso’s ex girlfriend, to testify. Deena’s statement would then not only implicate Guadagno in the case but it would also place Caruso, Jenson’s client, at the scene of the crime (Bogira 329). If Guadagno would have been forced to testify he would have been viewed as the third criminal and could have cleared Kwidzinski of any charges.

When Raskolnikov was a student he enjoyed the debate and human contact, but also strived for acceptance. He had a dual nature to himself, which could be characterized by his cold intelligence, which separated him from society, and his compassionate side. After Raskolnikov murdered Alyona and Lizaveta Ivanovna

Before he arrived at this decision, Gorelick considered covering up the murder to keep the fish. He said,“ "Fixable... "I'll just mop up the blood... "When I'm fishing,...I'll tie the kid to a rock and dump him in the sea. Not a chance, not in a million years, will anyone ever find him."”( lines 164-171) His stubbornness started surfacing, obstructing his sound reasoning. Goralick tried to find excuses in order not to use his last wish. For example, he said that he was saving it for something important.Goralick was ambivalent.Whilst suggesting this, he forgot how scared he was to even touch Yonatan’s blood(lines 124-127). That along with his statement, “He can't be dead”(110-113) proves that had he chosen otherwise, Goralick would have suffered from guilt. In fact, even the goldfish asserted, “"You killed him, Sergei,"... but you're not a murderer."... "If, on this, you won't waste a wish, then tell me, Sergei, what is it good for?"” Though what immediately happened after this question was skipped, one can infer that Sergei thought thoroughly during that time. He rightfully chose to save Yonatan. His actions such the uses of his first two wishes reveal his character traits.

thought long and hard about that question, because he just gets slap on the wrist then is back on

conditions he still seemed to keep faith. However, onew can slowly notice how Vladek becomes a martyr

Rubashov, though a committed Marxist, during his time in the prison seems vexed by the notion that the end justifies the means because he has himself seen that the final result is often not what is seen in the present moment but the truth that becomes apparent only in the light of retrospective thought. Rubashov realizes that it is only history that can pass judgment and thus, the shooting of B. and thirty others by No. 1 will be decided later “He who is in the wrong must pay; he who is in the right will be absolved. That is the law of historical credit;

Hanssen, carrying a package of documents, identified himself by his Soviet codename, "Ramon Garcia.” The Russian officer, who evidently did not recognize Hanssen's codename, got into his car and drove off. The Russians then filed an official protest with the State Department, believing Hanssen to be a double agent. Despite showing his face, giving away his code name, and revealing his FBI affiliation, Hanssen escaped arrest when the investigation didn't go anywhere (Wise, 2003).

The Russian state has been characterized by its strong heritage of powerful, autocratic leadership. This domination by small ruling elite has been seen throughout Russia's history and has transferred into its economic history. Throughout the Russian czarist period, to the legacy of seventy years of communism; Russia has been a country marked by strong central state planning, a strict command economy and an overall weak market infrastructure (Goldman, 2003). Self-interest, manipulation and corruption have all been present in the Russian economy, and have greatly helped the few as opposed to the many. To this day, Russia still struggles with creating a competitive and fair market.

In addition to this, in the mindset of the day, if someone was suspected of anti-Bolshevik activities, they were automatically guilty. The investigator would look for anything he could find that could possibly make the person guilty at all. Sometimes the investigator would take up a random piece of literature, say it was bad, and have the suspect shipped off, even if the “incriminating” evidence was something as benign as the children’s story Goodnight Moon. The investigator would not be the one to tell the suspect what he was even accused of; he would just take the “evidence” and people would soon kidnap the suspect and toss him in a cattle car to Siberia, which was cramped with a mass of other convicts. When the prisoners reached the Gulag, an official there would take everyone’s valuables and toss the convicts into cramped cells. The interrogation could start at any time. For some the interrogations were that day, and for others it never came and their lives were lived out in the dirty cells. When and if the interrogator got a confession out of someone, a prison sentence was read out and the convict was sent off to the actual Gulag.

He doesn’t need time to prepare a response or retort since he has no filter, not a need to maintain an image that isn’t authentic. His true arrogant, straightforward character shines through with quick responses, even in positions in which the average person would find themselves to be uncomfortable with the presence of obvious tension. To each of his responses, Raskolnikov tries to find a loose end, a plot hole to hold against him, “‘And if it weren’t for the document, you’d have skipped out?’”, but he consistently finds the way to cooly reply, “‘The document was no hinderance to me. I didn’t want to go anywhere, though Marfa Petrovna herself even suggested twice that I go’” (285).

Therefore Amoia notes that, "as the implications of the deed unfold in his conscience, Raskolnikov attempts to jusitfy his actions as a 'rational' crime" (53). Though he understands that he will be able to escape the physical punishement for the crime, he has yet to comprehend the burden that comes with such an unethical action. Even when Porfiry suggests that the criminal who murdered the pawnbroker may run away but, "psychologically he won't escape" (287), Raskolnikov becomes infuriated and accuses Porfiry of trying to scare him. However, Raskolnikov fails to understand the meaning behind Porfiry's words perhaps because he still chooses not to rely on his conscience and confess to the crime.While the superiority complex sets him apart from the society in the beginning, his piercing conscience distances him from people later on in the novel. He refuses to speak to Razumuikhin or to his family. It only before he goes to jail, that he decides to see his mother. Even when he does so, he is relieved that Dunya is not in the room. He later admits to Dunya that he doesn't, "even remember why [I] even went" to meet his mother. His conscience does not allow him to face his loved ones and eventually, he tries to isolate himself from society. While Raskolnikov tries to alienate himself from his own conscience, he is alienating himself from humanity in general.