ABSTRACT
In his brief discussion comparing Putin and Dostoyevsky, Austin Ratner notes that because Dostoyevsky was able to tolerate self-knowledge, his own imperfection, and personal vulnerability, he possessed the means to mediate his darkest impulses without having to act on them. Putin, in contrast, is seen to be incapable of tolerating fallibility, shame, guilt, or humiliation, turning instead to acts of vindictiveness and destructiveness to placate the injuries that life presented him. Ratner's portraits of each of the two men are quite compelling.
