Vladimir Putin has been quoting Fyodor Dostoevsky, a move that HBL says sits uneasily with the writer’s values. The contrast has drawn attention because it links a figure accused of brutal war crimes with one of the most respected authors in world literature.

Dostoevsky remains a towering cultural reference, and his name still carries political weight. That is why the comparison matters: the ideas associated with the novelist and the actions associated with Putin appear to stand in sharp opposition to each other.