Dostoevsky’s Demons in the New Orthography: What Has Changed for the Reader? (Based on Part One of the Novel)

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Author: Kseniia G. Rumiantseva
Information about the author:
Junior Research Fellow, А.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Povarskaya St., 25A, bld. 1, 121069 Moscow, Russia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1483-0692

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Funding Sources:
The research was carried out at IWL RAS with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), project no. 25-18-00009: “Characters’ Writings, Languages, and Readings in Dostoevsky’s Mature Works (1859–1881).”
For citation:
Rumiantseva, K.G. “Dostoevsky’s Demons in the New Orthography: What Has Changed for the Reader? (Based on Part One of the Novel).” Dostoevsky and World Culture. Philological journal, no. 1 (33), 2026, pp. 150–169. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2026-1-150-169
Received: 30 Oct. 2025
Approved after reviewing: 27 Jan. 2026
Published: 25 March 2026
Issue: 2026 no. 1 (33)
Department: DOSTOEVSKY'S LANGUAGE
Pages: 150–169
DOI: Visit Website
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https://elibrary.ru/VDJMTI
UDK: 821.161.1.0+82.0
BBK: 83.3(2Рос=Рус)52+83
Publication Type: Research Article
Keywords: Dostoevsky, Demons, spelling, footnotes, stress marks
Abstract: This article analyzes the changes introduced into Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel Demons following its republication under the new orthography. The study is based on a comparison between the original editions of the 1870s and the Complete Works (1972–1990). As a result of the spelling reform and editorial efforts to correct what were perceived as typographical errors in the original text, Dostoevsky’s novel reached modern readers in a modified form. Previous scholars have noted that even minor alterations—such as the addition of a comma or the replacement of capital letters with lowercase ones—can significantly affect the overall tone of a literary work. This issue therefore remains open for further investigation. The article addresses two specific questions. First, it examines footnotes providing translations of French passages. Contemporary readers no longer possess the same level of proficiency in French as members of the nineteenth-century Russian high society. Consequently, modern editions of Demons, in which French expressions occur frequently, tend to include translational footnotes. However, this practice may disrupt the reader’s concentration and immersion in the text. The second issue concerns the use of stress marks in the novel. In the original editions, stress marks were employed to prevent potential misinterpretation. Yet their function extends beyond purely grammatical clarification. Moreover, the text contains both left- and right-aligned stress marks. This article explores whether these instances should be regarded as typographical errors or as deliberate authorial strategies intended to emphasize particular words or phrases.

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Dostoevsky’s Demons in the New Orthography: What Has Changed for the Reader? (Based on Part One of the Novel)

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