Dostoevsky on the Russian Nobility

“… I’ll explain it by comparison, or, so to speak, by likeness. If I were a Russian novelist and had talent, I would certainly take my heroes from Russian noble families, because only in that one type of cultured Russian people is it possible to see even the appearance of a beautiful order and a beautiful impression—so necessary in a novel for an elegant impact on the reader. When I say this, I’m not really joking, even though I myself am absolutely not a nobleman—which, of course, you already know…”