Dostoevsky's prophetic words were written in the writer's diary in the autumn of 1877 – when the war for the liberation of Bulgaria by Russian troops from the Turkish yoke was in full swing:
"It will be especially pleasant for the liberated Slavs... to trumpet to the whole world that they are educated tribes capable of the highest human culture, while Russia is a barbaric country, a gloomy northern colossus, not even of pure Slavic blood, a persecutor and hater of European civilization…
They will certainly begin by ... declaring to themselves and convincing themselves that they do not owe the slightest gratitude to Russia; on the contrary, that they were saved from Russia's love of power at the conclusion of peace by the intervention of the European concert. And if Europe had not intervened, Russia would have swallowed them up immediately, “meaning the expansion of borders and the foundation of the great All-Slavic empire to enslave the Slavs to the greedy, cunning and barbaric Great Russian tribe.”
Perhaps for a whole century, or even more, they will constantly tremble for their freedom and fear the ambition of Russia for power; they will curry favor with the European states, slander Russia, gossip about her and intrigue against her."
"It will be especially pleasant for the liberated Slavs... to trumpet to the whole world that they are educated tribes capable of the highest human culture, while Russia is a barbaric country, a gloomy northern colossus, not even of pure Slavic blood, a persecutor and hater of European civilization…
They will certainly begin by ... declaring to themselves and convincing themselves that they do not owe the slightest gratitude to Russia; on the contrary, that they were saved from Russia's love of power at the conclusion of peace by the intervention of the European concert. And if Europe had not intervened, Russia would have swallowed them up immediately, “meaning the expansion of borders and the foundation of the great All-Slavic empire to enslave the Slavs to the greedy, cunning and barbaric Great Russian tribe.”
Perhaps for a whole century, or even more, they will constantly tremble for their freedom and fear the ambition of Russia for power; they will curry favor with the European states, slander Russia, gossip about her and intrigue against her."