[2] Belinsky, a notedly radical critic, took Gogol's intentions a few steps farther and inferred from the novel a new recognition of a national soul, existing apart from the government and founded in the lives of the lower class.
Indeed, Belinsky used the term "Russian soul" several times in his analyses of Gogol's work, and from there the phrase grew in prominence, and eventually became more clearly defined through the writings of authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky.
"[3] Gogol and his contemporaries established literature as Russia's new weapon of choice, the tool by which it could inform itself of its greatness and urge the nation to its destined position as a world leader.
[4] The Russian soul evolved and entered into Western consciousness in the following decades, most famously through the work of Fyodor Dostoevsky.
In his novels and stories, Dostoevsky exhibited an often anti-European nationalism and frequently suggested a "people's spirit" held together by "unexpressed, unconscious ideas which are merely strongly felt".