A believer in Pan-Slavism, Dostoevsky disliked European culture for its corruption and criticized those of his countrymen who tried to imitate it.
Meanwhile, Dostoevsky thought Catholic priests used charity to manipulate the poor into conversion.
Elsewhere Dostoevsky argued that Orthodoxy was superior to both, protecting, but not forcing, unity within the church.
[2] Dostoevsky's observations about English and French national characteristics reverse those of most travelers during his era.
Dostoevsky admitted weaknesses in Winter Notes, chiefly because he traveled too quickly through some parts of Europe (notably Germany) to properly appreciate them.