The second edition of the Diary of a Writer (1876-1877) marked a crucial point in Dostoevskii's
literary career. In spite of critics' attacks many ordinary readers were overwhelmed by
Dostoevskii's charisma and began writing to him from different parts of Russia expressing
their views of the moral social and political issues dealt with in the Diary . Such success
was guaranteed also by the original rhetorical style of the Diary of a Writer which aimed to
involve readers and persuade them to share Dostoevskii's beliefs. By concentrating on new
material consisting of correspondence between Dostoevskii and his readers and applying a new
methodology reader-response criticism and genre studies the author investigates how
Dostoevskii's rhetoric in the Diary of a Writer affected the Russian reading public
transformed Dostoevskii's image in Russian society and reawakened national identity.
