The article is devoted to the values and ideas of F. M. Dostoevsky, which the writer conveys in a dispute with L. N. Tolstoy in the «A Writer's Diary» for July–August 1877. Dostoevsky analyzes the significance of Russia for the countries of Europe, the mission of Russian literature and the special character of the Russian people. All these aspects for the writer are connected with the spiritual and moral sphere, which will allow Russia to unite the Slavic countries and give Europe the key to solving many issues.