What would Raskolnikov and Bazarov talk about if they time traveled to the 21st century?

[Raskolnikov and Bazarov are sitting in a cafe under neon lights in a chaotic 21st-century metropolis. Raskolnikov is lost in thought as he sips his coffee, astonished by the speed and consumerism of the modern world. Bazarov examines the smartphone on the table, a wry smile on his face.]

Raskolnikov: [With a deep sigh] This age, Bazarov, is a swamp where a person loses his soul. Look at these people: they are all in a rush, but where? Everything is for sale—conscience, morality, even thoughts. In my time, at least the one who committed a crime would face his own sin. Now even crime has become a commodity, it is displayed on television.

Bazarov: [Putting the phone down on the table, rolling his eyes] Come on, Raskolnikov, you’ve started your melancholy moral sermons again. The problem of this age is not lack of conscience, but stupidity. People could progress with science and reason, but look: technology is in their hands, knowledge is at their fingertips, and yet they worship superstition and popular culture. Even my nihilism is an understatement. At least when I was rejecting everything, I had a goal in mind—to destroy the old and build the new. What are they building? Bigger screens?

Raskolnikov: [Banging the table] But that’s the point, Bazarov! Isn’t your nihilism the seed of the soullessness of this age? You rejected everything—morality, religion, society. Now look at what your “new man” has become: a slave who begs for likes on social media, who surrenders his existence to an algorithm. I… [pauses] I was a murderer, yes, but at least I took ownership of my suffering. These people don’t even feel their suffering, because they don’t stop to feel it.

Bazarov: [Laughing sarcastically] Suffering? Raskolnikov, your suffering is a romantic fantasy. These people don’t feel it, because feeling it is unnecessary. For them, happiness is the next dopamine hit—a notification, a purchase, a “trend.” What you call moral decline is, for me, simply a biological fact: man is a machine optimized for survival. The 21st century has clearly shown this. Religion, morality, your sacred values—they were all illusions. Science, at least, is honest.

Raskolnikov: [Nodding] Science, huh? Science cannot weigh the human soul, Bazarov. Yes, the machines of this age are wonderful, but man is still the same: weak, selfish, lost. I… [his voice trembles] When I killed that moneylender woman, I thought I was a superior man. I thought I could transcend the rules, like Nietzsche’s idea of ​​the “superman.” But then I realized that man cannot live without rules. In this age, no one knows rules—not moral, not political. Everything is a game of power: money, status, taste. Doesn’t your nihilism justify this game of power?

Bazarov: [Seriously] Nietzsche? Hah, he was a sentimental idealist like you, only he wrote better. Look, Raskolnikov, my nihilism does not glorify the game of power; it simply removes the masks. Society has always been built on power—your Tsar, my nobles, the billionaires of this era. The difference is that now everyone is aware of the game. Social media, politicians, they all openly manipulate. But this transparency is an opportunity. People can wake up, they can question the system. But no, they choose to sleep. This is not the fault of my nihilism; it is their weakness.

Raskolnikov: [Sadly] They do not question, because they have no hope. In my time, we believed in God or in the revolution. What do they believe in now? In credit cards? In influencers? What you call “awakening” is impossible, because this era has chained people to individuality. Everyone is a king in his own little world, but in reality they are prisoners. I have read Marx, Bazarov—the class struggle is still here, but no one is fighting. Because everyone is lulled by consumption.

Bazarov: [Shrugging] Marx was also a romantic. Class struggle? In this era, class is just an aesthetic. The rich become “minimalists,” the poor take “aesthetic” photographs. There is inequality, yes, but instead of rebelling against it, people dream of becoming rich one day. Capitalism has turned the most disgusting aspect of human nature—greed—into a virtue. In my time, at least this disgust was hidden. Now they are proud.

Raskolnikov: [Clenching his fist] That’s it, Bazarov! This pride, this arrogance, is the downfall of man. When I faced my guilt, I took refuge in God. But what will these people seek refuge in? In themselves? What they call “I” is a lie—the work of advertising, algorithms. Your nihilism has given birth to this lie. By rejecting everything, you have thrown man into the void.

Bazarov: [With a cold smile] Emptiness? Emptiness is freedom, Raskolnikov. But people do not want freedom. They want chains because chains are comfortable. My crime was that I showed them the truth. Your crime is that you saw that truth and still pray to God. This age is a battlefield where we both lose. But at least I chose to fight.

[Raskolnikov falls silent, his eyes distant. Bazarov picks up the phone again, but this time there is a shadow on his face. As the neon lights flash, both of them watch the chaos of the 21st century in silence.]