character development

[kalixta]

I am new to Russian authors... I read Anna Karinina last summer and I'm reading The Idiot presently.  (I'm a student, sop I can only read what I want in the summer.)  The funny thing is that I am historically a short-book reader.  I think the way Tolstoy and Dostoevsky break up the chapters makes them less intimidating.  
     Something I've noticed about both these books so far is the amazing and immediate character development.  Rather than telling the reader about the characters strengths or shortcomings, we witness the behaviors to discover the character for ourselves.  The dialogue is so realistic; it is as if we are with the people, learning about them in person.  This seems very different from even an amazing American book.  It seems more often we are told about the character, and also that characters are more clearly good or bad.  
    So my question is: is this typical of Russian authors, and is there a cultural reason for the difference in detail in dialogue and character between these books and most other great books?
     Anyone?