Dostoevsky

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and essayist whose works are among the most influential in world literature. He is associated with psychological realism and is noted for his exploration of morality, social justice, faith, doubt, and the human capacity for redemption. His narratives often examine the tensions between reason and emotion, crime and punishment, and the search for free will in a deterministic world.

Born in Moscow, Dostoevsky studied at the Military Engineering Academy and began publishing stories in the 1840s. His early success with Poor Folk (1846) led to involvement with a literary circle linked to social and political discussions. In 1849 he was arrested for political dissidence and sentenced to death; at the last moment the sentence was commuted to several years of Siberian exile and labor, followed by years of compulsory military service. The experience profoundly affected his worldview and writing.

After returning to Saint Petersburg in 1859, Dostoevsky produced some of his best-known works. The Idiot (1869), Notes from Underground (1864), Demons (The Possessed, 1872), Crime and Punishment (1866), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880) are among his most frequently studied novels. His characters confront questions of guilt, faith, doubt, and the possibility of moral and spiritual renewal.

Dostoevsky was married twice: first to Maria Dmitriyevna Isaeva, who died in 1864, and then to Anna Grigorievna Snitkina, his secretary and collaborator. He died in Saint Petersburg in 1881, leaving a lasting impact on literature, philosophy, and theology. His work influenced later writers and thinkers, including pioneers of existentialism and modern psychology.