Fyodor Dostoevsky

Crime and Punishment

Raskolnikov murders to prove he belongs among the 'extraordinary men' and shatters on guilt and conscience.

💡 Did you know? „Crime and Punishment“, about a student who murders out of hubris and breaks on his conscience, is among the greatest novels in world literature.

The Brothers Karamazov

With the famous legend of the Grand Inquisitor: Freud bowed before the work.

💡 Did you know? „The Brothers Karamazov“, with its famous „Grand Inquisitor“ chapter, was Dostoevsky's last and deepest work.

the pardon

Condemned for a socialist reading circle: the nearness of death became the bedrock of his work.

💡 Did you know? In 1849 Dostoevsky already stood before the firing squad when, at the last moment, the Tsar's pardon was read out: a staged mock-execution.

hard labour in Siberia

In chains among murderers: worked into 'Notes from a Dead House'.

💡 Did you know? Instead of execution, Dostoevsky spent four years in a Siberian prison camp: the experience shaped his whole thinking on suffering and redemption.

gambling

'The Gambler' was written in 26 days to pay off debts: the stenographer Anna became his wife and saviour.

💡 Did you know? His gambling addiction ruined Dostoevsky again and again: he dictated the novel „The Gambler“ in just 26 days to pay off a debt.

Myshkin

The 'perfectly beautiful man' founders on the world: the novel contains a pardoned man's account of the seconds before execution.

💡 Did you know? The kind-hearted, epileptic Prince Myshkin in „The Idiot“ is Dostoevsky's attempt to depict a „perfectly good man“ in a corrupt world.

epilepsy

He gave the seizures to characters like Prince Myshkin, including the 'ecstatic aura' before them.

💡 Did you know? Dostoevsky suffered from epilepsy all his life: the aura before his seizures, a moment of supreme clarity, he described in his novels.

psychological novel

Nietzsche called him the 'only psychologist' from whom he had anything to learn.

💡 Did you know? As a master of the „psychological novel“, Dostoevsky illuminated the darkest depths of the human soul: a forerunner of modern psychology.

Demons

Based on a real murder in revolutionary circles: read as prophetic of the 20th century.

💡 Did you know? „Demons“ dissects the destructive power of political fanaticism: prophetic of the revolutions of the 20th century.

Anna

Hired for 'The Gambler' at record speed: she later sorted debts, publishing and his estate.

💡 Did you know? His young stenographer Anna became his second wife, put his finances in order and rescued him from a spiral of debt.

Moscow

He died in St Petersburg in 1881: tens of thousands followed the coffin.

💡 Did you know? Dostoevsky grew up on the grounds of a Moscow hospital for the poor, where his father worked as a doctor: he saw misery and suffering early.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky was a Russian writer whose psychological novels, like „Crime and Punishment“, explore the depths of the soul.

💡 Did you know? In 1849 he already stood before the firing squad when, at the last moment, his pardon was read out.