Fëdor Michajlovic Dostoevskij

The Profile

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian novelist and short‑story writer whose works—among them Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, and The Brothers Karamazov—pioneered psychological and existential fiction.

Wrote The Gambler in 28 days to meet a contract with publisher Stellovsky, dictating to stenographer Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina, who became his wife in 1867; The Grand Inquisitor is a chapter of The Brothers Karamazov; The Idiot was written in 1868–1869, with part composed in Florence; Major novels include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880).

Six DeBaser reviews explore Dostoevskij’s moral mazes and psychological depths across The Idiot, Crime and Punishment, Demons, Notes from Underground, The Gambler, and The Grand Inquisitor. Themes circle guilt, freedom, faith, ideology, and the pull of goodness amid ruin. The critics highlight vivid characters from Raskolnikov to Prince Myškin and the stark clash between modern calculation and reckless passion. Overall sentiment: admiring and intense.