Fyodor Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky was born in 1821 in Moscow and introduced to myths and stories at a young age. His first novella, Poor Folk (1846) earned him brief success in St Petersburg’s literary circles, but his subsequent involvement in a group that discussed books banned in Tsarist Russia led to him being sent to Siberian prison camp in 1848, followed by a compulsory military service in exile. His 1862 novel The House of the Dead is based on his experience in captivity. In the 1860s, Dostoevsky spent time in Europe, writing Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and Demons. His final novel The Brothers Karamazov (1880) is often considered to be his ultimate masterpiece. He died of a haemorrhage in 1881, aged 59.

Famous for his polyphonously narratives, expressing a multitude of voices and points of view, Dostoevsky explored philosophical, religious and socio-political questions in his work throughout his career. In addition to his novels, he published multiple short stories, two essay collections and a large volume of journalism, as well as translating Honoré de Balzac, George Sand and Friedrich Schiller into Russian.