The turbulent Russian genius
In the dimly lit, smoke-filled taverns of 19th-century St Petersburg, a brilliant and troubled mind was brewing a literary revolution. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky — the towering Russian literary giant, known for his profound and psychologically complex novels — was born on November 11, 1821, in Moscow, Russia.
Ever since his childhood, Dostoevsky was drawn to the complexities of human nature, fostering a deep empathy and understanding that would later become the hallmark of his literary masterpieces. Besides exploring the human condition, his works primarily dwelt on morality and existential themes.
Dostoevsky's childhood was marred by poverty, hardship and personal tragedy. After his father's death — which some say was a murder while others believe was due to apoplexy — his family's financial situation deteriorated, forcing them to live in cramped and squalid conditions. His mother, struggling to make ends meet, sent him and his brother to a boarding school, where they were subjected to harsh treatment and bullying. These early struggles deeply impacted his psyche, shaping his sensitive and emotional nature.
His first literary piece, Poor Folk, which is an epistolary novel highlighting the poignant story of the struggles and hopes of two impoverished individuals, Makar Devushkin and Varvara Dobroselova, was published in 1846, marking his advent into the world of literature. The very next year — in 1847 — Dostoevsky joined the Petrashevsky Circle, a group of intellectuals and radicals in St Petersburg who discussed and debated various philosophical, social and literary ideas. The circle, led by Mikhail Petrashevsky, focused on issues such as socialism, utopianism and the abolition of serfdom. Influenced by the moderate faction of intelligentsia, he was initially drawn to radical and socialist ideas, and thus advocated for a social reform. However, the group's anti-communist views and discussions eventually caught the attention of the then Tsar, Nicholas I.
On December 22, 1849, Dostoevsky was arrested along with other members of the Petrashevsky Circle and charged with treason and sedition. He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to four years of hard labour and mandatory military service in Siberia. This experience had a profound effect on him that shaped his worldview and influenced his writing for years to come.
His views underwent a massive transformation in Siberia as he became disillusioned with radical ideology and began to embrace more conservative and nationalist perspectives. During his time in jail, he suffered the first attacks of epilepsy, a condition that haunted him throughout his life and found reference in another novel, The Idiot (1869).
After returning to Russia almost 10 years later, he wrote his semi-autobiographical novel, The House of the Dead (1862), recounting his harrowing experience in the Siberian prison camp. The novel, which Leo Tolstoy considered to be “a masterpiece”, displays the horrors prisoners witnessed during their punishment — that eventually taught him the value of freedom. As he recounts: "In summer, intolerable closeness; in winter, unendurable cold. All the floors were rotten. Filth on the floors an inch thick; one could slip and fall... We were packed like herrings in a barrel...There was no room to turn around. From dusk to dawn, it was impossible not to behave like pigs...Fleas, lice and black beetles by the bushel."
As Dostoevsky's craft evolved, he went on to create two of literature's most enduring masterpieces, Crime and Punishment (1866) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880) — works that he is widely known for. The psychological profundity found in his works, including the concepts of suicide, murder, cognitive dissonance, and paranoia, set the ground for a new literary form.
As the years passed by, his ideology underwent a transition, evolving into a pro-Slavic stance. He now saw a unified Slavic unity and Russia's role as a champion to be the top two core ideas. In 1880, Dostoevsky delivered a speech on poet Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, whom he considered a prophetic genius for his ability to capture the essence of Russian identity.
Just two months after The Brothers Karamazov was published, Dostoevsky died of pulmonary haemorrhage on February 9, 1881. He was buried in the Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St Petersburg. His tombstone bears an inscription from the Gospel of John, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit", reflecting his profound Christian faith and belief in the power of suffering and redemption.
