Facts from Dostoevsky’s biography added vitality to the writer, while helping his works become classics of world literature. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, despite any difficulties, never abandoned literature. He lived it. And he was able to become a brilliant writer of his time, who is still honored and remembered.
1. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was not in the family only child. He had a writer brother who created his own magazine.
2. Dostoevsky’s first works were published in his brother’s magazine.
3. The last 10 years of Dostoevsky’s life were the most fruitful.
4.The peak of this writer’s fame came only after his death.
5. The writer’s mother died of tuberculosis when he was 16 years old.
6. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky’s father was killed by serfs.
7. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was a sexually obsessed person.
8.The writer regularly visited prostitutes, which prevented him from creating a normal family.
9. The writer married for the first time only at the age of 36; the marriage lasted only 7 years.
10. The second wife of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was the stenographer Anna, who was 25 years younger than him.
11. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky wrote the work “The Gambler” in just 26 days.
12. Dostoevsky was quite a gambling person. He could have lost his last pair of pants at roulette.
13. Nietzsche considered Dostoevsky the most the best psychologist, and therefore he always said that he had something to learn from him.
14. Dostoevsky’s first novel was “Poor People.”
15. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky lived in Europe for 4 years, thus hiding from creditors.
16. While working, Dostoevsky always had a glass of strong tea nearby.
17. Dostoevsky’s books were translated into many languages.
18.Immediately after the wedding with Anna Snitkina, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky instructed her to manage all his financial affairs.
19. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was a jealous person. Every little thing could serve as a reason for his jealousy.
20. For his second wife Anna, the writer developed a number of rules that she had to adhere to. Here are a few of them: do not paint your lips, do not line your eyes, do not smile at men.
21.On my father’s side the writer was noble family, but he himself knew nothing about his pedigree before his death.
22.Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky’s favorite writer was Pushkin.
23. Dostoevsky had no children from his first marriage, but 4 children from his second.
24. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky spent 4 years of his life in hard labor.
25. Most often, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky wrote works at night.
26. In Dostoevsky’s kitchen the samovar was always hot.
27. Dostoevsky liked the works of Balzac, and therefore he tried to translate the novel “Eugenia Grande” into Russian.
28. Until the end of her life, Dostoevsky’s second wife remained faithful to him.
29. Dostoevsky was born into a family with 8 children.
30. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky wrote the image of the hero of the novel “The Idiot” from himself.
31. Dostoevsky was the second child in the family.
32.All my life great writer suffered from epilepsy, and therefore cannot be called a completely healthy person.
33. The death of his brother was a blow for Dostoevsky.
34. Dostoevsky was a deeply religious man, and therefore he and his wife got married in church.
35. Dostoevsky’s second wife helped him quit gambling.
36.Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was buried in St. Petersburg.
37. Many films have been made about this writer.
38. Dostoevsky’s first works, namely plays for theaters, were lost.
39. In 1862, Dostoevsky visited abroad for the first time.
40. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky visited Italy, Austria, England, Switzerland, Germany and France during his life.
41.When a street beauty refused Dostoevsky, he simply fainted.
42. His second wife took violence and pain during sexual relations with Dostoevsky for granted.
43. Dostoevsky had to graduate from the Engineering Academy.
44. He did not work for long in his acquired profession.
45. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky had a tense relationship with Turgenev.
46. For the first time, Dostoevsky became a dad at a very mature age. At the time of the birth of his first child, he was already 46 years old.
47. Dostoevsky’s daughter Sonya died a few months after birth.
48.Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky often accused his beloved women of cheating.
49. Dostoevsky considered himself ugly.
50. Every prostitute who once provided services to Dostoevsky, the next time refused to communicate with him.
51. Dostoevsky became Apollinaria Suslova’s first man.
52. Dostoevsky’s passion did not fade even at the age of 60.
53. The court sentenced Dostoevsky to death.
54. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky fell seriously in love for the first time in Semipalatinsk.
55. The wedding with Dostoevsky’s second wife took place in the Izmailovsky Trinity Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
56. Dostoevsky’s second daughter, named Lyuba, appeared in Dresden.
57.B last way About 30,000 people saw off the writer.
58.After Dostoevsky’s death, his wife served in his name and never remarried.
59. Dostoevsky was especially keenly impressed by beautiful women’s legs.
60. The sexuality of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was of a sadomasochistic nature.
With a death sentence and hard labor, whirlwind romances and a game of roulette, burned manuscripts and “The Gambler”, written in 26 days... We recall interesting facts from the life of Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Family of Dostoevsky coat of arms Radwan
On his father's side, the writer came from the Dostoevsky noble family of the Radvan coat of arms, which dates back to 1506. The ancestor of the family was considered to be the boyar Daniil Irtishch. He acquired the village of Dostoevo in Belarusian Polesie, and the writer’s surname came from its name. Fyodor Dostoevsky did not know such details about his ancestors: the writer’s wife, Anna Dostoevskaya, began studying the family tree only after his death.
Lost manuscripts
The first works of Fyodor Dostoevsky - theater plays- not preserved. In the early 1840s, while studying at the Engineering School of St. Petersburg, the aspiring writer worked on three dramas - “Mary Stuart”, “Boris Godunov” and “The Jew Yankel”. He read excerpts from the works to his brother Mikhail. Today the manuscripts are considered lost.
New Gogol
Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote his first novel, “Poor People,” in 1845. The writer Dmitry Grigorovich, who lived in the same apartment with Dostoevsky, gave the manuscript to Nikolai Nekrasov. He read the work in one night and the next day took the manuscript to Vissarion Belinsky, saying about the author: « New Gogol appeared! " Later, Nekrasov published the novel in his new almanac “Petersburg Collection”.
"Death penalty by shooting"
This was the verdict that the Military Judicial Commission passed on Dostoevsky in the “Petrashevsky case.” The writer joined Petrashevsky's circle in the late 1840s. Many topical issues were discussed here - the abolition of serfdom, freedom of the press, reforms. Fyodor Dostoevsky was arrested for publicly reading Belinsky's forbidden letter. The fact that the execution would be staged and the prisoners would be sent to hard labor was announced to the convicts at the very last moment. Fyodor Dostoevsky later described the feelings of a man sentenced to death in his novel The Idiot.
The Secret Gospel
Dostoevsky was heading to the Omsk prison via Tobolsk. Here he met with the wives of the exiled Decembrists Josephine Muravyova, Praskovya Annenkova and Natalya Fonvizina. They gave the Petrashevites the Gospel - the only book that was allowed in the prison. Dostoevsky did not part with her all his life. Today the book is kept in the writer’s museum-apartment in Moscow.
“I will only say that participation and lively sympathy rewarded us with almost complete happiness. The exiles of the old days (that is, not they, but their wives) took care of us as if they were relatives. What wonderful souls, tested by 25 years of grief and selflessness. We saw them briefly, because we were kept strictly. But they sent us food, clothing, comforted and encouraged us.”
Fedor Dostoevsky
"A new era is before us..."
In exile, Dostoevsky learned about the death of Emperor Nicholas I and wrote a poem dedicated to his widow, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, “On European events in 1854,” as well as poems for the coronation of Alexander II - “On the first of July 1855,” “On the coronation and the conclusion of peace." On the day of the coronation of Alexander II in 1856, a pardon was announced to the Petrashevites, but Dostoevsky’s “loyal” poems were not published during his lifetime.
A new era is before us.
Sweet dawn of hope
Rising brightly before the eyes...
God bless the king!Fyodor Dostoevsky, excerpt from the poem “For the Coronation and the Conclusion of Peace”
"Time" and "Epoch"
Fyodor Dostoevsky and his older brother Mikhail (also a writer) published the literary and political magazine “Time”, and after its closure, they published the magazine “Epoch”. The works “Humiliated and Insulted”, “Notes from House of the Dead", "Bad joke", "Winter notes about summer impressions" and "Notes from the Underground."
Passion according to Dostoevsky
In 1862, the writer went abroad for the first time. He visited Germany, France, England, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. In Europe, the writer first became interested in playing roulette, and later met Apollinaria Suslova, the wife of Vasily Rozanov. A short, but whirlwind romance. Fyodor Dostoevsky described his love experiences in the novel “The Gambler,” and Apollinaria Suslova became the prototype of Nastasya Filippovna in “The Idiot.”
A novel in 26 days
Fyodor Dostoevsky signed a contract to publish the novel due to debts. Under the terms of this agreement, he was required to submit new novel by November 1, 1866. If the contract was violated, the publisher received the right to publish all the writer’s works free of charge for 9 years.
Dostoevsky was enthusiastically writing Crime and Punishment when he remembered his obligations. The writer hired a professional stenographer Anna Snitkina. Using his experience from a trip abroad, from October 4 to October 29, he dictated to her the text of a new novel, “The Player.” The work was delivered on time, and a week after that Dostoevsky proposed to Anna Snitkina, who was 25 years younger than the writer.
Set on fire
Fyodor Dostoevsky was related to Nikolai Gogol not only literary devices and social stories. Just like his predecessor, Dostoevsky sometimes burned his manuscripts. In 1871, returning to Russia from abroad, the writer burned draft versions of “The Idiot,” “The Eternal Husband,” and “Demons.” However, his wife insisted that the writer keep some of the drafts and excerpts of the works.
Dostoevsky burned “Crime and Punishment”: the writer wrote and redrew it more than once. Dostoevsky wrote to his friend Baron Wrangel: “At the end of November there was a lot written and ready; I burned everything; Now we can admit it... New form, new plan I got carried away and started again".
Dostoevsky is one of the most famous writers not only in Russia, but throughout the world. His works are popular, they are republished and translated, plays and films are based on them, but at the same time his biography remains full of unknown but interesting facts. 
Influence on world figures
Thinkers greatly appreciated Dostoevsky's work. Nietzsche considered Fyodor Mikhailovich a psychologist from whom he could learn. Einstein admitted that our thinker told him more than any scientist. Freud also appreciated his work, who put him on a par with Shakespeare himself. Lenin constantly criticized the work of the great writer for obvious reasons. In the sensational novel, it is the revolutionaries who are presented by the writer as “demons” who lead the people astray. Many laureates, e.g. Nobel Prize in literature they still call Dostoevsky one of their teachers.
The second wife is twenty-five years younger!
Dostoevsky himself was influenced by his nineteen year old wife. Initially, as a stenographer, she helped the writer create a novel. After the wedding, the young wife Anna was with the writer before his last minutes. By the way, the first wife died of tuberculosis, as did Fyodor Mikhailovich’s mother.
A novel in twenty-one days...
Why such a rush in writing novels? Such volume, such philosophical topics many are only able to “master” it in a few years... Dostoevsky wrote on credit! After his first novel, which was enthusiastically received by the public, publishers paid the writer for his texts in advance, but they only set short deadlines. So I had to create “bingely”, seek help from the stenographer Anna and not always check my works.
Has the “player” character been written off?
That’s right, Fyodor Mikhailovich was fond of gambling, especially roulette. He practically could not live without this passion. Naturally, he didn’t always win. That is why the feelings of the protagonist of his novel “The Player” are familiar to him firsthand. Just like this novel was created in record time.
Desperate tea lover
Dostoevsky treated many things with passion, even fanaticism. Even an ordinary tea drink here is no exception. The writer claimed that he would prefer a glass of tea to the whole world. When the novelist was writing, there was always a mug of tea on his table, and a hot samovar was waiting in another room.
St. Petersburg singer
Fyodor Mikhailovich treated the northern capital with the same fanaticism, praising it again and again in his work. This attitude was most like an obsession, because the writer testified that this city “crushes” a person, and the bad climate, and social discord, poverty, and dirt. However, Dostoevsky saw the splendor of the city, the beauty of its nature, and the monumentality of its architecture... Saint Petersburg, according to many critics, appears in novels not just as a background, but as another hero. Moscow did not have the same influence on the writer, although he was born there and studied in a boarding house. Young Dostoevsky arrived in St. Petersburg, enrolling in an engineering school.
Creative brothers
It’s interesting that Fyodor studied there together with his older brother Mikhail. Both of them felt that they had a humanitarian talent and a talent for writing, but their father did not believe in seriousness “ creative career" He insisted that his sons get a “normal” engineering profession. But according to the recollections of both, they dreamed of writing, and also devoted their time to reading classical works– Russian and foreign literature. 
Fedor even took up the task of translating and publishing works French writer Balzac. The Dostoevsky brothers are organizing a literary circle at the school!
Subsequently, Mikhail Fedorovich Dostoevsky, like his younger brother, devoted himself to literature, but in a slightly different way. He published his own magazine. Fyodor’s first works were even published there.
The image of the head of the clan
It was Dostoevsky’s father, Fyodor Andreevich, who greatly influenced the character and worldview of the future writer. Their family was quite large - eight children, although not poor. His father, a doctor by profession, came from ancient family nobles who converted to Russian citizenship. Dostoevsky's grandfather was the archpriest of an entire city. It is interesting that Dostoevsky never learned about the beginning of his family from the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Their family tree his wife took over after his death. Returning to the image of the father, we need to add sad fact- he was killed by serfs.
Father Tsar?
Many who have read the novel “The Idiot” should know that Dostoevskaya also drew the image of the hero from herself. There is a well-known moment before the execution when Fyodor Mikhailovich’s entire short life flashed before his eyes. But few people know that at the last moment Tsar Nicholas I replaced the execution with a long exile, thanks to the monarch’s positive assessment of the work of the young freethinker. 
The Divine Role of the Gospel
In exile, namely Fonvizin’s wife, gave the young man this sacred book. Due to censorship, Dostoevsky was no longer allowed to read or write anything. They didn't even give me a pencil! And for two years he re-read only this book, making thousands of notes in the margins with his fingernail.
Moreover, he did not part with this Book until the very end.
It is interesting that after this “second chance” Dostoevsky reconsidered his life. As if he had not one, but two... Perhaps this explains the combination of love and hatred, energy and apathy, visits to gambling and even brothels and knowledge of the Holy Gospel by heart.
The very image of Dostoevsky is a complete contradiction, and his books also do not have an unambiguous interpretation.
Interesting Facts from the life of Fyodor Mikhailovich:
- Raskolnikov's cache is taken from life.
Dostoevsky often used in his works real events, which I could observe simply walking down the street in St. Petersburg. Thus, the situation that is described in the novel “Crime and Punishment”, where Raskolnikov hides things in the yard that he stole from an old woman, Dostoevsky observed in one of the courtyards of St. Petersburg. As the author later admitted, he simply went there to relieve himself. - Dostoevsky fainted near the ladies.
As is known from some sources, the writer was very impressionable and, when rejected by another young lady, could easily faint. However, if the young ladies agreed, Fyodor Mikhailovich’s reaction was the same. - Fyodor Mikhailovich visited prostitutes.
To say that Dostoevsky had a masculine core and sexual charisma is to say nothing. Turgenev himself called him “the Russian Marquis de Sade.” Sometimes the writer resorted to the services of prostitutes to calm down the ardent heat of his body. After the next “act of love”, many of them said that they would not return there again. - The writer got into debt.
In 1867, when the writer met the young stenographer Anna, he was on the edge of the abyss. The writer owed a tidy sum of money after losing it at Roulette. Then, thanks to Anechka, the novel “The Gambler” was completed within 26 days, and with the money received, Dostoevsky was able to pay off his debts. - There was a big age difference with my wife.
Fyodor Mikhailovich truly transformed when he married stenographer Anna Snitkina. Despite the fact that there was a big age difference between them (the young wife was 20, the writer was 45), nothing prevented them from loving each other for the rest of their lives. - Anna Snitkina obeyed all his fantasies.
After her marriage, Anna became Dostoevsky’s personal angel, assistant and, in a way, a slave. The writer had the opportunity to experience all his frank fantasies on his wife. Anna, a young, inexperienced girl in love, accepted all perversions and violence as a normal phenomenon. Her words to her husband spoke of devotion and unearthly love"I'm ready to spend the rest of my life kneeling before him." - Anna was an excellent manager.
After the wedding, Anna Dostoevskaya took charge of the family's financial affairs. She pacified all the creditors to whom Fyodor’s brother Mikhail owed money, and also dealt with the publishing houses of her husband’s books, which offered a meager price for the writer’s works. So, for one of the most popular novels, “Demons,” Fyodor Mikhailovich was offered 500 rubles with payment over several years. Most likely, this would have been the case if Anna had not taken up the matter. She ensured that her husband was paid 4,000 rubles in net income right away. Thus, Anna Snitkina became one of the most successful managers of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. - The writer's jealousy was manic.
It is known that the writer was very jealous and after his wedding with Anna, he gave her a certain “list” of what she should not do. So, these responsibilities included: not wearing tight dresses, not wearing bright lipstick, not smiling at other men and not wearing eyeliner. For her part, Anna unquestioningly fulfilled all her husband’s wishes. - Creativity is not without a samovar.
When Fyodor Mikhailovich created his masterpieces, there was always a mug filled with tea next to him, and a warm samovar was always standing in the kitchen. - The wife's loyalty knew no bounds.
After Dostoevsky's death, Anna remained faithful to her husband, despite the fact that she was only 35 years old. Her irresistible love for her husband is equal to the purest and most tender thing that can be in this world.
She wrote about him“The sun of my life is Fyodor Dostoevsky. Anna Dostoevskaya..."
The life of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was full of events. A special trait of his character was dedication. This was reflected in all areas of his life. Pronounced Political Views(changed several times), love stories, gambling, and most importantly - literature - this is a list of the main passions of the great writer. His high popularity during his lifetime and conditions of severe poverty, fame as a preacher of the brightest human principles and awareness of his own imperfection, unique writing talent and the need to conclude inhumane contracts with publishers - all this arouses readers’ interest in the fate of Dostoevsky.
On January 14, 1820, Mikhail Andreevich Dostoevsky and Maria Fedorovna Nechaeva got married. He was the son of a priest, she was the daughter of a merchant of the III guild. Both received a good education in their youth.
Mikhail Andreevich, Dostoevsky’s father, graduated from the Moscow department of the Medical-Surgical Academy and became a doctor, despite the fact that several previous generations chose the path of clergy. Still, the young man paid tribute family tradition, having previously studied at a theological seminary, and although he chose a different professional path Mikhail Andreevich remained a deeply church-going person throughout his life. It was he who instilled high religiosity in his children. He started out as a military medic, but in January 1821 he left the service and opened a practice at the Mariinsky Hospital for the low-income population. A young family settled here, in an outbuilding on the territory of the hospital. And on October 30 (November 11), 1821, the second child of this couple, Fedor, was born here. Dostoevsky's birth took place in a very symbolic place, where he spotted many interesting types for his works.
Childhood
Little Dostoevsky loved most of all the company of his brother Mikhail. Andrei Mikhailovich (younger brother) wrote in his memoirs about how from the very early years The older brothers were friendly. They carried this relationship through all the trials and tribulations adult life. The boys grew up and were raised side by side with each other. Their first mentor was their father. Holding them in the necessary severity, Mikhail Andreevich never used corporal punishment on children and did not hide his strong fatherly love. It was he who taught the older children the basics of Latin and medicine. Later, their education was headed by Nikolai Ivanovich Drashusov, who worked at the Catherine and Alexander schools. They studied French, mathematics and literature. In 1834, the eldest sons left home to study at the Moscow boarding school. Chermak.
In 1837, the mother of the family, Maria Feodorovna, became seriously ill and died of consumption. The death of this wonderful woman, whose love and tenderness was enough for all her offspring, was taken very hard by her relatives. Just before her death, having come to her senses, she wished to bless her children and husband. This sad but deeply touching scene was remembered by everyone who came to say goodbye to Maria Fedorovna.
Almost immediately after this, the father equipped his eldest sons for the journey. Dostoevsky's education was technical and required absence from home. They went to the St. Petersburg boarding house of Koronat Filippovich Kostomarov, where they were supposed to prepare for entrance tests at the Main Engineering School. By this time, both Mikhail and Fedor had already decided that their calling was to work in the literary field, so this prospect upset them a lot, but Mikhail Andreevich considered it the most reasonable. The young people submitted to the will of their parents.
Youth
Having entered engineering school, Dostoevsky did not give up his dreams of writing. Free time he devoted himself entirely to getting to know the Russian and foreign literature, and also made his first attempts at writing. In 1838, thanks to the interest in this field of art that was kindled among his comrades, a literary circle was created.
The year 1839 brought a new shock to the young man’s life: his father died. By official version, he was struck down by an apoplexy, but news reached his sons that he had fallen victim to the massacre of peasants who were taking revenge for “cruel treatment.” This deeply affected Fedor; he will never forget this grief mixed with shame.
Dostoevsky completed his studies in 1843 and immediately received the position of field engineer-second lieutenant. Nevertheless, the dream of devoting myself to art did not leave young man, so he did not serve more than a year. After his resignation, Fyodor Mikhailovich decided to try to arrange his debut works in print.
Dostoevsky tried to dilute student everyday life with work on plays and stories own composition, as well as translations by foreign authors. The first experiments were lost, the second were often unfinished. So his debut was “Poor People” (1845). The work was so significant in his life that we recommend that you read it. The manuscript was highly appreciated even by seasoned writers Nekrasov and Belinsky. The famous and venerable critic saw in the author a “new Gogol.” The novel was published in Nekrasov’s “Petersburg Collection” of 1846.
Further creative path The author was not understood by his contemporaries at one time. The next novel, “The Double” (1845-1846), was considered by many to be a very weak work. The type of “underground man” discovered by Dostoevsky was not immediately recognized. Belinsky was disappointed in the talent of the young writer. The newfound fame temporarily faded, and was even secretly ridiculed by some.
Arrest and hard labor
In the salon of Nikolai Apollonovich Maykov, where Dostoevsky was received very warmly, the writer met Alexei Nikolaevich Pleshcheev. It was he who brought the writer together with Mikhail Vasilyevich Petrashevsky. From January 1847, the young man began to attend meetings of the circle that had gathered around this thinker. Secret society actively thought about the future of Russia, about the possibility and necessity of carrying out a revolution. Various forbidden literature was in use here. At that time, the famous “Letter of Belinsky to Gogol” caused a special resonance in society. Reading it in this circle partly served as the reason for further sad events. In 1849, the Petrashevites became victims of the government’s repressive struggle against dissent and were imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and then, after considering their case, they were sentenced to civil (deprivation of the rank of nobility) and death (by shooting) punishment. Subsequently, it was decided to change the sentence due to mitigating circumstances. On December 22, 1849 (January 3, 1850), the convicts were taken to the Semenovsky parade ground and the verdict was read to them. Then they announced the replacement of drastic measures with compromise ones - exile and hard labor. Dostoevsky spoke about the horror and shock experienced during this procedure through the lips of his hero, Prince Myshkin, in the novel “The Idiot” (1867-1869).
On December 24, 1849, the convicts were sent from St. Petersburg. In mid-January they carried out the transfer in Tobolsk. Some Decembrists served their sentences there. Their noble and wealthy spouses were able to get a meeting with the new martyrs for freedom of belief and give them bibles with hidden money. Dostoevsky kept the book all his life in memory of his experiences.
Dostoevsky arrived in Omsk to serve hard labor on January 23, 1850. Aggressive and rough relationships between prisoners and inhumane conditions of detention were reflected in the young man’s worldview. “I count those 4 years as the time during which I was buried alive and buried in a coffin,” Fyodor frankly told his brother Andrei.
In 1854, the writer left the Omsk prison and headed to Semipalatinsk, where he settled in the military field. Here he met his future first wife, Maria Dmitrievna Isaeva. She saved Dostoevsky from unbearable loneliness. Fedor sought to return to past life and writing activities. On August 26, 1856, on the day of his coronation, Alexander II announced a pardon for the Petrashevites. But, as usual, secret police surveillance was established over each person involved in the case in order to ensure their reliability (it was removed only in 1875). In 1857, Dostoevsky returned his title of nobility and received the right to publish. He was able to obtain these and other freedoms largely thanks to the help of friends.
Maturity
Dostoevsky began his “new” life in the summer of 1859 in Tver. This city is an intermediate point before returning to St. Petersburg, where the family was able to move in December. In 1860, Fyodor Mikhailovich published a collection of his works, consisting of 2 volumes, and the “re-debut” and return to the forefront of the literary capital was “Notes from the House of the Dead” (1861), published in 1861-1862 in the magazine “Time”, belonged to Dostoevsky's brother. The description of the life and soul of hard labor caused a wide resonance among readers.
In 1861, Fedor began helping Mikhail in the publishing craft. The literary and critical departments were under his leadership. The magazine adhered to Slavophile and pochvennichesk (the term appeared later) views. They were promoted to the masses and developed by the most zealous employees Apollo Grigoriev and Nikolai Strakhov. The publication actively polemicized with Sovremennik. In 1863, Strakhov’s article “The Fatal Question” (regarding the Polish uprising) appeared on the pages of the media, causing loud criticism. The magazine was closed.
At the beginning of 1864, the Dostoevsky brothers managed to obtain permission to produce new magazine. This is how “Epoch” appeared. The first chapters of Notes from Underground appeared on its pages. Contrary to expectations, the magazine was not as popular as Vremya, and the death of Mikhail, Apollo Grigoriev and financial difficulties served as reasons for closure.
In the summer of 1862, Dostoevsky went on a trip to Europe to improve his failing health. It was not possible to fully implement his plans; in Baden-Baden, he was overcome by a painful inclination - playing roulette, which clearly did not help improve his condition. The luck that smiled on him quickly gave way to a series of constant losses, which led to a serious need for money. Dostoevsky was tormented by a passion for cards for nine years. Last time he sat down to play in Wiesbaden in the spring of 1871, and after another defeat, he was finally able to overcome his passion for gambling.
Mikhail died in July 1864. This was the second blow for the writer this year, because he also buried his beloved wife. Fedor really wanted to support his brother’s family. He took upon himself the responsibility of sorting out his debts, and became even closer to the widow and orphans, comforting them in every possible way during this difficult period.
Soon Dostoevsky met and began a relationship with Anna Snitkina, which culminated in marriage. She was a stenographer and typed the novel “The Gambler” (1866): within just one month, he came up with the entire novel, and she typed the dictated text.
The last and most significant in the writer’s work, not just works, but practically projects, were the “Diary of a Writer” and the “Great Pentateuch”. The Diary was essentially a monthly journal of philosophical and literary journalism. It was published in 1876-1877 and 1880-1881. It was distinguished by its versatility and multi-genre nature, as well as the wide variety of topics covered. “The Pentateuch” is 5 large-scale works by the author:
- "Crime and Punishment" (1866),
- "The Idiot" (1868),
- "Demons" (1871-1872),
- "Teenager" (1875),
- "The Brothers Karamazov" (1879-1880).
They are characterized by ideological-thematic and poetic-structural unity, therefore these novels are combined into a kind of cycle. The choice of title echoes the “Pentateuch of Moses” (the first five books of the Bible for Jews and Christians: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). It is known that the author was jealous of the success of Tolstoy’s epic, so he decided to write something that would surpass the count’s large-scale plan, but the strict framework of the contract and the need for money forced him to release the novels separately, and not as a single piece.
Characteristic
Contemporaries noted the inconsistency of the writer’s character; he had an extraordinary psychotype. Gentleness and kindness were mixed with hot temper and self-criticism. It is noteworthy that the first impression of a meeting with Dostoevsky almost always became disappointing: his discreet appearance ensured that all the interesting qualities and personality traits of this creator began to appear later, with the appearance of a certain degree of trusting relationship to the interlocutor. On the inconsistency of the appearance and soul of the writer Vsevolod Sergeevich Solovyov:
In front of me was a man with ugly and at first glance simple face. But this was only the first and instant impression - this face was immediately and forever imprinted in memory, it bore the imprint of an exceptional, spiritual life.
Our hero gave himself a unique description, speaking as a person “with with a tender heart, but do not know how to express their feelings.” All his life he judged himself harshly for his shortcomings and complained about his hot temper. He was best able to express his feelings on paper, namely in his works.
Dostoevsky’s friend Dr. Riesenkampf said this about the writer: “Fyodor Mikhailovich belonged to those individuals around whom everyone lives well, but who themselves are constantly in need.” Incredible kindness, as well as inability to handle money, constantly pushed the writer to unforeseen expenses as a result of the desire to help all the poor people he met, petitioners, provide best conditions servants.
Dostoevsky's gentleness and loving heart were most evident in his attitude towards children, whom he adored. Before the appearance of his own offspring in the family, all the writer’s attention was paid to his nephews. Anna Grigorievna talked about her husband’s unique ability to instantly calm the child, the ability to communicate with them, gain trust, and share interests. The birth of Sophia (the first daughter from her second marriage) had a beneficial effect on the atmosphere in the Dostoevsky family. Fyodor Mikhailovich always arrived in the best mood when he was next to the girl, and was in highest degree ready to bestow care and affection on everyone around him, which is generally difficult to attribute to his permanent state. His relationships with women were not always smooth sailing. His passions noted periodic changes in mood and frequent criticism of them.
The writer’s friends also noted his quarrelsomeness and high demands on people from his social circle. This pushed him all his life to seek relationships close to ideal, in order to create a family with his chosen one, which would become the stronghold of their harmonious existence.
Relationship
As a rule, biographers claim that there are three women of Dostoevsky: Maria Isaeva, Apollinaria Suslova and Anna Snitkina.
In Omsk, yesterday's convict met the beautiful Maria Isaeva. A feeling flared up between them, but she was married to a drunkard and weak-willed man A.I. Isaev. Their couple served as the prototype for the Marmeladovs from Crime and Punishment. In May 1855, the official got a job in Kuznetsk, where he moved with his family. He died in August of the same year. Dostoevsky immediately proposed to his beloved, but she hesitated, the reason for this was the disastrous state of affairs of the groom and the lack of hope for their speedy recovery. Hastily trying to improve his situation, the man in love was able to convince the woman of his worth. On February 6, 1857, Fyodor and Maria got married in Kuznetsk.
This union did not bring happiness to either him or her. The spouses had almost no agreement on anything and lived separately almost all the time. Maria refused to accompany her husband on his first trip abroad. Upon his return home in September 1862, he found his wife in very painful condition: A woman fell ill with consumption.
And in the same summer of 1863 (during his second trip to Europe) in Baden-Baden, Dostoevsky met Appolionaria Prokofievna Suslova and fell passionately in love with her. It is difficult to imagine people with less similar views than this couple: she is a feminist, a nihilist, he is a believing conservative who adheres to patriarchal views. However, they became attracted to each other. He published several of her works in Time and Epoch. They dreamed of a new trip to Europe, but some difficulties with the magazine, and most importantly - serious condition Maria Dmitrievna forced them to abandon their original plans. Polina went to Paris alone, Fyodor returned to St. Petersburg in need. They wrote letters to him and invited him to come over, but quite unexpectedly for the writer, news from Polina stopped coming. Excited, he hurried to Paris, where he learned that she had met a Spanish student, Salvador, and became a victim of unrequited love. This is how their romance ended, and the story of this complex relationship received a literary interpretation in “The Player.” At the same time, his wife’s consumption progressed. In the fall of 1863, the Dostoevskys moved to Moscow, where it was more convenient to create acceptable conditions for the patient and care for her. On April 14, 1864, Maria Dmitrievna had a seizure. She died on the 15th.
Although their seven-year union could not be called successful, the widower continued to love his wife and experienced her death very painfully. He remembered the deceased exclusively with kind and warm words, although some gossips they claimed that Maria had been mentally ill all her life, so she could not make her husbands happy. The only thing that Dostoevsky endlessly regretted was that his marriage with Isaeva turned out to be childless. The writer captured his love for this woman in his works; his wife served as a prototype for many of his heroines.
The death of his wife and the subsequent death of his brother fell heavily on Dostoevsky’s shoulders. He could only forget himself in his work, and besides, the writer was in dire need of money. At this time, the publisher Fyodor Timofeevich Stellovsky offered the writer a financially lucrative contract to publish the complete collection of his works at that time. Despite the oppressive conditions, namely: extremely strict time frames and the requirement to provide a new, previously unpublished novel within a short period of time, the writer agreed. During the same period, work began on Crime and Punishment. Dostoevsky suggested publishing this novel to the editor of the Russian Messenger, Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov. In connection with everything that was happening, by the beginning of October 1866, the material promised to Stellovsky was not ready, and only a month remained. The writer would not have been able to cope with the operational work if it were not for the stenographer Anna Grigorievna Snitkina. Collaboration brought Dostoevsky very close to this girl. In February 1867 they got married.
Fyodor Mikhailovich finally found long-awaited happiness and a serene existence in the bosom of his family. For Anna, this period of life did not begin so wonderfully; she experienced strong hostility from her husband’s stepson, Pyotr Isaev, who had long lived at the expense of his stepfather. To change the oppressive situation, Snitkina persuaded her husband to go abroad, where they subsequently spent four years. It was then that the second period of passion for roulette began (it ended with the refusal gambling). The family was in need again. Things were improved by his arrival in St. Petersburg in 1897, because the writer again actively took up writing.
This marriage produced four children. Two survived: Lyubov and Fedor. Eldest daughter Sophia died when she was only a few months old; her youngest son Alexei lived less than three years.
He dedicated his exceptional work “The Brothers Karamazov” to Anna, and she, already a widow, published her memoirs about Fyodor Mikhailovich. Dostoevsky's wives appear in all of his works, except perhaps his early ones. Fatal passion, fate and difficult character Maria formed the basis for the image of Katerina Ivanovna, Grushenka, Nastasya Filippovna, and Anna Grigorievna is the spitting image of Sonechka Marmeladova, Evdokia Raskolnikova, Dashenka Shatova - the angel of salvation and martyrdom.
Philosophy
Dostoevsky's worldview underwent serious changes throughout the writer's life. For example, political orientation was subject to revision and was formed gradually. Only the religiosity nurtured in the writer as a child grew stronger and developed; he never doubted his faith. We can say that Dostoevsky's philosophy is based on Orthodoxy.
Socialist illusions were debunked by Dostoevsky himself in the 60s; he developed a critical attitude towards them, perhaps because they were the reason for his arrest. Traveling around Europe inspired him to think about bourgeois revolution. He saw that it did not help the common people in any way, and as a result, he developed an irreconcilable hostility towards the possibility of its accomplishment in Russia. Soil ideas, which he picked up during his work with Apollo Grigoriev in magazines, partly served as the basis for Dostoevsky’s later worldview. Awareness of the need to merge the elite with common people, attributing to the latter a mission to save the world from harmful ideas, returning to the bosom of nature and religion - all these ideas appealed to the writer. He felt his era was a turning point. The country was preparing for shocks and a reshaping of reality. The writer sincerely hoped that people would follow the path of self-improvement, and the new time would be marked by the degeneration of society.
There was a process to isolate the very essence, the quintessence of Russian national consciousness, the “Russian idea” - a name proposed by the author himself. For Dostoevsky, it is closely connected with religious philosophy. Arseny Vladimirovich Gulyga (Soviet philosopher, historian of philosophy and literary critic) explained Dostoevsky’s pochvenism this way: this is a call for a return to the national, this is patriotism based on moral values.
For Dostoevsky, this idea of free will, inseparably linked with an unshakable moral law, became fundamental in his work, especially in his later works. The writer considered man a mystery; he tried to penetrate into his spiritual nature, throughout his life he strove to find the path to his moral development.
On June 8, 1880, at a meeting of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature, the author read “Pushkin’s Speech,” which reveals to the reader his true views and judgments, as well as the essence of life, according to Dostoevsky. It was this poet that the author considered true national character. In the poetry of Alexander Sergeevich, the writer saw the path of the fatherland and the Russian people prophetically outlined. Then he brought out his main idea: transformation should not happen through change external factors and conditions, but through internal self-improvement.
Of course, according to Dostoevsky, the main help on this path is religion. Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin said that the “noise” created by the polyphony of characters in the writer’s novels is covered by one voice - that of God, whose word comes from the author’s soul. At the end of “Pushkin’s Speech” it is said that to be Russian means...
To strive to bring reconciliation to European contradictions completely, to indicate the outcome of European melancholy in our Russian soul, all-human and reuniting, to accommodate all our brothers with brotherly love, and in the end, perhaps, to utter the final word of great, common harmony, fraternal final agreement of all tribes according to Christ's gospel law!
Interesting facts from the life of the writer
- In 1837, Pushkin, Dostoevsky’s favorite author, tragically passed away. Fyodor Mikhailovich perceived the death of the poet as a personal tragedy. He later recalled that, if not for the death of his mother, he would have asked his family to mourn the writer.
- It should be noted that the dreams of the eldest sons about a literary career were not at all perceived by their parents as a whim, but in the situation of need into which the family gradually descended, it forced Mikhail Andreevich to insist on the boys receiving an engineering education that could provide them with a financially reliable and sustainable future.
- The writer's first completed work in the field of translation was Balzac's Eugenie Grande. He was inspired by the author of this work's visit to Russia. The work was published in the publication “Repertoire and Pantheon” in 1844, but the name of the translator was not indicated there.
- In 1869 he became a father. Interesting from personal life The writer is described by his wife in her memoirs: “Fyodor Mikhailovich was unusually gentle towards his daughter, fussed with her, bathed her, carried her in his arms, rocked her and felt so happy that he wrote criticism to Strakhov: “Oh, why aren’t you married, and Why don’t you have a child, dear Nikolai Nikolaevich. I swear to you that this is 3/4 of life’s happiness, but the rest is only one quarter.”
Death
The author was first diagnosed with epilepsy while still in prison. The illness tormented the writer, but the irregularity and relatively low frequency of seizures had little effect on his mental abilities (only some memory deterioration was observed), allowing him to create until the end of his days.
Over time, Dostoevsky developed a lung disease - emphysema. There is an assumption that he owed its aggravation to an explanation with his sister V.M. Ivanova on January 26 (February 7), 1881. The woman persistently persuaded him to give up the share of the Ryazan estate inherited from his aunt Alexandra Fedorovna Kumanina to his sisters. The nervous situation, the conversation with his sister in a raised voice, the complexity of the situation - all this had a detrimental effect on the physical condition of the writer. He had a seizure: blood came down his throat.
Even on the morning of January 28 (February 9), the hemorrhages did not go away. Dostoevsky spent the entire day in bed. He said goodbye to his loved ones several times, feeling the approach of death. By evening the writer died. He was 59 years old.
Many wished to say goodbye to Dostoevsky. Relatives and friends arrived, but there was much more strangers- those who even then immensely revered Fyodor Mikhailovich’s amazing talent, who admired his gift. Among those who came was the artist V. G. Perov, he painted the famous posthumous portrait author.
Dostoevsky, and later his second wife, were buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.
Dostoevsky places
The Dostoevsky estate was located in the Kashira district of the Tula province. The village of Darovoye and the village of Cheremoshna, which made up the estate, were bought by Fyodor’s father back in 1831. Here, as a rule, the family spent the summer. A year after the purchase, there was a fire that destroyed the house, after which a wooden outbuilding was rebuilt, where the family lived. The younger brother Andrey inherited the estate.
The house in Staraya Russa was Dostoevsky's only real estate. The writer and his family first came here in 1882. The most halcyon days of his life are associated with this place. The atmosphere of this corner was most favorable for the coexistence of the entire family in harmony and for the work of the writer. “The Brothers Karamazov”, “Demons” and many other works were written here.
Meaning
Dostoevsky did not study philosophy and did not consider his works to be vehicles of corresponding ideas. But decades after its end creative activity researchers began to talk about the formulation of general questions and the complexity of the issues raised in the texts issued by the writer. The writer really gained the reputation of a preacher, an expert human soul. Therefore, his novels are still on the lists of the most popular and sought-after works around the world. For a modern writer, it is considered a great merit to earn comparison with this Russian genius. Reading such literature is part of belonging to intellectual circles, because Dostoevsky has become to a certain extent a brand, signifying the exclusivity of the taste of those who give preference to him. The Japanese especially like the work of Fyodor Mikhailovich: and Kobo Abe, both Yukio Mishima and Haruki Murakami recognized him as their favorite writer.
The famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud noted the phenomenal depth of the works of the Russian author and their value for science. He also sought to look deeply into the consciousness of an individual, to study the patterns and features of his work. They both opened and dissected inner world a person as a whole: with all his noble thoughts and base desires.
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