Research topic: Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky

Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky , 1821-81, Russian novelist, one of the towering figures of world literature. Early Life and Work Dostoyevsky was born and raised in Moscow by Russian Orthodox parents. His father, a military surgeon and an alcoholic of harsh, despotic temperament, was brutally slain (1839) by his own serfs. This event haunted Dostoyevsky all his life and perhaps accounts in part for the preoccupation with murder and guilt in his writings. Dostoyevsky attended military engineering school in St. Petersburg and upon graduation entered government service as a draftsman. He soon... Read more