F m Dostoevsky life destiny. Dostoevsky short biography

The great Russian writer F. M. Dostoevsky expressed through his creativity the immensity of the suffering of humiliated and insulted humanity in an exploitative society and the immeasurable pain for this suffering. And at the same time, he fiercely fought against any search for real ways to fight for the liberation of humanity from humiliation and insult.

Duality tormented Dostoevsky, becoming for him and his heroes a source of painful, unique and vengeful pleasure - a painful form of recognition of the hopelessness of torment.

He himself was cruelly humiliated and insulted by the terrible reality that turned his heroes into broken people. His life and literary path is a tragedy, the content of which is the suppression and disfigurement of the human soul by a reality hostile to genius, freedom, art, and beauty. The works of this most subjective writer, which are always his personal confession, with their gloomy anxiety, feverish tossing and hesitation, inescapable fear of the chaos and darkness of the surrounding life, capture the sad story of a great but sick soul, sickened by human suffering and desperate, that is, a youth that has outlived its aspirations, dreams, hopes, - the soul, who fell in love with pain, because she had nothing to live with, which means she had nothing to love except pain.

The restless atmosphere of his works reflected the suppressed, distorted protest of reality, which crushed millions of people, just as the unfortunate Marmeladov was crushed to death, and the fragility, doom, and imminent collapse of society itself, built on human suffering, fraught with unknown shocks, formidable cataclysms.

Dostoevsky's creativity was generated by a transitional, crisis era of the collapse of feudal-serf relations in Russia and their replacement by new, capitalist relations.

He was oppressed by serfdom, complete arbitrariness and the autocracy of those in charge and significant persons; he was also suppressed by the growth of new relationships, the widespread rampant predation, and the cynicism of the frankly wolfish laws of life. Dostoevsky expressed fear of the victorious march of capitalism of these social strata, unstable, socially and psychologically unarmed, unprotected, accessible to all kinds of reactionary and decadent influences.

He began his literary career as a student of Gogol, an ally of Belinsky. His spiritual and literary development could have continued further in the same direction, despite the very serious contradictions revealed already in the works of the first period of his work, if this development had not been interrupted so monstrously - rudely, despotic - cruelly, so disgustingly - criminal mockery over his personality: hard labor, soldiering, exile. For ten whole years he was thrown out of life by the same Nikolaev regime that killed Pushkin, killed Lermontov, and hounded Gogol.

A difficult ideological and psychological process took place in him over the years, with his painfully impressionable, naked soul. He lost faith in the possibility of improving reality through struggle, he doubted the very nature of man, the ability of man to rebuild his life with his own strength, with his rational will. He began to seek support in religion - in a cruel constant struggle with himself.

Upon his return to St. Petersburg, after nine years of the deepest loneliness he had experienced, the life of a large capitalist city, with all its colorful contradictions, washed over him. And soon to this stormy swarm of impressions, the chaos of which was later so clearly expressed in “The Teenager”. And he became even more firmly established in his sermon that only through suffering can modern man be cleansed of selfishness, of the temptations of the satanic power of money over everything.

Having left the new, advanced Russia-Russia of Belinsky, Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov, Herzen, Nekrasov, Shchedrin, Dostoevsky lost his only opportunity to help the humiliated and insulted get out of the darkness. Having absorbed the suffering of humanity into his soul, Dostoevsky bowed before their infinity, to get out of the darkness.

Dostoevsky enthusiastically welcomed the peasant reform of 1861, seeing in it a confirmation of his faith in the “nationality”, the classlessness of the autocracy and its ability to save Russia from the capitalist path.

Despite his inherent irony, Dostoevsky turned out to be capable of Manilov’s idylls, at which, apparently, he himself laughed bitterly. In his articles, he developed sweet pictures of the unity of all classes under the shadow of the throne. And at the same time, his works are full of horror at the all-powerful progress of capitalization of the country, and in his letters he soberly wrote about the growth of the working class, bitterly admitting that Russia is following the same path of development as the West. It seems that not a single artist was not tormented by such an abundance of various contradictions as Dostoevsky. Defense of the cause of reaction and at the same time disgust for the ruling classes that made up the camp of reaction! All such contradictions meant a struggle in the work of the great artist of living life against false reactionary schemes.

Towards the end of his life, Dostoevsky was allowed into the royal palace, he was caressed by the great princes, including the heir to the throne, the future Tsar Alexander III. He became a friend of the leader of the noble reaction, K. Pobedonostsev, chief prosecutor of the “Holy Synod,” a native of the commoners, who turned into an evil and insidious strangler of all living and honest people of Rus'. Dostoevsky wrote his last novel, “The Brothers Karamazov,” listening to the advice of this chief lackey of the kings. The author of “The Karamazov Brothers” considered his goal in the novel to hit the ungodly camp of the revolution as painfully as possible. But in this work he created an image of the deadly corruption of the landowner class in the person of the vile old man Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov. And in the image of Smerdyakov, the writer forever branded all sorts of servility - the product and reflection of the nobility. Both of these images belong to the classic achievements of world literature.

The struggle between good and evil in the human soul tormented Dostoevsky and his heroes, occupied such a huge place in his works that it was inextricably linked with the fundamental theme of all his work. The crisis era of breaking up seemed to Dostoevsky a terrible era of the loss of all moral principles, an era of freedom for everything - for any crimes, for trampling on everything holy. It is in this, and only in this, that the objective meaning and significance of all the problems associated with the images of Raskolnikov, Dmitry and Ivan Karamazov and other characters of Dostoevsky lie.

Dostoevsky called for humility, patience, reconciliation, but could never come to terms with the existing reality. He had the real right, earned by all his work, to express a generalizing formula of his work: - I don't like the face of this world! In his images, he posed many big, pressing questions to humanity. He introduced a whole unexplored world into literature - the world of slums, dark corners of a big city, the gloomy life of their inhabitants.

The anxiety that made up the air of his works; the abundance of human torment in them; the acute constant dissatisfaction of his characters with everyone around him; many characters on the verge of madness, abnormality, painful distortion of human relationships; the boundlessness of loneliness and melancholy, helplessness, hopelessness, humiliation and insult at every step - all this in Dostoevsky’s work cries out for the colossal disorder of man and human life.

Dostoevsky is the creator of deep realistic paintings of human grief, classic in their artistic truth and irresistible power, a master of realism who introduced new social types into literature.

In the forties, he experienced a strong influence of anti-serfdom, democratic ideas mixed with the ideas of utopian socialism. This was the influence of the Belinsky circle, the Petrashevsky circle, which was the advanced center of the revolutionary movement in Russia in the second half of the forties. In the forties, the increased exploitation of the peasantry by landowners, the intensification of the class struggle in the country, the growth of the peasant movement, the urgent need to abolish serfdom, which affected everything. The rise of public self-awareness, revolutionary thought, all this fascinated Dostoevsky. He was acutely aware of the general situation and breathed its air. This was reflected in his works. He had neither a sustained revolutionary passion nor a complete belief in the power of the revolutionary movement. His democracy was vaguely dreamy. He wavered between Belinsky's atheism and his aspirations for Christian socialism. He loved poor people. He dreamed of abolishing serfdom. He wanted freedom for the press, for literature. This was his real guilt before the tsarist government.

Mercilessly soberly cutting off all the reactionary lies, the idealization of suffering, the idealization of duality, all Dostoevsky in Dostoevsky, we honor the harsh truth about the life of humanity in a violent society, expressed with such passion and torment in the contradictory, rebellious and resigned, amazing in its artistic power and at the same time sometimes sharply retreating from artistry, excited, searching, suffering creations of the brilliant Russian and world artist.

In this article we will describe the life and work of Dostoevsky: we will briefly tell you about the most important events. Fyodor Mikhailovich was born on October 30 (old style - 11) 1821. An essay on Dostoevsky's work will introduce you to the main works and achievements of this man in the literary field. But we will start from the very beginning - with the origin of the future writer, with his biography.

The problems of Dostoevsky's creativity can be deeply understood only by becoming acquainted with the life of this man. After all, fiction always in one way or another reflects the characteristics of the biography of the creator of the works. In the case of Dostoevsky this is especially noticeable.

Origin of Dostoevsky

Fyodor Mikhailovich's father was from the Rtishchev branch, descendants of Daniil Ivanovich Rtishchev, defender of the Orthodox faith in Southwestern Rus'. For his special successes, he was given the village of Dostoevo, located in the Podolsk province. The Dostoevsky surname originates from there.

However, by the beginning of the 19th century, the Dostoevsky family became impoverished. Andrei Mikhailovich, the writer’s grandfather, served in the Podolsk province, in the town of Bratslav, as an archpriest. Mikhail Andreevich, the father of the author we are interested in, at one time graduated from the Medical-Surgical Academy. During the Patriotic War, in 1812, he fought with others against the French, after which, in 1819, he married Maria Fedorovna Nechaeva, the daughter of a merchant from Moscow. Mikhail Andreevich, having retired, received a position as a doctor in an office open to poor people, which was popularly nicknamed Bozhedomka.

Where was Fedor Mikhailovich born?

The apartment of the future writer's family was located in the right wing of this hospital. In it, set aside as a government apartment for a doctor, Fyodor Mikhailovich was born in 1821. His mother, as we have already mentioned, came from a family of merchants. Pictures of premature deaths, poverty, illness, disorder - the boy’s first impressions, under the influence of which the future writer’s very unusual view of the world took shape. Dostoevsky's work reflects this.

The situation in the family of the future writer

The family, which grew over time to 9 people, was forced to huddle in only two rooms. Mikhail Andreevich was a suspicious and hot-tempered person.

Maria Feodorovna was of a completely different type: economical, cheerful, kind. The relationship between the boy's parents was based on submission to the whims and will of the father. The nanny and mother of the future writer honored the sacred religious traditions of the country, raising the future generation to respect the faith of their fathers. Maria Feodorovna died early - at the age of 36. She was buried at the Lazarevskoye cemetery.

First acquaintance with literature

The Dostoevsky family devoted a lot of time to education and science. At an early age, Fyodor Mikhailovich discovered the joy of communicating with a book. The very first works with which he became acquainted were the folk tales of Arina Arkhipovna, the nanny. After that there were Pushkin and Zhukovsky - Maria Fedorovna’s favorite writers.

Fyodor Mikhailovich at an early age became acquainted with the main classics of foreign literature: Hugo, Cervantes and Homer. In the evenings, his father arranged for the family to read N. M. Karamzin’s work “History of the Russian State.” All this instilled in the future writer an early interest in literature. The life and work of F. Dostoevsky were largely influenced by the environment from which this writer came.

Mikhail Andreevich seeks hereditary nobility

In 1827, Mikhail Andreevich was awarded the Order of the 3rd degree for his diligent and excellent service, and a year later he was also awarded the rank of collegiate assessor, which at that time gave a person the right to hereditary nobility. The father of the future writer well understood the value of higher education and therefore sought to seriously prepare his children for admission to educational institutions.

Tragedy from Dostoevsky's childhood

The future writer experienced a tragedy in his youth that left an indelible mark on his soul for the rest of his life. He fell in love with the cook's daughter, a nine-year-old girl, with a sincere childish feeling. One summer day a cry was heard in the garden. Fyodor ran out into the street and noticed her lying in a white tattered dress on the ground. The women bent over the girl. From their conversation, Fyodor realized that the culprit of the tragedy was a drunken tramp. After that, they went for their father, but his help was not needed, since the girl had already died.

Writer's education

Fyodor Mikhailovich received his initial education at a private boarding school in Moscow. In 1838 he entered the Main Engineering School located in St. Petersburg. He graduated in 1843, becoming a military engineer.

In those years, this school was considered one of the best educational institutions in the country. It is no coincidence that many famous people came from there. Among Dostoevsky's comrades at the school there were many talents who later turned into famous personalities. These are Dmitry Grigorovich (writer), Konstantin Trutovsky (artist), Ilya Sechenov (physiologist), Eduard Totleben (organizer of the defense of Sevastopol), Fyodor Radetsky (hero of Shipka). Both humanitarian and special disciplines were taught here. For example, world and domestic history, Russian literature, drawing and civil architecture.

The tragedy of the "little man"

Dostoevsky preferred solitude to the noisy society of students. Reading was his favorite pastime. The future writer’s erudition amazed his comrades. But the desire for loneliness and solitude in his character was not an innate trait. At the school, Fyodor Mikhailovich had to endure the tragedy of the soul of the so-called “little man”. Indeed, in this educational institution, the students were mainly children of the bureaucratic and military bureaucracy. Their parents gave gifts to their teachers, sparing no expense. In this environment, Dostoevsky looked like a stranger and was often subjected to insults and ridicule. During these years, a feeling of wounded pride flared up in his soul, which later reflected the work of Dostoevsky.

But, despite these difficulties, Fyodor Mikhailovich managed to achieve recognition from both his comrades and teachers. Over time, everyone became convinced that this was a man of extraordinary intelligence and outstanding abilities.

Father's death

In 1839, Fyodor Mikhailovich’s father suddenly died from an apoplexy. There were rumors that it was not a natural death - he was killed by men for his tough character. This news shocked Dostoevsky, and for the first time he had a seizure, a harbinger of future epilepsy, from which Fyodor Mikhailovich suffered all his life.

Service as an engineer, first works

Dostoevsky in 1843, having completed the course, was enrolled in the engineering corps to serve with the engineering team of St. Petersburg, but did not serve there for long. A year later, he decided to engage in literary creativity, a passion for which he had long felt. At first he began to translate classics, such as Balzac. After some time, the idea for a novel arose in letters called “Poor People.” This was the first independent work from which Dostoevsky’s work began. Then came the stories and stories: “Mr. Prokharchin”, “The Double”, “Netochka Nezvanova”, “White Nights”.

Rapprochement with the Petrashevites circle, tragic consequences

The year 1847 was marked by a rapprochement with Butashevich-Petrashevsky, who held the famous “Fridays”. He was a propagandist and admirer of Fourier. At these evenings, the writer met the poets Alexei Pleshcheev, Alexander Palm, Sergei Durov, as well as the prose writer Saltykov and scientists Vladimir Milyutin and Nikolai Mordvinov. At meetings of Petrashevites, socialist teachings and plans for revolutionary coups were discussed. Dostoevsky was a supporter of the immediate abolition of serfdom in Russia.

However, the government learned about the circle, and in 1849, 37 participants, including Dostoevsky, were imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. They were sentenced to death, but the emperor commuted the sentence, and the writer was exiled to hard labor in Siberia.

In Tobolsk, at hard labor

He went to Tobolsk in the terrible frost on an open sleigh. Here Annenkova and Fonvizina visited the Petrashevites. The whole country admired the feat of these women. They gave each condemned person a Gospel in which money was invested. The fact is that the prisoners were not allowed to have their own savings, so this softened the harsh living conditions for some time.

While in hard labor, the writer realized how far the rationalistic, speculative ideas of the “new Christianity” were from the feeling of Christ, whose bearer is the people. Fyodor Mikhailovich brought out a new one from here. Its basis is the folk type of Christianity. Subsequently, this reflected the further work of Dostoevsky, which we will tell you about a little later.

Military service in Omsk

For the writer, four years of hard labor was replaced after some time by military service. He was escorted from Omsk under escort to the city of Semipalatinsk. Here Dostoevsky's life and work continued. The writer served as a private, then receiving the rank of officer. He returned to St. Petersburg only at the end of 1859.

Magazine publishing

At this time, Fyodor Mikhailovich’s spiritual search began, which in the 60s ended with the formation of the writer’s pochvennik beliefs. The biography and work of Dostoevsky at this time were marked by the following events. Since 1861, the writer, together with Mikhail, his brother, began publishing a magazine called "Time", and after it was banned - "Epoch". Working on new books and magazines, Fyodor Mikhailovich developed his own view of the tasks of a public figure and writer in our country - Russian, a unique version of Christian socialism.

The writer's first works after hard labor

Dostoevsky's life and work changed greatly after Tobolsk. In 1861, the first novel of this writer appeared, which he created after hard labor. This work (“Humiliated and Insulted”) reflects Fyodor Mikhailovich’s sympathy for the “little people” who are subjected to incessant humiliation by the powers that be. “Notes from the House of the Dead” (years of creation: 1861-1863), which the writer began while still in hard labor, also acquired great social significance. In the magazine "Time" in 1863, "Winter Notes on Summer Impressions" appeared. In them, Fyodor Mikhailovich criticized the systems of Western European political beliefs. In 1864, Notes from Underground was published. This is a kind of confession of Fyodor Mikhailovich. In the work he renounced his previous ideals.

Further work of Dostoevsky

Let us briefly describe other works of this writer. In 1866, a novel entitled “Crime and Punishment” appeared, which is considered one of the most significant in his work. In 1868, The Idiot was published, a novel in which an attempt was made to create a positive hero who confronts a predatory, cruel world. In the 70s, the work of F.M. Dostoevsky continues. Novels such as “Demons” (published in 1871) and “The Teenager,” which appeared in 1879, became widely known. "The Brothers Karamazov" is a novel that became the last work. He summed up Dostoevsky's work. The years of publication of the novel are 1879-1880. In this work, the main character, Alyosha Karamazov, helping others in trouble and alleviating suffering, is convinced that the most important thing in our life is a feeling of forgiveness and love. In 1881, on February 9, Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich died in St. Petersburg.

The life and work of Dostoevsky were briefly described in our article. It cannot be said that the writer was always interested in the problem of man above all others. Let's write briefly about this important feature that Dostoevsky's work had.

Man in creative writing

Throughout his entire creative career, Fyodor Mikhailovich reflected on the main problem of humanity - how to overcome pride, which is the main source of separation between people. Of course, there are other themes in Dostoevsky’s work, but it is largely based on this one. The writer believed that any of us has the ability to create. And he must do this while he lives; it is necessary to express himself. The writer devoted his entire life to the topic of Man. The biography and work of Dostoevsky confirm this.

Essay

Life and work of F.M. Dostoevsky

Completed by: Buryanova A.I.
Checked by: Kotova E.V.
2011
Content

Introduction
The life and work of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction

I chose this topic for the essay because I am interested in the biography of F.M. Dostoevsky. He lived a bright, eventful life and his work is recognized as one of the best. Yes, the writer’s work cannot be called rosy, but at the same time, Dostoevsky deeply believed in the good principles in man. It is clear from his works that all his life he nurtured the idea of ​​a future perfect and just society. This wonderful, humanistic idea is preached by his heroes - Prince Myshkin from “The Idiot” and Alyosha Karamazov from “The Brothers Karamazov”. This idea runs like a red thread in the diaries and letters of the great writer. The writer saw the fulfillment of his dream in the transformation of a person. He believed that a person must improve his own nature, realize his responsibility to other people, and work selflessly for the common good.

FEDOR MIKHAILOVICH DOSTOEVSKY

Born in Moscow. Father, Mikhail Andreevich (1789-1839), was a doctor (head doctor) at the Moscow Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor, and in 1828 received the title of hereditary nobleman. In 1831 he acquired the village of Darovoye, Kashira district, Tula province, and in 1833 the neighboring village of Chermoshnya. In raising his children, the father was an independent, educated, caring family man, but had a quick-tempered and suspicious character. After the death of his wife in 1837, he retired and settled in Darovo. According to documents, he died of apoplexy; according to the recollections of relatives and oral traditions, he was killed by his peasants. Mother, Maria Fedorovna (née Nechaeva; 1800-1837). There were six more children in the Dostoevsky family: Mikhail, Varvara (1822-1893), Andrei, Vera (1829-1896), Nikolai (1831-1883), Alexandra (1835-1889).

In 1833, Dostoevsky was sent to half board by N.I. Drashusov; he and his brother Mikhail went there “daily in the morning and returned by lunchtime.” From the autumn of 1834 to the spring of 1837, Dostoevsky attended the private boarding school of L. I. Chermak, where astronomer D. M. Perevoshchikov and paleologist A. M. Kubarev taught. Russian language teacher N.I. Bilevich played a certain role in Dostoevsky’s spiritual development. Memories of the boarding school served as material for many of the writer’s works.

Having had a hard time surviving the death of her mother, which coincided with the news of the death of A.S. Pushkin (which he perceived as a personal loss), Dostoevsky in May 1837 traveled with his brother Mikhail to St. Petersburg and entered the preparatory boarding school K.F. Kostomarova. At the same time, he met I. N. Shidlovsky, whose religious and romantic mood captivated Dostoevsky. From January 1838, Dostoevsky studied at the Main Engineering School, where he described a typical day as follows: “... from early morning until evening, we in the classrooms barely have time to follow the lectures. ... We are sent to training, we are given fencing and dancing lessons , singing...they are put on guard, and all the time passes in this way...". The difficult impression of the “hard labor years” of the training was partially brightened by friendly relations with V. Grigorovich, doctor A.E. Riesenkampf, duty officer A.I. Savelyev, artist K.A. Trutovsky.

Even on the way to St. Petersburg, Dostoevsky mentally “composed a novel from Venetian life,” and in 1838 Riesenkampf spoke “about his own literary experiences.” A literary circle is formed around Dostoevsky at the school. On February 16, 1841, at an evening given by brother Mikhail on the occasion of his departure to Revel, Dostoevsky read excerpts from two of his dramatic works - “Mary Stuart” and “Boris Godunov”.

Dostoevsky informed his brother about his work on the drama “The Jew Yankel” in January 1844. The manuscripts of the dramas have not survived, but the literary hobbies of the aspiring writer emerge from their titles: Schiller, Pushkin, Gogol. After the death of his father, the relatives of the writer's mother took care of Dostoevsky's younger brothers and sisters, and Fyodor and Mikhail received a small inheritance. After graduating from college (end of 1843), he was enlisted as a field engineer-second lieutenant in the St. Petersburg engineering team, but already in the early summer of 1844, having decided to devote himself entirely to literature, he resigned and was discharged with the rank of lieutenant.

In January 1844, Dostoevsky completed the translation of Balzac's story "Eugene Grande", which he was especially keen on at that time. The translation became Dostoevsky's first published literary work. In 1844 he began and in May 1845, after numerous alterations, he completed the novel “Poor People.”

The novel "Poor People", whose connection with Pushkin's "The Station Agent" and Gogol's "The Overcoat" was emphasized by Dostoevsky himself, was an exceptional success. Based on the traditions of the physiological essay, Dostoevsky creates a realistic picture of the life of the “downtrodden” inhabitants of the “St. Petersburg corners”, a gallery of social types from the street beggar to “His Excellency”.

Dostoevsky spent the summer of 1845 (as well as the next) in Reval with his brother Mikhail. In the fall of 1845, upon returning to St. Petersburg, he often met with Belinsky. In October, the writer, together with Nekrasov and Grigorovich, compiled an anonymous program announcement for the almanac “Zuboskal” (03, 1845, No. 11), and in early December, at an evening with Belinsky, he read the chapters of “The Double” (03, 1846, No. 2), in which for the first time gives a psychological analysis of split consciousness, “dualism”.

The story "Mr. Prokharchin" (1846) and the story "The Mistress" (1847), in which many of the motives, ideas and characters of Dostoevsky's works of the 1860-1870s were outlined, were not understood by modern criticism. Belinsky also radically changed his attitude towards Dostoevsky, condemning the “fantastic” element, “pretentiousness”, “manneredness” of these works. In other works of the young Dostoevsky - in the stories “Weak Heart”, “White Nights”, the cycle of sharp socio-psychological feuilletons “The Petersburg Chronicle” and the unfinished novel “Netochka Nezvanova” - the problems of the writer’s work are expanded, psychologism is intensified with a characteristic emphasis on the analysis of the most complex, elusive internal phenomena.

At the end of 1846, there was a cooling in the relations between Dostoevsky and Belinsky. Later, he had a conflict with the editors of Sovremennik: Dostoevsky’s suspicious, proud character played a big role here. The ridicule of the writer by recent friends (especially Turgenev, Nekrasov), the harsh tone of Belinsky’s critical reviews of his works were acutely felt by the writer. Around this time, according to the testimony of Dr. S.D. Yanovsky, Dostoevsky showed the first symptoms of epilepsy. The writer is burdened by the exhausting work for Otechestvennye Zapiski. Poverty forced him to take on any literary work (in particular, he edited articles for the “Reference Encyclopedic Dictionary” by A.V. Starchevsky).

In 1846, Dostoevsky became close to the Maykov family, regularly visited the literary and philosophical circle of the Beketov brothers, in which V. Maykov was the leader, and A.N. was the regular participants. Maikov and A.N. Pleshcheev are friends of Dostoevsky. From March-April 1847 Dostoevsky became a visitor to the “Fridays” of M.V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky. He also participates in the organization of a secret printing house for printing appeals to peasants and soldiers. Dostoevsky's arrest occurred on April 23, 1849; his archive was taken away during his arrest and probably destroyed in the III department. Dostoevsky spent 8 months in the Alekseevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress under investigation, during which he showed courage, hiding many facts and trying, if possible, to mitigate the guilt of his comrades. He was recognized by the investigation as “one of the most important” among the Petrashevites, guilty of “intent to overthrow existing domestic laws and public order.” The initial verdict of the military judicial commission read: "... retired engineer-lieutenant Dostoevsky, for failure to report the distribution of a criminal letter about religion and government by the writer Belinsky and the malicious writing of lieutenant Grigoriev, to be deprived of his ranks, all rights of state and subjected to the death penalty by shooting." On December 22, 1849, Dostoevsky, along with others, awaited the execution of the death sentence on the Semyonovsky parade ground. According to the resolution of Nicholas I, his execution was replaced by 4 years of hard labor with the deprivation of “all rights of state” and subsequent surrender as a soldier.

On the night of December 24, Dostoevsky was sent from St. Petersburg in chains. On January 10, 1850 he arrived in Tobolsk, where in the caretaker’s apartment the writer met with the wives of the Decembrists - P.E. Annenkova, A.G. Muravyova and N.D. Fonvizina; they gave him the Gospel, which he kept all his life. From January 1850 to 1854, Dostoevsky, together with Durov, served hard labor as a “laborer” in the Omsk fortress. In January 1854, he was enlisted as a private in the 7th Line Battalion (Semipalatinsk) and was able to resume correspondence with his brother Mikhail and A. Maikov. In November 1855, Dostoevsky was promoted to non-commissioned officer, and after much trouble from prosecutor Wrangel and other Siberian and St. Petersburg acquaintances (including E.I. Totleben) to warrant officer; in the spring of 1857, the writer was returned to hereditary nobility and the right to publish, but police surveillance over him remained until 1875.

In 1857 Dostoevsky married the widowed M.D. Isaeva, who, in his words, was “a woman of the most sublime and enthusiastic soul... An idealist in the full sense of the word... she was both pure and naive, and she was just like a child.” The marriage was not happy: Isaeva agreed after much hesitation that tormented Dostoevsky. In Siberia, the writer began work on his memoirs about hard labor (the “Siberian” notebook, containing folklore, ethnographic and diary entries, served as a source for “Notes from the House of the Dead” and many other books by Dostoevsky). In 1857, his brother published the story “The Little Hero,” written by Dostoevsky in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Having created two “provincial” comic stories - “Uncle’s Dream” and “The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants”, Dostoevsky entered into negotiations with M.N. through his brother Mikhail. Katkov, Nekrasov, A.A. Kraevsky. However, modern criticism did not appreciate and passed over these first works of the “new” Dostoevsky in almost complete silence.

On March 18, 1859, Dostoevsky, at the request, was dismissed “due to illness” with the rank of second lieutenant and received permission to live in Tver (with a ban on entry into the St. Petersburg and Moscow provinces). On July 2, 1859, he left Semipalatinsk with his wife and stepson. From 1859 - in Tver, where he renewed his previous literary acquaintances and made new ones. Later, the chief of gendarmes notified the Tver governor about permission for Dostoevsky to live in St. Petersburg, where he arrived in December 1859.

Dostoevsky's intensive activity combined editorial work on "other people's" manuscripts with the publication of his own articles, polemical notes, notes, and most importantly works of art. The novel “The Humiliated and Insulted” is a transitional work, a kind of return at a new stage of development to the motives of creativity of the 1840s, enriched by the experience of what was experienced and felt in the 1850s; it has very strong autobiographical motives. At the same time, the novel contained the features of the plots, style and characters of the works of the late Dostoevsky. "Notes from the House of the Dead" was a huge success.

Photo from 1879
K.A. Shapiro

Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky(1821-1881) – Russian writer.
Father - Mikhail Andreevich Dostoevsky (1787-1839) - from a priest's family, a military doctor, then a doctor at a hospital for the poor.
Mother - Maria Fedorovna Nechaeva (1800-1837) - from a merchant family, died of tuberculosis at the age of 37.
The first wife is Maria Dmitrievna Isaeva (1824-1864). After the death of her first husband in 1855, she remarried Fyodor Mikhailovich in 1857. There were no children from his marriage to Dostoevsky. In 1864 she died of tuberculosis.
Second wife – Anna Grigorievna Snitkina (1846-1918). They married Fyodor Mikhailovich in 1867. The marriage with Dostoevsky had four children. The first daughter, Sophia, died at the age of three months. Children: Sophia (February 22, 1868 - May 12, 1868), Lyubov (1869-1926), Fedor (1871-1922), Alexey (1875-1878).
Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky born on October 30 (November 11, new style) in 1821 in Moscow. The writer spent his childhood in his hometown and on his parents’ estate, which they acquired in 1831. Since childhood, parents have been involved in the education of Fyodor Mikhailovich. His mother taught him to read, and his father taught him Latin. Then the teacher of one of the schools and his sons continued their studies. They taught Dostoevsky French, mathematics and literature. From 1834 to 1837, Fyodor Mikhailovich studied at a prestigious Moscow boarding school.
In 1837, after the death of his mother, his father sent Fedor and his brother Mikhail to study in St. Petersburg, at the Main Engineering School. In his free time from studying, he enjoyed reading. I read many authors, and knew almost all of Pushkin’s works by heart. Here, he took his first literary steps.
In 1843, after graduating from college, he was enrolled in the St. Petersburg engineering team. But military service did not appeal to him, and in 1844 he received a dismissal in order to devote more time to literature.
In 1846, Dostoevsky was accepted into Belinsky’s literary circle for his work “Poor People”. In the same year, “Poor People” was published in Sovremennik. By the end of 1846, because of his second work, “The Double,” he left Belinsky’s circle because of a conflict with Turgenev, and at the same time, because of a quarrel with Nekrasov, he stopped publishing in Sovremennik. And until 1849 he was published in Otechestvennye zapiski. During this period, Dostoevsky wrote many works, but the novel “Poor People” is considered the best.
In 1849, he was sentenced to death by firing squad in the Petrashevites case. But on the day of execution, the sentence was changed to four years of hard labor and further confinement as a soldier. From 1850 to 1854, Dostoevsky spent time in hard labor in Omsk. After his release from hard labor, he was sent as a private to the 7th Siberian Line Battalion in Semipalatinsk (now the city of Semey in the East Kazakhstan region in the Republic of Kazakhstan). Here he meets his future wife Maria Dmitrievna Isaeva (maiden name Constant), who at that time was married to a local official Isaev. In 1857, Fyodor Mikhailovich and Maria Dmitrievna got married. In 1857 he was pardoned and by the end of 1859 he returned to St. Petersburg.
Since 1859, he helped his brother Mikhail publish the magazine “Time”, and after its closure the magazine “Epoch”. From 1862 he began to travel abroad frequently. I became very interested in playing roulette. It happened that he lost everything he had, even things. Dostoevsky was able to cope with this passion. Since 1871, Fyodor Mikhailovich never played roulette again. In 1864, his wife died of consumption. After the death of his brother in 1865, Dostoevsky assumed all debt obligations for the Epoch magazine. In the same year he began work on the novel Crime and Punishment. In 1866, to speed up work on the novel “The Gambler,” Dostoevsky used stenographer Anna Grigorievna Snitkina. In 1867, Fyodor Mikhailovich and Anna Grigorievna got married. From 1867 to 1869 he worked on the novel “The Idiot”, and in 1872 he completed work on the novel “Demons”. In 1880 he completed his last novel, The Brothers Karamazov.
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky died in St. Petersburg on January 28, 1881 from tuberculosis and chronic bronchitis. On February 1, 1881, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.