In October 1821, a second child was born into the family of nobleman Mikhail Dostoevsky, who worked in a hospital for the poor. The boy was named Fedor. This is how the future great writer was born, the author of the immortal works “The Idiot”, “The Brothers Karamazov”, “Crime and Punishment”.
They say that Fyodor Dostoevsky’s father was distinguished by a very hot-tempered character, which to some extent was passed on to the future writer. The children’s nanny, Alena Frolovna, skillfully extinguished their emotional nature. Otherwise, the children were forced to grow up in an atmosphere of total fear and obedience, which, however, also had some impact on the future of the writer.
Studying in St. Petersburg and the beginning of a creative path
1837 turned out to be a difficult year for the Dostoevsky family. Mom passes away. The father, who has seven children left in his care, decides to send his eldest sons to a boarding school in St. Petersburg. So Fedor, together with his older brother, ends up in the northern capital. Here he goes to study at a military engineering school. A year before graduation, he begins translating. And in 1843 he published his own translation of Balzac’s work “Eugenie Grande”.
The writer’s own creative path begins with the story “Poor People.” The described tragedy of the little man found worthy praise from the critic Belinsky and the already popular poet Nekrasov at that time. Dostoevsky enters the circle of writers and meets Turgenev.
Over the next three years, Fyodor Dostoevsky published the works “The Double,” “The Mistress,” “White Nights,” and “Netochka Nezvanova.” In all of them, he made an attempt to penetrate into the human soul, describing in detail the subtleties of the characters’ character. But these works were received very coolly by critics. Nekrasov and Turgenev, both revered by Dostoevsky, did not accept the innovation. This forced the writer to move away from his friends.
In exile
In 1849, the writer was sentenced to death. This was connected with the “Petrashevsky case”, for which sufficient evidence was collected. The writer prepared for the worst, but just before his execution his sentence was changed. At the last moment, the condemned are read a decree according to which they must go to hard labor. All the time that Dostoevsky spent awaiting execution, he tried to portray all his emotions and experiences in the image of the hero of the novel “The Idiot,” Prince Myshkin.
The writer spent four years in hard labor. Then he was pardoned for good behavior and sent to serve in the military battalion of Semipalatinsk. Immediately he found his destiny: in 1857 he married the widow of the official Isaev. It should be noted that during the same period, Fyodor Dostoevsky turned to religion, deeply idealizing the image of Christ.
In 1859, the writer moved to Tver, and then to St. Petersburg. Ten years of wandering through hard labor and military service made him very sensitive to human suffering. The writer experienced a real revolution in his worldview.
European period
The beginning of the 60s was marked by stormy events in the writer’s personal life: he fell in love with Appolinaria Suslova, who fled abroad with someone else. Fyodor Dostoevsky followed his beloved to Europe and traveled with her to different countries for two months. At the same time, he became addicted to playing roulette.
The year 1865 was marked by the writing of Crime and Punishment. After its publication, fame came to the writer. At the same time, a new love appears in his life. She was the young stenographer Anna Snitkina, who became his faithful friend until her death. He fled Russia with her, hiding from large debts. Already in Europe he wrote the novel “The Idiot”.
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 Fedorovna 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 Fedorovna 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 entitled “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, later 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. “Winter Notes on Summer Impressions” appeared in the magazine “Time” in 1863. 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.
Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky born October 30 (November 11), 1821. The writer's father came from an ancient family of Rtishchevs, descendants of the defender of the Orthodox faith of Southwestern Rus', Daniil Ivanovich Rtishchev. For his special successes, he was given the village of Dostoevo (Podolsk province), where the Dostoevsky surname originates.
By the beginning of the 19th century, the Dostoevsky family became impoverished. The writer's grandfather, Andrei Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, served as an archpriest in the town of Bratslav, Podolsk province. The writer's father, Mikhail Andreevich, graduated from the Medical-Surgical Academy. In 1812, during the Patriotic War, he fought against the French, and in 1819 he married the daughter of a Moscow merchant, Maria Fedorovna Nechaeva. After retiring, Mikhail Andreevich decided to take the position of doctor at the Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor, which was nicknamed Bozhedomka in Moscow.
The Dostoevsky family's apartment was located in a wing of the hospital. In the right wing of Bozhedomka, allocated to the doctor as a government apartment, Fyodor Mikhailovich was born. The writer's mother came from a merchant family. Pictures of instability, illness, poverty, premature deaths are the child’s first impressions, under the influence of which the future writer’s unusual view of the world was formed.
The Dostoevsky family, which eventually grew to nine people, huddled in two rooms in the front room. The writer's father, Mikhail Andreevich Dostoevsky, was a hot-tempered and suspicious person. Mother, Maria Fedorovna, was of a completely different type: kind, cheerful, economical. The relationship between the parents was built on complete submission to the will and whims of father Mikhail Fedorovich. The writer's mother and nanny sacredly honored religious traditions, raising their children with deep respect for the Orthodox faith. Fyodor Mikhailovich's mother died early, at the age of 36. She was buried at the Lazarevskoye cemetery.
The Dostoevsky family attached great importance to science and education. Fyodor Mikhailovich at an early age found joy in learning and reading books. At first these were folk tales of nanny Arina Arkhipovna, then Zhukovsky and Pushkin - his mother’s favorite writers. At an early age, Fyodor Mikhailovich met the classics of world literature: Homer, Cervantes and Hugo. My father arranged in the evenings for the family to read “The History of the Russian State” by N.M. Karamzin.
In 1827, the writer’s father, Mikhail Andreevich, for excellent and diligent service, was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 3rd degree, and a year later he was awarded the rank of collegiate assessor, which gave the right to hereditary nobility. He knew well the value of higher education, so he strove to seriously prepare his children for entering higher educational institutions.
In his childhood, the future writer experienced a tragedy that left an indelible mark on his soul for the rest of his life. With sincere childish feelings, he fell in love with a nine-year-old girl, the daughter of a cook. One summer day, a scream was heard in the garden. Fedya ran out into the street and saw that this girl was lying on the ground in a torn white dress, and some women were bending over her. From their conversation, he realized that the tragedy was caused by a drunken tramp. They sent for her father, but his help was not needed: the girl died.
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky received his primary education in a private Moscow boarding school. In 1838 he entered the Main Engineering School in St. Petersburg, which he graduated in 1843 with the title of military engineer.
The Engineering School in those years was considered one of the best educational institutions in Russia. It is no coincidence that many wonderful people came from there. Among Dostoevsky's classmates there were many talented people who later became outstanding personalities: the famous writer Dmitry Grigorovich, the artist Konstantin Trutovsky, the physiologist Ilya Sechenov, the organizer of the Sevastopol defense Eduard Totleben, the hero of Shipka Fyodor Radetsky. The school taught both special and humanitarian disciplines: Russian literature, national and world history, civil architecture and drawing.
Dostoevsky preferred solitude to the noisy student society. His favorite pastime was reading. Dostoevsky's erudition amazed his comrades. He read the works of Homer, Shakespeare, Goethe, Schiller, Hoffmann, and Balzac. However, the desire for solitude and loneliness was not an innate trait of his character. As an ardent, enthusiastic nature, he was in a constant search for new impressions. But at the school, he experienced first-hand the tragedy of the “little man’s” soul. Most of the students in this educational institution were children of the highest military and bureaucratic bureaucracy. Wealthy parents spared no expense for their children and generously gifted teachers. In this environment, Dostoevsky looked like a “black sheep” and was often subjected to ridicule and insults. For several years, a feeling of wounded pride flared up in his soul, which was later reflected in his work.
However, despite ridicule and humiliation, Dostoevsky managed to gain the respect of both teachers and school comrades. Over time, they all became convinced that he was a man of outstanding abilities and extraordinary intelligence.
During his studies, Dostoevsky was influenced by Ivan Nikolaevich Shidlovsky, a graduate of Kharkov University who served in the Ministry of Finance. Shidlovsky wrote poetry and dreamed of literary fame. He believed in the enormous, world-transforming power of the poetic word and argued that all great poets were “builders” and “world creators.” In 1839, Shidlovsky unexpectedly left St. Petersburg and left for an unknown direction. Later, Dostoevsky found out that he had gone to the Valuysky monastery, but then, on the advice of one of the wise elders, he decided to perform a “Christian feat” in the world, among his peasants. He began to preach the Gospel and achieved great success in this field. Shidlovsky, a religious romantic thinker, became the prototype of Prince Myshkin and Alyosha Karamazov, heroes who have occupied a special place in world literature.
On July 8, 1839, the writer’s father died suddenly from an apoplexy. There were rumors that he did not die a natural death, but was killed by men for his tough temper. This news greatly shocked Dostoevsky, and he suffered his first seizure - a harbinger of epilepsy - a serious illness from which the writer suffered for the rest of his life.
On August 12, 1843, Dostoevsky completed a full course of science in the upper officer class and was enlisted in the engineering corps of the St. Petersburg engineering team, but he did not serve there for long. On October 19, 1844, he decided to resign and devote himself to literary creativity. Dostoevsky had a passion for literature for a long time. After graduating, he began translating the works of foreign classics, in particular Balzac. Page after page, he became deeply involved in the train of thought, in the movement of images of the great French writer. He liked to imagine himself as some famous romantic hero, most often Schiller's... But in January 1845, Dostoevsky experienced an important event, which he later called “the vision on the Neva.” Returning home from Vyborgskaya one winter evening, he “cast a piercing glance along the river” into the “frosty, muddy distance.” And then it seemed to him that “this whole world, with all its inhabitants, strong and weak, with all their dwellings, beggars’ shelters or gilded chambers, in this twilight hour resembles a fantastic dream, a dream, which, in turn, immediately will disappear, disappear into steam towards the dark blue sky.” And at that very moment, a “completely new world” opened up before him, some strange “completely prosaic” figures. “Not Don Carlos and Poses at all,” but “quite titular advisers.” And “another story loomed, in some dark corners, some titular heart, honest and pure... and with it some girl, offended and sad.” And his “heart was deeply torn by their whole story.”
A sudden revolution took place in Dostoevsky’s soul. The heroes, so dearly loved by him just recently, who lived in the world of romantic dreams, were forgotten. The writer looked at the world with a different look, through the eyes of “little people” - a poor official, Makar Alekseevich Devushkin and his beloved girl, Varenka Dobroselova. This is how the idea of the novel arose in the letters of “Poor People,” Dostoevsky’s first work of fiction. Then followed the novellas and short stories “The Double”, “Mr. Prokharchin”, “The Mistress”, “White Nights”, “Netochka Nezvanova”.
In 1847, Dostoevsky became close to Mikhail Vasilyevich Butashevich-Petrashevsky, an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a passionate admirer and propagandist of Fourier, and began to attend his famous “Fridays”. Here he met the poets Alexei Pleshcheev, Apollon Maikov, Sergei Durov, Alexander Palm, prose writer Mikhail Saltykov, young scientists Nikolai Mordvinov and Vladimir Milyutin. At meetings of the Petrashevites circle, the latest socialist teachings and programs for revolutionary coups were discussed. Dostoevsky was among the supporters of the immediate abolition of serfdom in Russia. But the government became aware of the existence of the circle, and on April 23, 1849, thirty-seven of its members, including Dostoevsky, were arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. They were tried by military law and sentenced to death, but by order of the emperor the sentence was commuted, and Dostoevsky was exiled to Siberia for hard labor.
On December 25, 1849, the writer was shackled, seated in an open sleigh and sent on a long journey... It took sixteen days to get to Tobolsk in forty-degree frosts. Remembering his journey to Siberia, Dostoevsky wrote: “I was frozen to my heart.”
In Tobolsk, the Petrashevites were visited by the wives of the Decembrists Natalia Dmitrievna Fonvizina and Praskovya Egorovna Annenkova - Russian women whose spiritual feat was admired by all of Russia. They presented each condemned person with a Gospel, in the binding of which money was hidden. The prisoners were forbidden to have their own money, and the insight of their friends to some extent at first made it easier for them to endure the harsh situation in the Siberian prison. This eternal book, the only one allowed in the prison, was kept by Dostoevsky all his life, like a shrine.
At hard labor, Dostoevsky realized how far the speculative, rationalistic ideas of the “new Christianity” were from that “heartfelt” feeling of Christ, the true bearer of which is the people. From here Dostoevsky brought out a new “symbol of faith”, which was based on the people’s feeling for Christ, the people’s type of Christian worldview. “This symbol of faith is very simple,” he said, “to believe that there is nothing more beautiful, deeper, more sympathetic, more intelligent, more courageous and more perfect than Christ, and not only is there not, but with jealous love I tell myself that it cannot be... »
For the writer, four years of hard labor gave way to military service: from Omsk, Dostoevsky was escorted under escort to Semipalatinsk. Here he served as a private, then received an officer rank. He returned to St. Petersburg only at the end of 1859. A spiritual search began for new ways of social development in Russia, which ended in the 60s with the formation of Dostoevsky’s so-called soil-based beliefs. Since 1861, the writer, together with his brother Mikhail, began publishing the magazine “Time”, and after its ban, the magazine “Epoch”. Working on magazines and new books, Dostoevsky developed his own view of the tasks of a Russian writer and public figure - a unique, Russian version of Christian socialism.
In 1861, Dostoevsky’s first novel, written after hard labor, was published, “The Humiliated and Insulted,” which expressed the author’s sympathy for the “little people” who are subjected to incessant insults from the powers that be. “Notes from the House of the Dead” (1861-1863), conceived and begun by Dostoevsky while still in hard labor, acquired enormous social significance. In 1863, the magazine “Time” published “Winter Notes on Summer Impressions,” in which the writer criticized the political belief systems of Western Europe. In 1864, “Notes from the Underground” was published - a kind of confession of Dostoevsky, in which he renounced his previous ideals, love for man, and faith in the truth of love.
In 1866, the novel “Crime and Punishment” was published - one of the most significant novels of the writer, and in 1868 - the novel “The Idiot”, in which Dostoevsky tried to create the image of a positive hero opposing the cruel world of predators. Dostoevsky's novels “The Demons” (1871) and “The Teenager” (1879) became widely known. The last work summing up the writer’s creative activity was the novel “The Brothers Karamazov” (1879-1880). The main character of this work, Alyosha Karamazov, helping people in their troubles and alleviating their suffering, becomes convinced that the most important thing in life is a feeling of love and forgiveness. On January 28 (February 9), 1881, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky died in St. Petersburg.
1. The path to vocation.
2. Hard labor.
3. The main works of the writer and their problems.
F. M. Dostoevsky was born in 1821 in the Moscow Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor. His childhood, the second of six children, was joyless, and he did not want to remember it, but he always spoke about his family with love. His father was a doctor, and in 1828 he received the title of hereditary nobleman. The mother was a very religious woman, so every year the children went to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Fyodor learned to read from the book “One Hundred and Four Sacred Stories of the Old and New Testaments.” He, his brother and sisters knew the Gospel from childhood. “The History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin, poems by G. R. Derzhavin, V. A. Zhukovsky, A. S. Pushkin were customary to read aloud in this family.
In 1832, the head of the family acquired the village of Darovoye, Tula province, and the family began to spend every summer there. Having received home training, Fyodor and his older brother Mikhail studied in private boarding schools from 1833. Fedor suffers from being cut off from his family. At this time he enjoys reading. In 1837, Dostoevsky’s mother died, his father took his sons to St. Petersburg to enter the preparatory boarding school of K. F. Kostomarov, and then study at the Engineering School. Dostoevsky already knew his calling and did not understand why he needed anything else. In 1839 his father died. A year earlier, Dostoevsky was enrolled in the Engineering School, in 1840 he was promoted to non-commissioned officer, then to field engineer-warrant officer. A literary circle formed around him at school; he wrote dramatic works about Mary Stuart and Boris Godunov. After graduating from college, he was enrolled in the engineering corps at the drawing room of the Engineering Department. With the rank of lieutenant in 1844, Dostoevsky retired in order to devote himself entirely to literary creativity.
Dostoevsky is translating O. de Balzac's "Eugenie Grande" and is working on other translations, which, alas, have not appeared in print. He writes the novel “Poor People” - the work was completed in May 1845. D.V. Grigorovich was the first to hear it and, through N.A. Nekrasov, conveyed it to V.G. Belinsky. Belinsky responded about the work as follows: “... the novel reveals such secrets of life and characters in Rus' that no one had ever dreamed of before.” Admiration for the novel gave way to controversy among critics. But everyone saw the writer’s undoubted talent. Already in his first work, Dostoevsky outlined the main problems of his subsequent work: the theme of the “little man”, self-disclosure of the character of the hero, analysis of his fate in society, duality, the theme of St. Petersburg. At the same time, the story “The Double” was created. The writer adheres to the traditions of the natural school. Dostoevsky is characterized by tragic pathos, sympathy for man, the study of the psychology of the urban poor, he is concerned with the problems of modernity and the development of mankind.
Dostoevsky became close friends with Belinsky, met I. S. Turgenev, V. F. Odoevsky, V. A. Sollogub. But when the story disappointed Belinsky, the suspicious Dostoevsky left the circle. “The Double” was published in 1846 in Otechestvennye zapiski. In his review, Belinsky praised Dostoevsky's works. Together with Nekrasov and Grigorovich, he creates the story “How dangerous it is to indulge in ambitious dreams.” The story "Mr. Prokharchin" is published. The writer's health leaves much to be desired - epileptic seizures begin that haunt him throughout his life.
In 1846, the writer joined the circle of the Beketov brothers, and in 1847 he met M. V. Bugashevich-Petrashevsky, a utopian socialist. The series of feuilletons “The Petersburg Chronicle”, the story “The Mistress”, the story “Someone else’s Wife”, the story “Weak Heart” and “Stories of an Experienced Man”, the story “White Nights”, two parts of the novel “Netochka Nezvanova” appeared in print.
In these circles they talked not only about literary, but also about social problems: the liberation of peasants, reforms of the court and censorship. In 1848, the writer found himself in a secret society preparing a coup in Russia. Along with other circle members, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The reason for the arrest was a discussion of issues of freedom of printing and the liberation of peasants, as well as Dostoevsky’s reading of Belinsky’s letter to I.V. Gogol. “I am a freethinker in the same sense in which” can be called a freethinker and every person who, in the depths of his heart, feels the right to be a citizen, feels the right to wish good for his fatherland, because he finds in his heart both love for the fatherland and consciousness that I never harmed him in any way,” he said during the first interrogation.
In 1854, Dostoevsky was released from prison, transported to Semipalatinsk and enlisted as a private in a company of the Siberian Line Battalion. The next year he was promoted to non-commissioned officer for good behavior and diligent service, and later to ensign. In 1857 he married the widow M.D. Isaeva. Soon the Petrashevites were given back all their rights and nobility. In 1858, the writer resigns again due to poor health. A year later, the story “Uncle’s Dream” was published, a little later - “The Village of Stepanchikovo and its Inhabitants.”
Having given the writer permission to settle in Tver instead of Semipalatinsk, he is kept under secret surveillance. Soon Dostoevsky was allowed to live in St. Petersburg. There Fyodor Mikhailovich attends the literary evenings of A.P. Milyukov. In 1860, Dostoevsky made his acting debut - he played the postmaster Shpekin in The Government Inspector.
In 1861-1862, “The Humiliated and Insulted”, “Notes from the House of the Dead”, “Bad Anecdote” were published, the writer communicated with N. A. Dobrolyubov, A. N. Ostrovsky, A. A. Grigoriev, N. G. . Chernyshevsky, visits A. I. Herzen in London. The Dostoevskys move from St. Petersburg to Moscow, where the writer was widowed and moved again to St. Petersburg. After the death of his brother, Fyodor Mikhailovich headed his magazine “Epoch” until 1865. Later, he lives abroad in need, publishes a collection of works with the promise of writing something new, and adds a new chapter to “Notes from the House of the Dead.”
“The Player”, “Crime and Punishment” are a confirmation of the writer’s humanistic beliefs, his desire for God, for the ideal of philanthropy. According to the writer, a person’s awareness of death should encourage him to enjoy life and love his neighbor. Social circumstances can not only push people to commit a crime, but also awaken the heroes’ self-awareness and their conscience. The harmony of man and society became the author's dream.
The writer marries his stenographer A.G. Snitkina and again leaves abroad. They had five children, some of whom died in infancy. Abroad, the writer plays roulette; he has been obsessed with the game for ten years. In 1868, the novel “The Idiot” was published, where the theme of humility and rebellion of man is raised, and two years later - the story “The Eternal Husband”, in 1871 “Demons”.
Returning to Russia, the writer becomes editor of the magazine "Citizen", writes the novel "Teenager", publishes "Diary of a Writer" with the goal of "finding and indicating our national and popular point of view in current political events." The Diary evokes a flurry of letters from grateful readers. While creating the novel “The Brothers Karamazov”, the writer visits Optina Pustyn, participates in charity literary evenings, where he reads excerpts from the novel. The author strives to convey to readers that Russia will be saved by Christianity. He was elected a member of the Honorary Committee of the International Literary Association as one of the famous contemporary writers, as well as an honorary member of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature. In 1881, while working on “A Writer’s Diary,” F. M. Dostoevsky died.
Dostoevsky was sad at school; I had to endure drills, cram sciences for which there was no true calling. We learn about material deprivation from his letters to his father: “The camp life of every student of a military educational institution requires at least 40 rubles. money. (I am writing all this to you because I am talking to my father.” In that amount I do not include such needs as, for example, having tea, sugar, etc. This is already necessary, and it is necessary not out of decency alone, but out of need When you get wet in the rain in a canvas tent or in such weather, coming back from training tired and cold, without tea you can get sick, which happened to me last year on a hike. But still, respecting your need, I won’t. to drink tea. I demand only what is necessary for two pairs of simple boots - sixteen rubles.”
By 1839, Dostoevsky was already aware of his calling. He composes dramas in the style of Shakespeare and Pushkin, reads excerpts from them to his brother who came to take the officer exams. The passion for literature is growing stronger.
The mysterious death of his father made a grave impression on Fyodor Mikhailovich. According to stories, he was killed by peasants for his cruel treatment of them. Dostoevsky never mentioned the tragic death of his father in his correspondence, did not say anything about him, and even asked not to ask anything about his father. He, according to the testimony of his comrades, turns into a secretive, gloomy and thoughtful young man. “The son’s imagination was shocked not only by the dramatic situation of the old man’s death, but also by his sense of guilt before him. He did not like him, complained about his stinginess, and shortly before his death he wrote to him
an irritated letter... The problem of fathers and children, crime and punishment, guilt and responsibility met Dostoevsky on the threshold of his conscious life. It was his physiological and mental wound” (K. Mochulsky).
Having received the rank of lieutenant in 1842, Dostoevsky changed his position. He rented an apartment on Vasilyevskaya Street; the manager of his father's estate, Karepin, the husband of Varvara's sister, sent him a monthly share of the income. Together with the salary received, this amounted to a considerable amount, but money it was still not enough. In the mornings, Dostoevsky attended lectures for officers, in the evenings he attended theater and concerts. In 1843 the school was completed. After serving for a year in the Engineering Department, the future writer retired and since then has devoted himself to literary activities.
First works.
Dostoevsky's first major work was the story “Poor People” (1845), which made a great impression on V. G. Belinsky. The appearance of “Poor People” in the “Petersburg Collection” (1846) made the author’s name widely known among the reading public. They saw it as a continuation of traditions N. V. Gogol in the image of the “little man”. Dostoevsky, expressing deep sympathy for disadvantaged and humiliated people, focuses on their spiritual world, their unsuccessful search for a way out of the situation in which they find themselves.
The story consists of letters from the poor official Makar Devushkin and Varenka Dobroselova, which reflect St. Petersburg life and present a wide gallery of people, mostly as defenseless and disadvantaged as they themselves were. However, Dostoevsky strives to find in the “little man” a “big one”, capable of “acting nobly, thinking and feeling nobly, despite his poverty and social humiliation. This is the new contribution that Dostoevsky made, in comparison with Gogol, to the development of the theme of “the little man” (T. Friedlander).
The letters reveal, although carefully expressed, the deep and tender love of the sentimentally inclined Makar Alekseevich for a young girl, the desire to help her. The real grief for him was Varenka’s decision to marry the seducer Bykov, with whom she would never be happy, but this marriage would return her honorable name and “will avert poverty, deprivation and misfortune from her in the future.” In Devushkin’s reflections, humility and submission coexist with thoughts containing elements of protest and indignation at this injustice. V. G. Belinsky highly appreciated the humanistic orientation of “Poor People”.
“Poor People” was followed by the stories “The Double”, “Mr. Prokharchin”, “ Novel in nine letters”, as well as a number of stories about dreamers, among which “White Nights” (1848) stand out. The hero of this work is immersed in a fictional world created by him in his imagination, and finds himself unable to fight for his real happiness. He is defeated at the first meeting with reality.
A tragic turn in fate.
At the end of the 40s, Dostoevsky in his views came to combine the idea of utopian socialism with faith in Christ and the immortality of the soul. Since 1847, having separated from Belinsky, he became a regular visitor to the “Fridays” of M.V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky, a former employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At these meetings, political, economic, and philosophical problems related to the further development of Russia were discussed. Petrashevites advocated the abolition of serfdom and reforms government agencies. Dostoevsky accepted
participation in the society of Speshnev and Durov, where the coup in Russia was discussed.
On the night of April 22-23, 1849, the Petrashevites were arrested. Dostoevsky spent almost nine months in solitary confinement in the Alekseevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Finally, after all the investigative actions were carried out, the state criminals were sentenced to death. On December 22, at the Semyonovsky parade ground in St. Petersburg, all those condemned were put on the scaffold. Petrashevsky was the first to stand on the left flank, followed by Fyodor Mikhailovich a few people later. Everyone was shivering from the cold, as they were dressed in spring overcoats. A few seconds later, an important official appeared and began to unfold long sheets of paper and read the verdict, carefully listing everyone’s guilt and repeating “subject to death by shooting...”.
The condemned were given white canvas robes with hoods and long sleeves; the priest, standing in front of the condemned, spoke about earthly sins. Dostoevsky exclaimed: “We will be together with Christ!” The convicts were forced to their knees and their swords were broken over their heads. Then the command came: “Take aim!”
Suddenly, a military official appeared from around the corner of the Semyonovsky parade ground, approached the general and conveyed a message to him. The auditor entered the scaffold and solemnly announced that the Emperor and Autocrat would grant life to the condemned, listing the punishment for each. Dostoevsky was sentenced to four years of hard labor followed by conscription as a soldier.
From that moment on, the process of rebirth of the writer’s views began. Doubts arose about the truth of utopian socialism. At hard labor he became closely acquainted with ordinary people who hated nobles, even those convicted. As a result, Dostoevsky came to the conviction that the intelligentsia should abandon political struggle, it should accept the views and moral ideals of the people: religiosity, readiness for self-sacrifice. He now contrasted the political struggle with the path of moral improvement of man.
In 1854, after the Omsk convict prison, Dostoevsky arrived in Semipalatinsk for military service. By this time, a symbol of faith had formed in his mind: “... To believe that there is nothing more beautiful, deeper, prettier, more reasonable, courageous and more perfect Christ, and not only not, but... it cannot be.” Hence, the conviction of the need to accept suffering in the name of salvation becomes increasingly stronger, a conviction that was later embodied in his artistic works.
Return to life and literature.
In Semipalatinsk, Dostoevsky first served as a soldier, then was promoted to non-commissioned officer and finally received the restoration of his officer rank. This eased his lot, gave him time for literary pursuits, and expanded his circle of acquaintances. He carried on extensive correspondence with his brother Mikhail, friend A.E. Wrangel, who lobbied for the writer before his superiors, and the wives of the Decembrists P.E. Annenkova and N.D. Fonvizina. In 1857, Dostoevsky’s wedding took place in Semipalatinsk with Maria Dmitrievna Isaeva, the widow of a retired official. This was the first passionate love of 35-year-old Fyodor Mikhailovich in his life. However, this marriage did not bring him happiness: his wife was a very sick woman, mentally unstable. Soon it was decided to let Dostoevsky retire for health reasons, and he and his family moved to St. Petersburg. In Siberia, he wrote two stories, “The Village of Stepanchiko and Its Inhabitants” and “Uncle’s Dream.”
The return to the capital took place in 1859. There he was actively involved not only in literary but also publishing activities, together with his brother Mikhail he began publishing the magazine “Time”, and after its closure in 1863, the magazine “Epoch”. Well-known critics of that time, Ap., collaborated with the Dostoevsky brothers. A. Grigoriev, N. N. Strakhov, poets A. N. Maikov and Ya. P. Polonsky.
During these years, with the support of Strakhov and Grigoriev, Dostoevsky actively developed the theory of pochvennichestvo. The Pochvenniki called for a search for an original path of development for Russia, rejecting both serfdom and the bourgeois path of development. They believed that it was necessary to overcome the isolation of the educated layer of society from the people, merge with them and accept its main element - Christianity. Like the Slavophiles, the Pochvenniki advocated the religious, moral and patriarchal foundations of people's life. The reforms of Peter 1, according to Dostoevsky, separated society, but now the time has come again for national self-awareness, for the creation of “a new form, our own, native, taken from our soil, taken from the people’s spirit and from the people’s principles... and now before With this entry into a new life, the reconciliation of the followers of Peter’s reform with the people’s principles became a necessity.” The Pochvenniks sought to smooth out the contradictions between opposing ideological groups and call them to spiritual reconciliation.
Dostoevsky also occupied a special place in the struggle between supporters of aesthetic and revolutionary democratic theory of art. Art, according to him, is always modern and does not exist in isolation from life. However, it cannot be subordinated to the tasks of public service, it cannot be required to resolve political issues, and works of art can only be assessed from the point of view of artistic value.
In the summer of 1862, the writer traveled abroad for the first time, visiting Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, and London. During the trip, he experienced a strong and for some time mutual love for a Russian girl of revolutionary populist convictions, Apollinaria Suslova. However, they were separated by ideological positions and attitudes towards religion. “A woman of extremes, always prone to extreme sensations, to all psychological and life polarities, she showed that “demandingness” towards life, which testifies to a passionate, captivating, greedy nature. A heart inclined to noble manifestations was no less prone to blind impulses of passion, to violent persecution and revenge” (L. Rossman).
In 1863, for the publication of N. N. Strakhov’s “The Fatal Question,” the magazine “Vremya” was closed “by the highest command.”
The year 1864 was very difficult for Dostoevsky. He lost his brother Mikhail, his wife Maria Dmitrievna died. Fyodor Mikhailovich cannot withstand the difficulties that befell him in connection with concerns about the Epoch magazine, and next year he stops publishing it. Financial difficulties forced him to sign an enslaving agreement with the publisher F. T. Stellovsky: Dostoevsky was obliged to submit the novel “The Gambler” for publication by November 1, 1866, otherwise the ownership of all the writer’s works would pass to Stellovsky for ten years. Dostoevsky was helped out of a difficult situation by the young stenographer Anna Grigorievna Snitkina, to whom he dictated his novel for a month. After the difficulties were overcome, Fyodor Mikhailovich realized that his future life was impossible without this woman, and she became his wife.
In 1866, Dostoevsky’s new novel, a confessional novel, an ideological novel, “Crime and Punishment,” was published.
Life and work abroad.
Moving abroad was associated with the desire to get rid of creditors at least temporarily, as well as in the hope of improving health. The Dostoevskys lived in Dresden, Berlin, Basel, Geneva and Florence.
In Baden-Baden, Dostoevsky's final break with Turgenev took place, whom he accused of atheism, hatred of Russia and admiration for the West. “Their dispute was not a simple literary quarrel: it expressed the tragedy of Russian self-awareness” (K. Mochulsky). It will be a long time before the two great Russian writers embrace as a sign of reconciliation at Pushkin's celebrations.
In 1868, the Russian Messenger magazine published the novel The Idiot. “The main idea of the novel,” Dostoevsky writes in one of his letters, “is to portray a positively beautiful person. There is nothing more difficult in the world than this, especially now... There is only one positively beautiful face in the world - Christ, so the appearance of this immeasurably, infinitely beautiful face is certainly an infinite miracle.”
Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin becomes an exceptionally positive hero of the novel. He has many things in common with his favorite heroes of Dostoevsky’s previous works - the Dreamer from White Nights, Ivan Petrovich from The Humiliated and Insulted. He is obsessed with the idea of achieving harmony among all people, regardless of their position in society and character. He sees a bright beginning in everyone and everyone, in his opinion, deserves compassion. Myshkin is kind, direct in communication and often naive. He is able to understand the suffering of people, since he himself suffered a lot and suffered mental illness. People are drawn to him, and not only the suffering Nastasya Filippovna, but even General Epanchin or the bitter merchant Rogozhin. They are attracted to him by something that has long been lost to them. For the sake of saving Nastasya Filippovna, Myshkin is ready to sacrifice his own happiness and the happiness of his beloved girl. However, the preaching of Christian love and harmony fails. the hero turns out to be powerless in the face of the world of anger, violence and irrepressible passions. Myshkin himself returns to a state of madness, Nastasya Filippovna dies, hopes for Aglaya’s happiness are dashed.
The novel depicts the world of people opposing Myshkin's world. These people are possessed by a destructive passion for profit, which devastates their souls. Kolya Ivolgin, in a conversation with the prince, characterizes society in the following way: “There are terribly few honest people here, so there’s not even anyone to respect at all... and you noticed, prince, in our age everyone is an adventurer! And it is here in Russia, in our dear fatherland.” Dostoevsky depicts people burdened with the idea of acquisition. General Epanchin participates in tax farming and joint-stock companies, has two houses in St. Petersburg and a factory, and has a lot of money. Ghana Ivolgin needs a lot of money to carry out his ambitious plans. For the sake of the money he receives from Totsky, he is ready to marry Nastasya Filippovna, whom he does not love.
Rogozhin is also subject to the power of money, in whose mind love coexists quite well with the cult of wealth. He does not hesitate to publicly offer a huge fortune to Nastasya Filippovna, whom he loves with sensual passion. The scene is colorful when Nastasya Filippovna throws 100 thousand rubles into the fireplace and allows only Gana to take them out. The base feelings of those present are exposed: Lebedev screams and crawls into the fireplace, Ferdyshchenko asks permission to pull out only one pack with his teeth, Ganya faints.
Dostoevsky explains the social and moral crisis in society by the loss of faith, as a result of which the “dark foundation of our nature” triumphs, and a person is controlled by pride and greed, hatred and sensuality. Elizaveta Prokofyevna Epanchina, expressing the author’s position, says: “The last times really have come... Crazy! Vain! They don’t believe in God, they don’t believe in Christ! But you have been so consumed by vanity and pride that you will end up eating each other, I predict that. And this is not confusion, and this is not chaos, and this is not disgrace?”
The novel also develops one of the favorite themes of Dostoevsky's works - the theme of beauty. First of all, she is embodied in the image of Nastasya Filippovna, a proud, noble, suffering woman. Her external beauty is in harmony with her inner, spiritual beauty (“With this kind of beauty you can turn the world upside down”). However, in the world of money, her beauty becomes the subject of vile bargaining, the reason for her humiliation and reproach.
Dostoevsky, as an artist, deeply suffers that beauty, the dignity of the human person, the greatness of the beautiful female image are desecrated and humiliated.
The relationship between Prince Myshkin and Nastasya Filippovna can be characterized by the concept of love-suffering. The motive of tragic guilt, the fatal doom of love-suffering, the constant increase in disaster and the death of the heroine of the novel - all this testifies in favor of defining the genre of “The Idiot” as a tragedy novel.
The last decade of life and creativity.
At the end of 1871, Dostoevsky and his wife, having partially paid off their debts, returned to St. Petersburg.
In 1872, the novel “Demons” was published, which caused great discussion in contemporary criticism of the author and in literary works of subsequent times. He is polemical in relation to revolutionary democratic and liberal ideas, and is directed against the anarchist theories that were spreading in Russia. The novel depicts a closed group of revolutionaries as adventurers and ambitious people who do not disdain anything for the sake of social upheaval in Russia (Stavrogin, Verkhovensky, etc.). One of the most important themes of the novel is the exposure of atheism, the question of faith in God and unbelief. Without faith, a person, according to Dostoevsky, loses moral guidelines, confuses good and evil and ends tragically (Kirillov and Stavrogin).
The last decade of Dostoevsky’s life and work was filled with disturbing events, financial difficulties, concern for the health of loved ones, editing the magazine “Citizen,” and meeting outstanding writers, government and cultural figures. The “Citizen” section opened a “Writer’s Diary” column, where Dostoevsky’s philosophical and journalistic works were published. The writer, as if talking with readers, talks to them about the past, about current events. about theater, literature, polemicizes with opponents. K. Mochulsky called the “Diary of a Writer” a half-diary, half-confession due to its free, flexible and lyrical form. Several articles were devoted to memories.
Dostoevsky’s creative refuge during these years was Staraya Russa, where he settled with his family and wrote “The Teenager” (1874-1875). The writer exposes in this work the depravity of society, its greed, thirst for enrichment, and spiritual decay. Influenced by the idea of enrichment, Arkady Dolgoruky, the illegitimate son of the aristocrat Versilov, the Teenager, strives to become a Rothschild, since, in his belief, money can make him free and independent. The author constructs the narrative in such a way that he forces the hero to become convinced of the falsity of the ideal, abandon it and embark on the path of good.
The completion of the creative path of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was the novel “The Brothers Karamazov” (1878-1879), recognized as the most significant work of the writer, the perfection of his artistic genius. It deeply reflects the philosophical idea of Dostoevsky. Denouncing the immorality of society, anti-moral political, philosophical and social ideas embodied in the images of representatives of the Karamazov family (Fedor Pavlovich, Dmitry, Ivan, Smerdyakov), the writer continues to develop the concept of a Christian worldview as a condition for establishing harmony in the souls of people, proclaims human suffering as an inevitable law of existence, a means of achieving peace and happiness. This author’s position is reflected in the images of Elder Zosima and Alyosha Karamazov. While working on this novel, Dostoevsky sought answers to the most important questions about the ways and prospects for the development of human society.