Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostevsky
Presented by Kyle Hanson
General Bio info
- Russian novelist
- Born November, 1821 and died February 9, 1881 from a lung hemorrhage
- Parents: Mikhail and Maria Dostoevsky
- Six siblings
- Fyodor's father was employed at a hospital
- Interacting with the patients shaped his aesthetic and social outlook
Historical influences
Dostevsky was mostly influenced by the Westernization of Russia. Peter the Great and Alexander II both pushed Russia to "catch up" with the rest of Western Europe. Upper classes were drastically split from the peasantry.
Political view points
Dostevsky's political views changed drastically as his life advanced. He was closely allied with Russian socialists at the beginning of his writing career. Fyodor Dostevsky was associated with the Petrashevsky Circle, a group of intellectuals who discussed Utopian socialism. His involvement in the Petrashevsky Circle ended up getting Dostevsky imprisoned, mock executed, and then exiled to Siberia. After his exile, Dostevsky became a leading voice in Russian conservatism and a staunch defender of the Russian Orthodox church. Fyodor Dostevsky's sympathy for the individual, regardless of social class, remained strong throughout his entire life. His work forces its readers to contemplate psychological and philosophical quandaries that were pertinent not only to his own time, but also to the increasingly complex world of today.
Resources
Egs.edu,. 'Fyodor Dostoevsky - Russian Author - Biography'. N.p., 2014. Web. 10 Sept. 2014.
College.columbia.edu,. 'Historical Context For Crime And Punishment By Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky | The Core Curriculum'. N.p., 2014. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.
Maus, Derek. 'AP Central - English Literature Author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky'. Apcentral.collegeboard.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.
Encyclopedia Britannica,. 'Petrashevsky Circle (Russian Intellectual Organization)'. N.p., 2014. Web. 10 Sept. 2014.