One of the most famous Russian writers of all time, Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoevsky was born in 1821 in Russia. Dostoevsky’s literary career began with the publication of his first novel in 1846 with which he immediately rose to critical acclaim. His arrest in 1849, and the subsequent experience of a mock execution, where he and other prisoners were pardoned at the last possible second, and his time spent in a Siberian prison labor camp, profoundly influenced Dostoevsky’s later writings as well as served to solidify his almost celebratory status among the public. He died in 1881.
His writings are characterized by a profoundly acute sense for the depth of human darkness and their psychological fallouts. In his characters, he often explored in detail dark and harmful emotions, their escalation and how they lead into deplorable actions. He often portrayed characters from poorer backgrounds and explores how this poverty shapes their complex thinking and actions.
After Dostoevsky’s return from Siberia, his writing was influenced by his own horrid experiences which gave it an intensely authentic voice. Contrary to the contemporary critical atmosphere of that time, Dostoevsky gave utmost importance to individual freedom and integrity above all else and developed an intense attachment to Russian Orthodoxy.
Though most widely known for his novels, Dostoevsky also wrote three novellas and seventeen short stories. The majority of his short fiction was published in Dostoevsky’s self-published journal The Diary of a Writer, beginning in 1873, in which he wrote a variety of short stories, political and journalistic articles, essays and sketches. His short fiction had similar themes to his novels and frequently dealt with theological issues and the danger of the rising radical socialism in Russia.
