Fjodor Dostojewskij

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian writer and a major representative of literary realism. Born in Moscow to a doctor, he attended a military engineering school in Saint Petersburg and initially worked as a technical draughtsman before devoting himself to writing in 1844/45. Arrested in 1849 for his association with political critics, he was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted immediately before the execution to forced labor followed by military service in Siberia. His best-known works include Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, The Gambler, Notes from Underground, and The Brothers Karamazov. His passion for gambling and the resulting financial difficulties influenced parts of his life and work.