Fjodor M. Dostojewski

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian writer. Born in Moscow, he initially trained as a military engineer before devoting himself entirely to writing from 1845 onward. In 1849, he was arrested for his association with a socialist circle and sentenced to death; immediately before the execution, the sentence was commuted to four years of hard labor in Siberia followed by military service. His major works include *Crime and Punishment*, *The Idiot*, *Demons*, *The Gambler*, and *The Brothers Karamazov*. In addition to nine novels, he wrote numerous short stories, novellas, and essays.