Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) He was born in Moscow into the family of Mikhail Andreevich Dostoevsky, a doctor at the Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor, and his wife Maria Feodorovna. There were seven children in the family, and Fyodor became especially close to his older brother Mikhail. Until the age of 13, Fyodor studied at home, where he was taught Russian and French, literature and mathematics. In 1834, the brothers entered the prestigious Leonty Chermak boarding school. Here, the young Dostoevsky was greatly influenced by the teacher of the Russian language, N.I. Bilevich, who for the first time gave rise to thoughts of a writing vocation in him.
In 1837, Fyodor lost his mother, which was a heavy blow to him. After that, he entered the Main Engineering College in St. Petersburg, although his true ambition was literature. In 1843, he graduated from college and even began military service, but soon left it for literary work. In 1845, Dostoevsky completed his first novel, Poor People, which was a huge success and brought the author fame. Critic Belinsky praised the novel, calling the author a "new Gogol."
In 1847, Dostoevsky joined Mikhail Petrashevsky's circle. Young intellectuals discussed liberal and socialist ideas, read banned books, and criticized serfdom, autocracy, and censorship. In 1849, Dostoevsky was arrested for participating in the Petrashevsky circle. After eight months of imprisonment in the Peter and Paul Fortress, he was sentenced to death, which was replaced by hard labor at the last moment. Four years of hard labor in Siberia and subsequent service in Semipalatinsk became a turning point in the writer's life.
After returning from exile in 1859, Dostoevsky resumed his literary activity. Together with his brother Mikhail, he published the magazines "Time" and "Epoch". During this period, many of his famous works were written: "Notes from the Dead House", "Crime and Punishment", "Idiot", "Demons", "The Brothers Karamazov". Dostoevsky was married twice. He had no children from his first marriage to Maria Isaeva, but he raised her son Pavel. In his second marriage with Anna Snitkina, the writer had four children, although three of them died at an early age.
Fyodor Mikhailovich suffered from epilepsy, the first attack of which occurred as a teenager. In January 1881, his condition deteriorated sharply. The writer died on January 28 (February 9), 1881, from tuberculosis complicated by chronic bronchitis. He was buried at the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.
Dostoevsky's work had a huge impact on world literature and philosophy. His works explore deep psychological and philosophical themes, touching on issues of faith, sin, freedom and human suffering.
