Fyodor Dostoevsky – a 19th-century Russian literary giant, author of Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, widely adapted for film. He probed morality, freedom and faith. A death sentence was commuted to Siberian exile, shaping his vision. His works influenced Nietzsche, Kafka, and modern philosophy.
📜 Dostoevsky survived a mock execution – lined up for the firing squad, he was pardoned at the last moment. 🖋️ He dictated The Gambler to stenographer Anna Snitkina, who became his wife. 🎲 He was addicted to roulette, often losing huge sums. 📚 Called the “psychologist of psychologists”, Freud considered him a forerunner of psychoanalysis. 🇪🇺 In Europe he met Turgenev and Baudelaire, clashing over politics. 🕯️ His works explored the idea of the “double” – later a cultural term. 🏛️ Over 60,000 mourners attended his funeral in St Petersburg. 🎬 More than 25 films have been based on his novels worldwide. 📰 He co-edited the journals Vremya and Epokha, shaping public debates. 📖 Nietzsche hailed him as “the only psychologist from whom I had anything to learn.” 💰 Dostoevsky wrote throughout his life under severe financial pressure. 😲 Curious: in Dresden he once lost a manuscript and retrieved it at the lost-and-found office. 😂 Funny: he jokingly called himself “the king of fools” in letters about his gambling debts.