June 1, 2015
by Sean Fitzpatrick
There are only a very few authors whose works bear the power of changing the way the whole world is perceived by people. Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of those authors; and one of the ways that Dostoevsky has made his mark on human souls is his presentation of guilt. Not the feverish guilt of Raskolnikov [...]
August 28, 2014
by Sean Fitzpatrick
Fyodor Dostoevsky was condemned to death—public execution by firing squad. The year was 1849 and the young Dostoevsky, fresh from the success of his first novel, Poor Folk, had joined a liberal humanitarian group devoted to studying utopian models of socialism. During one of their meetings, the police appeared and arrested the whole company. They [...]
July 10, 2013
by R. Jared Staudt
A popular quote we often hear but find hard to understand is "beauty will save the world." How will beauty save the world? The line comes from Dostoevsky’s novel, The Idiot, attributed to the main character, Prince Myskin. The prince, an epileptic Russian nobleman, serves as a Christ-like figure, who stands apart for his innocence [...]
August 14, 2010
by Simcha Fisher
I sometimes think that Russia just sits around thinking, "Is there any way we can be just a little more grim today?" According to NPR's Morning Edition, a subway mural project is stirring up some controversy: The Dostoevskaya station — which opened this summer in memory of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky — met a fair [...]
April 26, 2010
by Deal W. Hudson
What did Fyodor Dostoevsky mean in The Idiot when one of his characters asserts, "Beauty will save the world"? Taken at face value, it's a claim that beauty plays a role in the salvation of us all. There are quite a few Christians, of all denominations, who would respond to that claim with suspicion, if [...]
