Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and essayist whose fiction probes morality, faith, guilt, and freedom. Born in Moscow, he trained as an engineer before turning to literature. After early success, he was arrested in 1849, sentenced to death, and reprieved at the last moment; he then spent years in Siberian imprisonment and exile, experiences that shaped his later work. His major novels include *Crime and Punishment*, *The Idiot*, *Demons*, and *The Brothers Karamazov*. Dostoyevsky’s intense psychological realism and philosophical depth made him a central figure in world literature.