Fyodor DostoyevskyFyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) was born in Moscow, as the second son of a former army doctor. In 1846 he joined a group of utopian socialists. He was arrested in 1849 during a reading of a radical letter, and sentenced to death. He spent four years i a convict prison in Siberia, after which he was obliged to enlist in the army. Dostoyevsky’s own harrowing experiences were the inspiration for the novel Crime and Punishment. Read More Read Less