Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was born in Moscow. His father was a military surgeon at a hospital for the poor, exposing the young Fyodor to the suffering of common people.

After his mother's death from tuberculosis, Dostoevsky moved to St. Petersburg to attend the Military Engineering Academy. This marked the end of his sheltered childhood.

His father was killed by his own serfs, an event that deeply traumatized young Dostoevsky. This tragedy would influence his later explorations of guilt and punishment.

Dostoevsky completed his engineering studies but immediately resigned his commission to pursue literature, believing it was his true calling.

His debut novel 'Poor Folk' was praised by influential critic Belinsky, who declared a new Gogol had appeared. Dostoevsky became an overnight literary sensation.

Dostoevsky became involved with a group of progressive intellectuals who discussed utopian socialism and criticized the tsarist government, a fateful decision.

Arrested for revolutionary activities, Dostoevsky was sentenced to death. At the last moment before execution, his sentence was commuted to hard labor in Siberia.

Dostoevsky endured brutal conditions in the katorga. He could only read the Bible, which deepened his Orthodox Christian faith and transformed his worldview.

After completing his sentence, Dostoevsky was forced to serve as a common soldier in Kazakhstan. He began writing again secretly.

Dostoevsky married Maria Dmitrievna Isaeva, a widow. The marriage was troubled by her illness and his epileptic seizures.

After ten years of exile, Dostoevsky returned to the capital. He resumed writing and co-founded a literary journal with his brother Mikhail.

This novella is considered the first existentialist novel, exploring human irrationality and freedom. It marked a new phase in Dostoevsky's literary development.

His masterpiece exploring guilt, redemption, and the psychology of a murderer became one of the greatest novels ever written and established his international reputation.

Dostoevsky married his young stenographer Anna Grigoryevna, who would become his devoted partner, business manager, and the stabilizing force in his life.

His speech at the Pushkin monument unveiling united rival literary factions in tears. Dostoevsky was celebrated as the voice of Russian spirituality.

Dostoevsky died from a pulmonary hemorrhage at age 59. Tens of thousands attended his funeral, honoring one of literature's greatest psychological novelists.