Crime and Punishment

Interesting Facts

• The main character, Rodion Raskolnikov, commits the murder of an old pawnbroker and her sister, which becomes the central event of the novel.
• Dostoevsky initially planned to write the novel in the form of a confession from the first person but later changed the structure to the third person.
• The novel was first published in the magazine «The Russian Messenger» in 1866 as a serial.
• The action of the novel takes place in St. Petersburg, and many real places in the city are mentioned in the text.
• The theme of moral rebirth and redemption of sins is key in the novel.
• The character Svidrigailov, one of the antagonists, provokes much debate among literary scholars due to his complex and contradictory nature.
• Raskolnikov's dream about the beaten horse is one of the most famous and symbolic episodes in literature.
• The novel addresses themes of poverty, social injustice, and moral dilemmas, making it relevant in the modern world.