Culture is the mirror of the history of the peoples that produce it. Russia, for its configuration and geographic location, has always been the land of encounter and dialogue between cultures of Asian and Western cultures. By mixing them with the elements of local culture that is born what we now know as the Russian literature. This is a constant throughout the history of Russian culture; beyond the "mode" linked to the various periods of transformation of the political and economic reality of Russia there is always the way in which they are absorbed and reinterpreted by '' intelighentzia "Russian, their way of being and thinking.
It is impossible to understand the work of Tolstoy without hearing the meaning of the passage of time during the long, interminable Russian winter. The sense of fatality and tragedy that more or less openly characterizes all great Russian literature can be understood only by placing the man in an environment that surpasses it with its immensity and harshness.
Among the great of Russia, few are those who are remembered by posterity as worthy of memory; the successor tends to cancel or deny what has left the predecessor. During the life of a tsar or president they are erected many monuments, but, at the time of his death, is put as great a commitment to destroy them. This is the way to go to understand the complexity and originality of Russian culture. The great writers and poets such as interpreted by the Russians were the most relevant issues of the world culture.
There can be "Crime and Punishment" with no sense of the tragedy of existence of the intellectual Russian Dostoevsky. A trip to St. Petersburg, offers the chance to discover personally the city that inspired most of all, between hatred and love, the most famous Russian writers and poets.
The house museum of Dostoevsky is dedicated to illustrate the life and works of Fyodor Dostoevsky, author of Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov. Dostoevsky lived in this apartment from 1878 to 1881 and was undoubtedly one of the most influential writers of the 19th century. He was born in Moscow October 30, 1821 by Mikhail and Maria Dostoevsky, hospital employees. The family lived in an apartment on the hospital grounds. It is said that the interactions of Dostoevsky with hospital patients greatly pushed his interest in those who were less fortunate than him. This empathy has often been described in the works of the author. In 1841 he was published his first two works: Mary Stuart and Boris Godunov.
In 1846, Poor People, was released to great critical acclaim. Soon after the release of the masterpiece, Dostoevsky was exiled to Siberia for four years for being a member of the Petrashevsky circle, a group of intellectuals. The prison has had a great influence on the author and his future works. Memoirs from the House of the Dead, Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and the demons were all created during this period.
The last of these great works was The Brothers Karamazov. When Dostoyevsky died in 1881, thousands attended his funeral and mourned the passing of a great literary hero. Part of the building is dedicated to the life of the author. The other part of the museum is dedicated to the five novels that he wrote while living there. The museum also hosts contemporary art exhibitions.