Misplaced Pages

#572427

140-520: The title originated in connection with Russia's victory in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and appeared as an adaptation of the tsar 's title under the accepted system of titling in Europe. The title was transformed from the previous title of tsar and grand prince of all Russia . The old title tsar (or tsaritsa ) continued to be popularly used to refer to the emperor (or empress) until

280-691: A Baltic empire centred on the Gulf of Finland and comprising the provinces of Karelia , Ingria , Estonia , and Livonia . During the Thirty Years' War Sweden gained tracts in Germany as well, including Western Pomerania , Wismar , the Duchy of Bremen , and Verden . During the same period, Sweden conquered Danish and Norwegian provinces north of the Sound (1645; 1658). These victories may be ascribed to

420-545: A katorga prison camp in Omsk , Siberia, followed by a term of compulsory military service. After a fourteen-day sleigh ride, the prisoners reached Tobolsk , a prisoner way station. Despite the circumstances, Dostoevsky consoled the other prisoners, such as the Petrashevist Ivan Yastrzhembsky, who was surprised by Dostoevsky's kindness and eventually abandoned his decision to kill himself. In Tobolsk,

560-712: A Norwegian front but was killed in the Siege of Fredriksten in 1718. The war ended with the defeat of Sweden, leaving Russia as the new dominant power in the Baltic region and as a new major force in European politics. The Western powers, Great Britain and France , became caught up in the separate War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), which broke out over the Bourbon Philip of Anjou 's succession to

700-517: A Russian galley fleet made a lightning raid on Borgå and managed to return to Kronslot just one day before the Swedish battle fleet returned to the blockade, after being delayed by unfavourable winds. In August 1708, a Swedish army of 12,000 men under General Georg Henrik Lybecker attacked Ingria , crossing the Neva from the north. They met stubborn resistance, ran out of supplies and, after reaching

840-517: A Spaniard in late spring and Dostoevsky's gambling addiction and age ended their relationship. He later described her in a letter to Nadezhda Suslova as a "great egoist. Her egoism and her vanity are colossal. She demands everything of other people, all the perfections, and does not pardon the slightest imperfection in the light of other qualities that one may possess", and later stated "I still love her, but I do not want to love her any more. She doesn't deserve this love ..." In 1858 Dostoevsky had

980-457: A Swedish ally, though this proved hard to achieve. After years of marches and fighting around Poland he finally had to invade Augustus' hereditary Saxony to take him out of the war. In the treaty of Altranstädt (1706) , Augustus was finally forced to step down from the Polish throne, but Charles had already lost the valuable advantage of time over his main enemy in the east, Peter I, who then had

1120-623: A collection of essays, but funds were lacking, and the Diary was published in Vladimir Meshchersky 's The Citizen , beginning on 1 January, in return for a salary of 3,000 rubles per year. In the summer of 1873, Anna returned to Staraya Russa with the children, while Dostoevsky stayed in St Petersburg to continue with his Diary . In March 1874, Dostoevsky left The Citizen because of the stressful work and interference from

1260-674: A collection of his writings. He began to travel around western Europe and developed a gambling addiction , which led to financial hardship. For a time, he had to beg for money, but he eventually became one of the most widely read and highly regarded Russian writers. Dostoevsky's body of work consists of thirteen novels, three novellas, seventeen short stories, and numerous other works. His writings were widely read both within and beyond his native Russia and influenced an equally great number of later writers including Russians such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Anton Chekhov , philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche , Albert Camus , and Jean-Paul Sartre , and

1400-577: A concept shared by most major powers of the period. The cost of the warfare proved to be much higher than the occupied countries could fund, and Sweden's coffers and resources in manpower were eventually drained in the course of long conflicts. The foreign interventions in Russia during the Time of Troubles resulted in Swedish gains in the Treaty of Stolbovo (1617). The treaty deprived Russia of direct access to

1540-528: A consultation of the Senate together with the Holy Synod accepted the intention, to his majesty, in the testimony of a proper gratitude for his high grace and paternalism and effort which he for the welfare of state in all his glorious time of ruling and especially during the past Swedish War, deigned to manifest, and all-Russian state in such a strong and good fortune, and his people subjected to such fame over

SECTION 10

#1732766249573

1680-664: A delayed honeymoon in Germany with the money gained from the sale. They stayed in Berlin and visited the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden , where he sought inspiration for his writing. They continued their trip through Germany, visiting Frankfurt , Darmstadt , Heidelberg and Karlsruhe . They spent five weeks in Baden-Baden , where Dostoevsky had a quarrel with Turgenev and again lost much money at

1820-504: A dropped pen holder. After another haemorrhage, Anna called the doctors, who gave a poor prognosis. A third haemorrhage followed shortly afterwards. While seeing his children before dying, Dostoevsky requested that the parable of the Prodigal Son be read to his children. The profound meaning of this request is pointed out by Joseph Frank : It was this parable of transgression, repentance, and forgiveness that he wished to leave as

1960-465: A job as a lieutenant engineer and lived with Adolph Totleben in an apartment owned by Dr. Rizenkampf, a friend of Mikhail. Rizenkampf characterised him as "no less good-natured and no less courteous than his brother, but when not in a good mood he often looked at everything through dark glasses, became vexed, forgot good manners, and sometimes was carried away to the point of abusiveness and loss of self-awareness". Dostoevsky's first completed literary work,

2100-620: A journal, but "Uncle's Dream" and "The Village of Stepanchikovo" were not published until 1860. Notes from the House of the Dead was released in Russky Mir (Russian World) in September 1860. Humiliated and Insulted was published in the new Vremya magazine, which had been created with the help of funds from his brother's cigarette factory. Dostoevsky travelled to western Europe for

2240-677: A last heritage to his children, and it may well be seen as his own ultimate understanding of the meaning of his life and the message of his work. Among Dostoevsky's last words was his quotation of Matthew 3:14–15 : "But John forbad him, saying, I have a need to be baptised of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness", and he finished with "Hear now—permit it. Do not restrain me!". His last words to his wife Anna were: "Remember, Anya, I have always loved you passionately and have never been unfaithful to you ever, even in my thoughts!" When he died, his body

2380-541: A letter asking to resign his post. Shortly thereafter, he wrote his second novel, The Double , which appeared in the journal Notes of the Fatherland on 30 January 1846, before being published in February. Around the same time, Dostoevsky discovered socialism through the writings of French thinkers Fourier , Cabet , Proudhon and Saint-Simon . Through his relationship with Belinsky he expanded his knowledge of

2520-554: A letter from the Tsar commuting the sentence. Dostoevsky later described the experience of what he believed to be the last moments of his life in his novel The Idiot . The story of a young man sentenced to death by firing squad but reprieved at the last moment is recounted by the main character, Prince Myshkin, who describes the experience from the point of view of the victim, and considers the philosophical and spiritual implications. Dostoevsky served four years of exile with hard labour at

2660-513: A literary group, the Petrashevsky Circle , that discussed banned books critical of Tsarist Russia . Dostoevsky was sentenced to death but the sentence was commuted at the last moment . He spent four years in a Siberian prison camp, followed by six years of compulsory military service in exile. In the following years, Dostoevsky worked as a journalist, publishing and editing several magazines of his own and later A Writer's Diary ,

2800-473: A local prince, his progeny then taking the name "Dostoevsky" based on a village there called Dostojewo  [ pl ] (derived from Old Polish dostojnik – dignitary). Dostoevsky's immediate ancestors on his mother's side were merchants; the male line on his father's side were priests. In 1809, the 20-year-old Mikhail Dostoevsky enrolled in Moscow's Imperial Medical-Surgical Academy. From there he

2940-517: A nine-year-old girl had been raped by a drunk, he was asked to fetch his father to attend to her. The incident haunted him, and the theme of the desire of a mature man for a young girl appears in The Devils , The Brothers Karamazov , Crime and Punishment , and other writings. An incident involving a family servant, or serf , in the estate in Darovoye, is described in " The Peasant Marey ": when

SECTION 20

#1732766249573

3080-473: A particularly scathing one from Belinsky) Dostoevsky's health declined and his seizures became more frequent, but he continued writing. From 1846 to 1848 he published several short stories in the magazine Notes of the Fatherland , including " Mr. Prokharchin ", " The Landlady ", "A Weak Heart", and " White Nights ". The negative reception of these stories, combined with his health problems and Belinsky's attacks, caused him distress and financial difficulty, but this

3220-606: A position to buy the vacated land. The serfs were acquitted in a trial in Tula , but Dostoevsky's brother Mikhail perpetuated the story. After his father's death, Dostoevsky continued his studies, passed his exams and obtained the rank of engineer cadet, entitling him to live away from the academy. He visited Mikhail in Reval (Tallinn) and frequently attended concerts, operas, plays and ballets. During this time, two of his friends introduced him to gambling. On 12 August 1843 Dostoevsky took

3360-666: A prolonged struggle with Augustus II the Strong ; he had already inflicted defeat on him at Riga in June 1701 and took Warsaw the following year, but trying to force a decisive defeat proved elusive. Russia left Poland in the spring of 1706, abandoning artillery but escaping from the pursuing Swedes, who stopped at Pinsk . Charles wanted not just to defeat the Commonwealth army but to depose Augustus, whom he regarded as especially treasonous, and have him replaced with someone who would be

3500-685: A result, he obtained the right to publish books and to marry, although he remained under police surveillance for the rest of his life. Maria married Dostoevsky in Kuznetsk on 7 February 1857, even though she had initially refused his marriage proposal, stating that they were not meant for each other and that his poor financial situation precluded marriage. Their family life was unhappy and she found it difficult to cope with his seizures. Describing their relationship, he wrote: "Because of her strange, suspicious and fantastic character, we were definitely not happy together, but we could not stop loving each other; and

3640-521: A speech. He was appointed an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences , from which he received an honorary certificate in February 1879. He declined an invitation to an international congress on copyright in Paris after his son Alyosha had a severe epileptic seizure and died on 16 May. The family later moved to the apartment where Dostoevsky had written his first works. Around this time, he

3780-401: A strong sense of justice, protected newcomers, aligned himself with teachers, criticised corruption among officers, and helped poor farmers. Although he was solitary and inhabited his own literary world, he was respected by his classmates. His reclusiveness and interest in religion earned him the nickname "Monk Photius ". Signs of Dostoevsky's epilepsy may have first appeared on learning of

3920-455: A translation of Honoré de Balzac 's novel Eugénie Grandet , was published in June and July 1843 in the 6th and 7th volumes of the journal Repertoire and Pantheon , followed by several other translations. None were successful, and his financial difficulties led him to write a novel. Dostoevsky completed his first novel, Poor Folk , in May 1845. His friend Dmitry Grigorovich , with whom he

4060-545: A variety of philosophical and religious themes. His most acclaimed novels include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), The Adolescent (1875), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). His 1864 novella Notes from Underground is considered to be one of the first works of existentialist literature. Born in Moscow in 1821, Dostoevsky was introduced to literature at an early age through fairy tales and legends , and through books by Russian and foreign authors. His mother died in 1837 when he

4200-521: A visit to Belikhov, Dostoevsky met the family of Alexander Ivanovich Isaev and Maria Dmitrievna Isaeva and fell in love with the latter. Alexander Isaev took a new post in Kuznetsk , where he died in August 1855. Maria and her son then moved with Dostoevsky to Barnaul . In 1856, Dostoevsky sent a letter through Wrangel to General Eduard Totleben , apologising for his activity in several utopian circles. As

4340-535: A well-trained army, which despite its comparatively small size, was far more professional than most continental armies, and also to a modernization of administration (both civilian and military) in the course of the 17th century, which enabled the monarchy to harness the resources of the country and its empire effectively. Fighting in the field, the Swedish army (which during the Thirty Years' War contained more German and Scottish mercenaries than ethnic Swedes, but

Emperor of Russia - Misplaced Pages Continue

4480-530: Is often unclear as Swedish cavalry was used as heavy shock cavalry yet was unarmoured. ** The Saxon army and corresponding militia does not have full details available. Frederik IV of Denmark–Norway directed his first attack against Sweden's ally Holstein-Gottorp . In March 1700, a Danish army laid siege to Tönning . Simultaneously, Augustus II 's forces advanced through Swedish Livonia , captured Dünamünde and laid siege to Riga . Charles XII of Sweden first focused on attacking Denmark. The Swedish navy

4620-626: The Baltic Sea . Russian fortunes began to reverse in the final years of the 17th century, notably with the rise to power of Peter the Great , who looked to address the earlier losses and re-establish a Baltic presence. In the late 1690s, the adventurer Johann Patkul managed to ally Russia with Denmark and Saxony by the secret Treaty of Preobrazhenskoye , and in 1700 the three powers attacked. Charles XII of Sweden succeeded Charles XI of Sweden in 1697, aged 14. From his predecessor, he took over

4760-823: The First Battle of Narva where the Russians suffered a crushing defeat. After the dissolution of the first coalition through the peace of Travendal and with the victory at Narva, the Swedish chancellor, Benedict Oxenstjerna , attempted to use the bidding for the favour of Sweden by France and the Maritime Powers (then on the eve of the War of the Spanish Succession ) to end the war and make Charles an arbiter of Europe. Charles XII then turned south to meet Augustus II , Elector of Saxony , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania . The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

4900-549: The Most Holy Synod , influenced Dostoevsky's political progression to conservatism. Around early 1872 the family spent several months in Staraya Russa , a town known for its mineral spa . Dostoevsky's work was delayed when Anna's sister Maria Svatkovskaya died on 1 May 1872, from either typhus or malaria , and Anna developed an abscess on her throat. The family returned to St Petersburg in September. Demons

5040-793: The Spanish throne and a possible joining of France and Spain. The formal conclusion of the Great Northern War came with the Swedish-Hanoverian and Swedish-Prussian Treaties of Stockholm (1719), the Dano-Swedish Treaty of Frederiksborg (1720), and the Russo-Swedish Treaty of Nystad (1721). By these treaties Sweden ceded its exemption from the Sound Dues and lost the Baltic provinces and

5180-405: The grand princes of Moscow had been crowned prior to the reign of Ivan III ( r.  1462–1505 ), their coronation rituals assumed overt Byzantine overtones as the result of the influence of Ivan's wife Sophia Paleologue , and the imperial ambitions of his grandson, Ivan IV . The modern coronation style, introducing "European-style" elements, replaced the previous "crowning" ceremony and

5320-485: The northern countries Master; and Lord of Iberia , Kartli , and Kabardia lands and Armenian provinces ; hereditary Sovereign and ruler of the Circassian and Mountainous Princes and of others; Lord of Turkestan ; Heir of Norway ; Duke of Schleswig - Holstein , Stormarn , Dithmarschen , and Oldenburg , and others, and others, and others. The tsar himself, the embodiment of sovereign authority, stood at

5460-659: The Baltic Sea were evicted, with the last city, Tallinn , falling in the autumn of 1710. The coalition members partitioned most of the Swedish dominions among themselves, destroying the Swedish dominium maris baltici . Sweden proper was invaded from the west by Denmark–Norway and from the east by Russia, which had occupied Finland by 1714. Sweden defeated the Danish invaders at the Battle of Helsingborg . Charles XII opened up

5600-699: The Baltics, and eventually he built up a powerful navy. In 1710 the Russian forces captured Riga , at the time the most populated city in the Swedish realm, and Tallinn , evicting the Swedes from the Baltic provinces, now integrated in the Russian Tsardom by the capitulation of Estonia and Livonia . Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (11 November 1821 – 9 February 1881 ), sometimes transliterated as Dostoyevsky ,

5740-557: The Crystal Palace as a monument to soulless modern society, the myth of progress, and the worship of empty materialism. From August to October 1863, Dostoevsky made another trip to western Europe. He met his second love, Polina Suslova , in Paris and lost nearly all his money gambling in Wiesbaden and Baden-Baden. In 1864 his wife Maria and his brother Mikhail died, and Dostoevsky became the lone parent of his stepson Pasha and

Emperor of Russia - Misplaced Pages Continue

5880-630: The Dead , based on his experience in prison, was published in 1861 in the journal Vremya ("Time") – it was the first published novel about Russian prisons. Before moving in mid-March to Semipalatinsk , where he was forced to serve in the Siberian Army Corps of the Seventh Line Battalion, Dostoevsky met geographer Pyotr Semyonov and ethnographer Shokan Walikhanuli . Around November 1854, he met Baron Alexander Egorovich Wrangel, an admirer of his books, who had attended

6020-607: The Fatherland , but his banishment ended the project leaving only what was supposed to be the prologue of the novel. Dostoevsky never attempted to complete it leaving only a sketch of the novel behind. The members of the Petrashevsky Circle were denounced to Liprandi , an official at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Dostoevsky was accused of reading works by Belinsky, including the banned Letter to Gogol , and of circulating copies of these and other works. Antonelli,

6160-595: The Fatherland ; he would receive 250 rubles for each printer's sheet – 100 more than the text's publication in The Russian Messenger would have earned. Dostoevsky accepted. As his health began to decline, he consulted several doctors in St Petersburg and was advised to take a cure outside Russia. Around July, he reached Ems and consulted a physician, who diagnosed him with acute catarrh . During his stay he began The Adolescent . He returned to Saint Petersburg in late July. Anna proposed that they spend

6300-500: The Great in Rawa Ruska in September 1698, where the plans to attack Sweden were made, became legendary for its decadence. Frederick IV of Denmark -Norway, another cousin of Charles XII, succeeded Christian V in 1699 and continued his anti-Swedish policies. After the setbacks of 1700, he focused on transforming his state, an absolute monarchy, in a manner similar to Charles XI of Sweden. He did not achieve his main goal: to regain

6440-510: The Gulf of Finland west of Kronstadt, had to be evacuated by sea between 10 and 17 October. Over 11,000 men were evacuated but more than 5000 horses were slaughtered, which crippled the mobility and offensive capability of the Swedish army in Finland for several years. Peter I took advantage of this by redeploying a large number of men from Ingria to Ukraine . Charles spent the years 1702–06 in

6580-400: The Neva with 4,000 troops and defeated an opposing Russian force, but made no move on Saint Petersburg. Later in the autumn Peter I led an army of 20,000 men in an attempt to take the Swedish town and fortress of Viborg . However, bad roads proved impassable to his heavy siege guns. The troops, who arrived on 12 October, therefore had to abandon the siege after only a few days. On 12 May 1708,

6720-533: The New Testament: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit. Dostoevsky had his first known affair with Avdotya Panaeva , whom he met in the Ivan Panaev 's circle in the early 1840s. He described her as educated, interested in literature, and a femme fatale . He admitted later that he

6860-537: The Polish sejm to replace him with Stanislaus Leszczyński in 1704. August II resisted, still possessing control of his native Saxony, but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Fraustadt in 1706, a battle sometimes compared to the Ancient Battle of Cannae due to the Swedish forces' use of double envelopment , with a deadly result for the Saxon army. In 1706, after a Swedish invasion of Saxony , August II

7000-456: The Russian bureaucracy. In his fifteen months with The Citizen , he had been taken to court twice: on 11 June 1873 for citing the words of Prince Meshchersky without permission, and again on 23 March 1874. Dostoevsky offered to sell a new novel he had not yet begun to write to The Russian Messenger , but the magazine refused. Nikolay Nekrasov suggested that he publish A Writer's Diary in Notes of

7140-457: The Russian fortifications held. In 1705, repeated Swedish attacks were made against Russian fortifications in the area, to little effect. A major attack on 15 July 1705 ended in the deaths of more than 500 Swedish men, or a third of its forces. In view of continued failure to check Russian consolidation, and with declining manpower, Sweden opted to blockade Saint Petersburg in 1705. In the summer of 1706, Swedish General Georg Johan Maidel crossed

SECTION 50

#1732766249573

7280-861: The Russian monarch, followed by the Kingdom of Sweden in 1723, the Ottoman Empire in 1739, the United Kingdom and Austria in 1742, the Holy Roman Empire , the Kingdom of France and Spain in 1745, and finally the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1764. From then on, the Russian state was referred to as the Russian Empire . On February 16, 1722, Peter I issued the Decree of Succession by which he abolished

7420-659: The Russias , Moscow , Kiev , Vladimir , Novgorod ; Tsar of Kazan , Tsar of Astrakhan , Tsar of Poland , Tsar of Siberia , Tsar of Chersonese Taurian , Tsar of Georgia ; Lord of Pskov and Grand Prince of Smolensk , Lithuania , Volhynia , Podolia , Finland ; Prince of Estland , Livland , Courland , Semigalia , Samogitia , Belostok , Karelia , Tver , Yugra , Perm , Vyatka , Bolgar and others; Lord and Grand Prince of Nizhny Novgorod , Chernigov , Ryazan , Polotsk , Rostov , Yaroslavl , Beloozero , Udoria , Obdoria , Kondia , Vitebsk , Mstislav , and all of

7560-536: The Strong of Saxony – Poland–Lithuania . Frederick IV and Augustus II were defeated by Sweden, under Charles XII , and forced out of the alliance in 1700 and 1706 respectively, but rejoined it in 1709 after the defeat of Charles XII at the Battle of Poltava . George I of Great Britain and the Electorate of Hanover joined the coalition in 1714 for Hanover and in 1717 for Britain, and Frederick William I of Brandenburg-Prussia joined it in 1715. Charles XII led

7700-400: The Strong , elector of Saxony and another cousin of Charles XII, gained the Polish crown after the death of King John III Sobieski in 1696. His ambitions to transform the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth into an absolute monarchy were not realized due to the zealous nature of the Polish nobility and the previously initiated laws that decreased the power of the monarch. His meeting with Peter

7840-412: The Swedish Empire as an absolute monarch. Charles XI had tried to keep the empire out of wars, and concentrated on inner reforms such as reduction and allotment , which had strengthened the monarch's status and the empire's military abilities. Charles XII refrained from all kinds of luxury and alcohol and usage of the French language, since he considered these things decadent and superfluous. He preferred

7980-405: The Swedish army. Swedish allies included Holstein-Gottorp , several Polish magnates under Stanislaus I Leszczyński (1704–1710) and Cossacks under the Ukrainian Hetman Ivan Mazepa (1708–1710). The Ottoman Empire temporarily hosted Charles XII of Sweden and intervened against Peter I. The war began when an alliance of Denmark–Norway , Saxony and Russia , sensing an opportunity as Sweden

8120-408: The Swedish fortress of Nyen , guarding the mouth of the River Neva . Thanks to General Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt , whose outnumbered forces fended the Russians off in the battles of Gemäuerthof and Jakobstadt , Sweden was able to maintain control of most of its Baltic provinces. Before going to war, Peter had made preparations for a navy and a modern-style army, based primarily on infantry drilled in

8260-452: The Swedish heir since 1702. He claimed the throne upon Charles XII's death in 1718, but was supplanted by Ulrike Eleonora . Charles Frederick was married to a daughter of Peter I, Anna Petrovna . Ivan Mazepa was a Ukrainian Cossack hetman who fought for Russia but defected to Charles XII in 1708. Mazepa died in 1709 in Ottoman exile. Peter the Great became Tsar in 1682 upon the death of his elder brother Feodor but did not become

8400-644: The aborted execution. They both rented houses in the Cossack Garden outside Semipalatinsk. Wrangel remarked that Dostoevsky "looked morose. His sickly, pale face was covered with freckles, and his blond hair was cut short. He was a little over average height and looked at me intensely with his sharp, grey-blue eyes. It was as if he were trying to look into my soul and discover what kind of man I was." In Semipalatinsk, Dostoevsky tutored several schoolchildren and came into contact with upper-class families, including that of Lieutenant-Colonel Belikhov, who used to invite him to read passages from newspapers and magazines. During

8540-426: The actual ruler until 1689. He commenced reforming the country, turning the Russian tsardom into a modernized empire relying on trade and on a strong, professional army and navy. He greatly expanded the size of Russia during his reign while providing access to the Baltic, Black, and Caspian seas. Beside Peter, the principal Russian commanders were Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov and Boris Sheremetev . Augustus II

SECTION 60

#1732766249573

8680-409: The age of three, he had read heroic sagas, fairy tales and legends by his nanny, Alena Frolovna, an especially influential figure in his upbringing and his love for fictional stories. When he was four, his mother used the Bible to teach him to read and write. His parents introduced him to a wide range of literature, including Russian writers Karamzin , Pushkin and Derzhavin ; Gothic fiction such as

8820-424: The autocracy included writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky , Mikhail Katkov , Konstantin Aksakov , Nikolay Karamzin , Konstantin Pobedonostsev and Pyotr Semyonov . They all argued that a strong and prosperous Russia needed a strong tsar and that philosophies of republicanism and liberal democracy were alien to it. Peter I realized the need to secure the position of Russia within the European states system, including

8960-532: The campaign ended in 1709 with the destruction of the main Swedish army at the decisive Battle of Poltava (in present-day Ukraine ) and Charles' exile in the Ottoman town of Bender . The Ottoman Empire defeated the Russian-Moldavian army in the Pruth River Campaign , but that peace treaty was in the end without great consequence to Russia's position. After Poltava, the anti-Swedish coalition revived and subsequently Hanover and Prussia joined it. The remaining Swedish forces in plague-stricken areas south and east of

9100-495: The center of the tsarist autocracy, with full power over the state and its people. The autocrat delegated power to persons and institutions acting on his orders, and within the limits of his laws, for the common good of all Russia. The tsar was metaphorically a father and all of his subjects were his children; this metaphor even appeared in Orthodox primers , and is remembered in the common Russian expression "царь-батюшка" tsar-batyushka ("tsar-dear father"). Furthermore, contrary to

9240-424: The circle in 1848 and set about creating a secret revolutionary society from amongst its members. Dostoevsky himself became a member of this society, was aware of its conspiratorial aims, and actively participated, although he harboured significant doubts about their actions and intentions. In 1849, the first parts of Netochka Nezvanova , a novel Dostoevsky had been planning since 1846, were published in Notes of

9380-404: The continuation of leadership. Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern , Central and Eastern Europe . The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I of Russia, Frederick IV of Denmark–Norway and Augustus II

9520-433: The death of his father on 16 June 1839, although the reports of a seizure originated from accounts written by his daughter (later expanded by Sigmund Freud ) which are now considered to be unreliable. His father's official cause of death was an apoplectic stroke, but a neighbour, Pavel Khotiaintsev, accused the father's serfs of murder. Had the serfs been found guilty and sent to Siberia , Khotiaintsev would have been in

9660-486: The emergence of Existentialism and Freudianism . His books have been translated into more than 170 languages, and served as the inspiration for many films. Dostoevsky's paternal ancestors were part of a Russian noble family of Russian Orthodox Christians. The family traced its roots back to Danilo Irtishch , who was granted lands in the Pinsk region (for centuries part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , now in modern-day Belarus ) in 1509 for his services under

9800-459: The emotions of his listeners." The speech was criticised later by liberal political scientist Alexander Gradovsky, who thought that Dostoevsky idolised "the people", and by conservative thinker Konstantin Leontiev , who, in his essay "On Universal Love", compared the speech to French utopian socialism. The attacks led to a further deterioration in his health. On 6 February [ O.S. 25 January] 1881, while searching for members of

9940-430: The end of a honeymoon (originally planned for three months) that had lasted over four years. Back in Russia in July 1871, the family was again in financial trouble and had to sell their remaining possessions. Their son Fyodor was born on 16 July, and they moved to an apartment near the Institute of Technology soon after. They hoped to cancel their large debts by selling their rental house in Peski, but difficulties with

10080-555: The family bought a dacha in Staraya Russa. In the summer of 1876, Dostoevsky began experiencing shortness of breath again. He visited Ems for the third time and was told that he might live for another 15 years if he moved to a healthier climate. When he returned to Russia, Tsar Alexander II ordered Dostoevsky to visit his palace to present the Diary to him, and he asked him to educate his sons, Sergey and Paul. This visit further increased Dosteyevsky's circle of acquaintances. He

10220-645: The final emperor and empresses of Russia. The Russian Imperial regalia survived the subsequent Russian Revolution and the Soviet period, and are currently on exhibit at the Diamond Fund in the Kremlin Armoury . Nicholas II abdicated in favour of his brother, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich , but the next day, after a nominal reign of only 18 hours, "Emperor Michael II" declined power, ending dynastic rule in Russia. See List of leaders of Russia for

10360-577: The first time on 7 June 1862, visiting Cologne, Berlin, Dresden, Wiesbaden, Belgium, and Paris. In London, he met Herzen and visited the Crystal Palace . He travelled with Nikolay Strakhov through Switzerland and several North Italian cities, including Turin, Livorno, and Florence. He recorded his impressions of those trips in the essay " Winter Notes on Summer Impressions ", in which he also criticised capitalism, social modernisation , materialism , Catholicism and Protestantism. Dostoevsky viewed

10500-505: The floors an inch thick; one could slip and fall ... We were packed like herrings in a barrel ... There was no room to turn around. From dusk to dawn it was impossible not to behave like pigs ... Fleas, lice, and black beetles by the bushel ... Classified as "one of the most dangerous convicts", Dostoevsky had his hands and feet shackled until his release. He was only permitted to read his New Testament Bible. In addition to his seizures, he had haemorrhoids , lost weight and

10640-658: The former eastern Danish provinces lost to Sweden in the course of the 17th century. He was not able to keep northern Swedish Pomerania, Danish from 1712 to 1715. He did put an end to the Swedish threat south of Denmark. He ended Sweden's exemption from the Sound Dues (transit taxes/tariffs on cargo moved between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea). Frederick William I entered the war as elector of Brandenburg and king in Prussia —the royal title had been secured in 1701. He

10780-725: The free Nikolayev Military Engineering Institute , forcing the brothers to abandon their academic studies for military careers. Dostoevsky entered the academy in January 1838, but only with the help of family members. Mikhail was refused admission on health grounds and was sent to an academy in Reval (now Tallinn, Estonia). Dostoevsky disliked the academy, primarily because of his lack of interest in science, mathematics, and military engineering and his preference for drawing and architecture. As his friend Konstantin Trutovsky once said, "There

10920-422: The government agent who had reported the group, wrote in his statement that at least one of the papers criticised Russian politics and religion. Dostoevsky responded to these charges by declaring that he had read the essays only "as a literary monument, neither more nor less"; he spoke of "personality and human egoism" rather than of politics. Even so, he and his fellow "conspirators" were arrested on 23 April 1849 at

11060-405: The group was "the most innocent and harmless company" and its members were "systematic opponents of all revolutionary goals and means". Dostoevsky used the circle's library on Saturdays and Sundays and occasionally participated in their discussions on freedom from censorship and the abolition of serfdom . Bakunin's description, however, was not true of the aristocrat Nikolay Speshnev , who joined

11200-553: The importance of securing recognition from the Holy Roman Emperor of the equality of the titles of tsar and emperor. Following his victory at the Battle of Poltava , Peter I brought up the question of the title of emperor to the Viennese court. In 1717, Peter I defended his right to use the title of imperator , using the letter from Maximilian I to Vasily III to support his claim. The title of Emperor of all Russia

11340-680: The life of Arkady Dolgoruky, the illegitimate child of the landowner Versilov and a peasant mother. It deals primarily with the relationship between father and son, which became a frequent theme in Dostoevsky's subsequent works. In early 1876, Dostoevsky continued work on his Diary . The book includes numerous essays and a few short stories about society, religion, politics and ethics. The collection sold more than twice as many copies as his previous books. Dostoevsky received more letters from readers than ever before, and people of all ages and occupations visited him. With assistance from Anna's brother,

11480-612: The life of an ordinary soldier on horseback, not that of contemporary baroque courts. He determinedly pursued his goal of dethroning his adversaries, whom he considered unworthy of their thrones due to broken promises, thereby refusing to take several chances to make peace. During the war, the most important Swedish commanders besides Charles XII were his close friend Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld , also Magnus Stenbock and Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt . Charles Frederick , son of Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (a cousin of Charles XII) and Hedvig Sophia , daughter of Charles XI of Sweden, had been

11620-428: The magazine. Dostoevsky returned to Saint Petersburg in mid-September and promised his editor, Fyodor Stellovsky , that he would complete The Gambler , a short novel focused on gambling addiction, by November, although he had not yet begun writing it. One of Dostoevsky's friends, Milyukov, advised him to hire a secretary. Dostoevsky contacted stenographer Pavel Olkhin from Saint Petersburg, who recommended his pupil,

11760-550: The members received food and clothes from the Decembrist women, as well as several copies of the New Testament with a ten-ruble banknote inside each copy. Eleven days later, Dostoevsky reached Omsk together with just one other member of the Petrashevsky Circle, the writer Sergei Durov. Dostoevsky described his barracks: In summer, intolerable closeness; in winter, unendurable cold. All the floors were rotten. Filth on

11900-530: The monarch must be anointed and crowned according to the Orthodox rite to have a successful tenure. As the church and state were essentially one in Imperial Russia, this service invested the tsars with political legitimacy; however, this was not its only intent. It was equally perceived as conferring a genuine spiritual benefit that mystically wedded sovereign to subjects, bestowing divine authority upon

12040-745: The monarchy was abolished in 1917. Article 1 of the Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire stated that "the Emperor of All Russia is an autocratic and unrestricted monarch. To obey his supreme authority, not only out of fear but out of conscience as well, God himself commands ". The full title of the emperor in the 20th century (Art. 37 of the Fundamental Laws) was: By the Grace of God, We, NN, Emperor and Autocrat of All

12180-425: The more unhappy we were, the more attached to each other we became". They mostly lived apart. In 1859 he was released from military service because of deteriorating health and was granted permission to return to European Russia, first to Tver , where he met his brother for the first time in ten years, and then to St Petersburg. The short story "A Little Hero" (Dostoevsky's only work completed in prison) appeared in

12320-558: The movement for separation of church and state in West European monarchies, the Russian Empire combined monarchy with the supreme authority on religious issues (see Church reform of Peter I and caesaropapism for details). Another key feature related to patrimonialism . In Russia, the tsar owned a much higher proportion of the state (lands, enterprises, etc.) than did Western monarchs. The tsarist autocracy had many supporters within Russia. Major Russian advocates and theorists of

12460-663: The new ruler. As such, it was similar in purpose to other European coronation ceremonies from the medieval period. Even when the imperial capital was located at St. Petersburg (1713–1728, 1732–1917), Russian coronations were always held in Moscow at the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Kremlin . The last coronation service in Russia was held on 26 May 1896 for Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna , who would be

12600-453: The nobility and enabled him to acquire a small estate in Darovoye, a town about 150 km (100 miles) from Moscow, where the family usually spent the summers. Dostoevsky's parents subsequently had six more children: Varvara (1822–1892), Andrei (1825–1897), Lyubov (born and died 1829), Vera (1829–1896), Nikolai (1831–1883) and Aleksandra (1835–1889). Fyodor Dostoevsky, born on 11 November [ O.S. 30 October] 1821 in Moscow,

12740-421: The old custom of passing the throne to the direct descendants in the male line, but allowed the appointment of an heir through any decent person, at the will of the monarch. Coronations in the Russian Empire involved a highly developed religious ceremony in which the emperor was crowned and invested with regalia , then anointed with chrism and formally blessed by the church to commence his reign. Although

12880-526: The other, the pupil was so big that you could not see its color, [this was caused by an injury]. The strangeness of his eyes gave Dostoyevsky some mysterious appearance. His face was pale, and it looked unhealthy." On 15 February 1867 Dostoevsky married Snitkina in Trinity Cathedral, Saint Petersburg . The 7,000 rubles he had earned from Crime and Punishment did not cover their debts, forcing Anna to sell her valuables. On 14 April 1867, they began

13020-475: The philosophy of socialism. He was attracted to its logic, its sense of justice and its preoccupation with the destitute and the disadvantaged. However, his Russian Orthodox faith and religious sensibilities could not accord with Belinsky's admixture of atheism , utilitarianism and scientific materialism , leading to increasing friction between them. Dostoevsky eventually parted with him and his associates. After The Double received negative reviews (including

13160-597: The request of Count A. Orlov and Tsar Nicholas I , who feared a revolution like the Decembrist revolt of 1825 in Russia and the Revolutions of 1848 in Europe. The members were held in the well-defended Peter and Paul Fortress , which housed the most dangerous convicts. The case was discussed for four months by an investigative commission headed by the Tsar, with Adjutant General Ivan Nabokov , senator Prince Pavel Gagarin , Prince Vasili Dolgorukov , General Yakov Rostovtsev and General Leonty Dubelt, head of

13300-485: The roulette table. At one point, his wife was reportedly forced to pawn her underwear. The couple travelled on to Geneva . In September 1867, Dostoevsky began work on The Idiot , and after a prolonged planning process that bore little resemblance to the published novel, he eventually managed to write the first 100 pages in only 23 days; the serialisation began in The Russian Messenger in January 1868. Their first child, Sofya, had been conceived in Baden-Baden , and

13440-432: The school fees, his father borrowed money and extended his private medical practice. Dostoevsky felt out of place among his aristocratic classmates at the Moscow school, and the experience was later reflected in some of his works, notably The Adolescent . On 27 February 1837, Dostoevsky's mother died of tuberculosis . The previous May, his parents had sent Dostoevsky and his brother Mikhail to Saint Petersburg to attend

13580-474: The secret police. They sentenced the members of the circle to death by firing squad, and the prisoners were taken to Semyonov Place in Saint Petersburg on 23 December 1849. They were split into three-man groups and the first group was taken in front of the firing squad. Dostoevsky was the third in the second row; next to him stood Pleshcheyev and Durov . The execution was stayed when a cart delivered

13720-423: The socialist revolutionary group "People's Vengeance" had murdered one of its own members, Ivan Ivanov, on 21 November 1869, Dostoevsky began writing Demons . In 1871, Dostoevsky and Anna travelled by train to Berlin. During the trip, he burnt several manuscripts, including those of The Idiot , because he was concerned about potential problems with customs. The family arrived in Saint Petersburg on 8 July, marking

13860-441: The sole supporter of his brother's family. The failure of Epoch , the magazine he had founded with Mikhail after the suppression of Vremya , worsened his financial situation, although the continued help of his relatives and friends averted bankruptcy. The first two parts of Crime and Punishment were published in January and February 1866 in the periodical The Russian Messenger , attracting at least 500 new subscribers to

14000-718: The southern part of Swedish Pomerania . The peace treaties also ended its alliance with Holstein-Gottorp. Hanover gained Bremen-Verden , Brandenburg-Prussia incorporated the Oder estuary ( Stettin Lagoons ), Russia secured the Baltic Provinces , and Denmark strengthened its position in Schleswig-Holstein . In Sweden, the absolute monarchy had come to an end with the death of Charles XII, and Sweden's Age of Liberty began. Between 1560 and 1658, Sweden created

14140-551: The tenant resulted in a relatively low selling price, and disputes with their creditors continued. Anna proposed that they raise money on her husband's copyrights and negotiate with the creditors to pay off their debts in installments. Dostoevsky revived his friendships with Maykov and Strakhov and made new acquaintances, including church politician Terty Filipov and the brothers Vsevolod and Vladimir Solovyov . Konstantin Pobedonostsev , future Imperial High Commissioner of

14280-408: The terrorist organisation Narodnaya Volya ("The People's Will") who would soon assassinate Tsar Alexander II, the Tsar's secret police executed a search warrant in the apartment of one of Dostoevsky's neighbours. On the following day, Dostoevsky suffered a pulmonary haemorrhage . Anna denied that the search had caused it, saying that the haemorrhage had occurred after her husband had been looking for

14420-403: The time to recover and build up an army that was both new and better. At this point, in 1707, Peter offered to return everything he had so far occupied (essentially Ingria) except Saint Petersburg and the line of the Neva, to avoid a full-scale war, but Charles XII refused. Instead he initiated a march from Saxony to invade Russia . Though his primary goal was Moscow, the strength of his forces

14560-415: The twenty-year-old Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina . Her shorthand helped Dostoevsky to complete The Gambler on 30 October, after 26 days' work. She remarked that Dostoevsky was of average height but always tried to carry himself erect. "He had light brown, slightly reddish hair, he used some hair conditioner, and he combed his hair in a diligent way ... his eyes, they were different: one was dark brown; in

14700-417: The use of firearms. The Nyen fortress was soon abandoned and demolished by Peter, who built nearby a superior fortress as a beginning to the city of Saint Petersburg . By 1704, other fortresses were situated on the island of Kotlin and the sand flats to its south. These became known as Kronstadt and Kronslot. The Swedes attempted a raid on the Neva fort on 13 July 1704 with ships and landing armies, but

14840-489: The war against the only hostile power remaining, Tsar Peter's Russia. The Battle of Narva dealt a severe setback to Peter the Great , but the shift of Charles XII's army to the Polish-Saxon threat soon afterward provided him with an opportunity to regroup and regain territory in the Baltic provinces. Russian victories at Erastfer and Nöteborg (Shlisselburg) provided access to Ingria in 1703, where Peter captured

14980-588: The war in August 1700 according to the terms of the Peace of Travendal . Charles XII was now able to speedily deploy his army to the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea and face his remaining enemies: besides the army of Augustus II in Livonia, an army of Russian tsar Peter I was already on its way to invade Swedish Ingria , where it laid siege to Narva in October. In November, the Russian and Swedish armies met at

15120-572: The way (September 1706) and forcing him to acknowledge defeat in the Treaty of Altranstädt (October 1706). The treaty also secured the extradition and execution of Johann Reinhold Patkul , architect of the alliance seven years earlier. Meanwhile, the forces of Peter I had recovered from defeat at Narva and gained ground in Sweden's Baltic provinces, where they cemented Russian access to the Baltic Sea by founding Saint Petersburg in 1703. Charles XII moved from Saxony into Russia to confront Peter, but

15260-462: The whole world through his unique ruling led, as that to all quite known, by the name of all the Russian people to ask, so graciously to accept, following the example of others, from them title: the Father of the Fatherland, the Emperor of All Russia, Peter the Great ... On November 2, 1721, Peter I accepted the title. The Dutch Republic and Kingdom of Prussia immediately recognized the new title of

15400-454: The winter in Staraya Russa to allow Dostoevsky to rest, although doctors had suggested a second visit to Ems because his health had previously improved there. On 10 August 1875 his son Alexey was born in Staraya Russa, and in mid-September the family returned to Saint Petersburg. Dostoevsky finished The Adolescent at the end of 1875, although passages of it had been serialised in Notes of the Fatherland since January. The Adolescent chronicles

15540-496: The works from writer Ann Radcliffe ; romantic works by Schiller and Goethe ; heroic tales by Miguel de Cervantes and Walter Scott ; and Homer 's epics . Dostoevsky was greatly influenced by the work of Nikolai Gogol . Although his father's approach to education has been described as strict and harsh, Dostoevsky himself reported that his imagination was brought alive by nightly readings by his parents. Some of his childhood experiences found their way into his writings. When

15680-509: The young Dostoevsky imagines hearing a wolf in the forest, Marey, who is working nearby, comforts him. Although Dostoevsky had a delicate physical constitution, his parents described him as hot-headed, stubborn, and cheeky. In 1833, Dostoevsky's father, who was profoundly religious, sent him to a French boarding school and then to the Chermak boarding school. He was described as a pale, introverted dreamer and an over-excitable romantic. To pay

15820-643: Was "burned by some fever, trembling and feeling too hot or too cold every night". The smell of the privy pervaded the entire building, and the small bathroom had to suffice for more than 200 people. Dostoevsky was occasionally sent to the military hospital, where he read newspapers and Dickens novels. He was respected by most of the other prisoners, but despised by some Polish political prisoners because of his Russian nationalism and anti-Polish sentiments. After his release on 14 February 1854, Dostoevsky asked Mikhail to help him financially and to send him books by Vico , Guizot , Ranke , Hegel and Kant . The House of

15960-500: Was 15, and around the same time, he left school to enter the Nikolayev Military Engineering Institute . After graduating, he worked as an engineer and briefly enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, translating books to earn extra money. In the mid-1840s he wrote his first novel, Poor Folk , which gained him entry into Saint Petersburg 's literary circles. However, he was arrested in 1849 for belonging to

16100-401: Was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. Numerous literary critics regard him as one of the greatest novelists in all of world literature , as many of his works are considered highly influential masterpieces. Dostoevsky's literary works explore the human condition in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia , and engage with

16240-606: Was a frequent guest in several salons in Saint Petersburg and met many famous people, including Countess Sophia Tolstaya , Yakov Polonsky , Sergei Witte , Alexey Suvorin , Anton Rubinstein and Ilya Repin . Dostoevsky's health declined further, and in March 1877 he had four epileptic seizures. Rather than returning to Ems, he visited Maly Prikol, a manor near Kursk . While returning to St Petersburg to finalise his Diary , he visited Darovoye, where he had spent much of his childhood. In December he attended Nekrasov's funeral and gave

16380-1141: Was able to mobilize a larger army but could not put all of it into action simultaneously. The Russian mobilization system was ineffective and the expanding nation needed to be defended in many locations. A grand mobilization covering Russia's vast territories would have been unrealistic. Peter I tried to raise his army's morale to Swedish levels. Denmark contributed 20,000 men in their invasion of Holstein-Gottorp and more on other fronts. Poland and Saxony together could mobilize at least 100,000 men. 33,456 musketeers 19,584 pikemen 6,528 grenadiers 8,400 militia 1,200 naval infantry 1,540 grenadiers 9,600 militia (768 grenadiers) 150 halberdiers 1,500 grenadiers cavalry 100 Horse drabants 15,000 heavy cavalry 1,800 noble cavalry 402 horse guards 57 drabant guard 4,556 line cavalry 2,800 pancerni 2,200 heavy cavalry 1,800 cuirassiers 4,000 baltic militia dragoons 20,000 Ukrainian cossacks 15,000 Zaporozhian cossacks 15,000 Don Cossacks 804 militia dragoons 1,710 light cavalry 32,400 cavalry 63,351 cavalry 13,723 cavalry 12,810 cavalry * The difference between heavy and other cavalry

16520-546: Was able to outmaneuver the Danish Sound blockade and deploy an army near the Danish capital, Copenhagen . At the same time, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet had also set course towards Denmark. Together with the Swedish fleet, they carried out a bombardment of Copenhagen from 20 to 26 July. This surprise move and pressure by the Maritime Powers ( England and the Dutch Republic ) forced Denmark–Norway to withdraw from

16660-540: Was administered by the Swedish Crown ) was able, in particular, to make quick, sustained marches across large tracts of land and to maintain a high rate of small arms fire due to proficient military drill . However, the Swedish state ultimately proved unable to support and maintain its army in a prolonged war. Campaigns on the continent had been proposed on the basis that the army would be financially self-supporting through plunder and taxation of newly gained land,

16800-479: Was assigned to a Moscow hospital, where he served as military doctor, and in 1818 he was appointed a senior physician. In 1819 he married Maria Nechayeva. The following year, he took up a post at the Mariinsky Hospital for the poor. In 1828, when his two sons, Mikhail and Fyodor, were eight and seven respectively, he was promoted to collegiate assessor, a position which raised his legal status to that of

16940-751: Was born in Geneva on 5 March 1868. The baby died of pneumonia three months later, and Anna recalled how Dostoevsky "wept and sobbed like a woman in despair". Sofya was buried at the Cimetière des Rois ( Cemetery of Kings ), which is considered the Genevan Panthéon . The grave was later dissolved but in 1986 the International Dostoevsky Society donated a commemorative plaque. The couple moved from Geneva to Vevey and then to Milan before continuing to Florence. The Idiot

17080-466: Was completed there in January 1869, the final part appearing in The Russian Messenger in February 1869. Anna gave birth to their second daughter, Lyubov , on 26 September 1869 in Dresden. In April 1871, Dostoevsky made a final visit to a gambling hall in Wiesbaden. Anna claimed that he stopped gambling after the birth of their second daughter, but this is a subject of debate. After hearing news that

17220-429: Was crushingly defeated by a larger Russian force under Peter in the Battle of Poltava and fled to the Ottoman Empire while the remains of his army surrendered at Perevolochna . This shattering defeat in 1709 did not end the war, although it decided it. Denmark and Saxony joined the war again and Augustus the Strong, through the politics of Boris Kurakin , regained the Polish throne. Peter continued his campaigns in

17360-697: Was determined to gain the Oder estuary with its access to the Baltic Sea for the Brandenburgian core areas, which had been a state goal for centuries . George I of the House of Hanover , elector of Hanover and, since 1714, king of Great Britain and of Ireland, took the opportunity to connect his landlocked German electorate to the North Sea . In 1700, Charles XII had a standing army of 77,000 men (based on annual training). By 1707 this number had swollen to at least 120,000 despite casualties. Russia

17500-572: Was diagnosed with early-stage pulmonary emphysema , which his doctor believed could be successfully managed, but not cured. On 3 February 1880 Dostoevsky was elected vice-president of the Slavic Benevolent Society, and he was invited to speak at the unveiling of the Pushkin memorial in Moscow. On 8 June he delivered his speech , giving an impressive performance that had a significant emotional impact on his audience. His speech

17640-525: Was elected to the board of directors of the Slavic Benevolent Society in Saint Petersburg. That summer, he was elected to the honorary committee of the Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale , whose members included Victor Hugo , Ivan Turgenev , Paul Heyse , Alfred Tennyson , Anthony Trollope , Henry Longfellow , Ralph Waldo Emerson and Leo Tolstoy . Dostoevsky made his fourth and final visit to Ems in early August 1879. He

17780-449: Was finished on 26 November and released in January 1873 by the "Dostoevsky Publishing Company", which was founded by Dostoevsky and his wife. Although they accepted only cash payments and the bookshop was in their own apartment, the business was successful, and they sold around 3,000 copies of Demons . Anna managed the finances. Dostoevsky proposed that they establish a new periodical, which would be called A Writer's Diary and would include

17920-402: Was first used for Catherine I in 1724. Since tsarist Russia claimed to be the " Third Rome " and the successor to Byzantium, the Russian rite was designed to link its rulers and prerogatives to those of the so-called " Second Rome " ( Constantinople ). While months or even years could pass between the initial accession of the sovereign and the performance of this ritual, church policy held that

18060-478: Was forced to sign the Treaty of Altranstädt in which he made peace with the Swedish Empire, renounced his claims to the Polish crown, accepted Stanislaus Leszczyński as king, and ended his alliance with Russia. Patkul was also extradited and executed by breaking on the wheel in 1707, an incident which, given his diplomatic immunity, infuriated opinion against the Swedish king, who was then expected to win

18200-469: Was formally neutral at this point, as Augustus started the war as an Elector of Saxony. Disregarding Polish negotiation proposals supported by the Swedish parliament, Charles crossed into the Commonwealth and decisively defeated the Saxe-Polish forces in the Battle of Klissow in 1702 and in the Battle of Pultusk in 1703. This successful invasion enabled Charles XII to dethrone Augustus II and coerce

18340-464: Was greatly alleviated when he joined the utopian socialist Beketov circle, a tightly knit community which helped him to survive. When the circle dissolved, Dostoevsky befriended Apollon Maykov and his brother Valerian . In 1846, on the recommendation of the poet Aleksey Pleshcheyev , he joined the Petrashevsky Circle , founded by Mikhail Petrashevsky , who had proposed social reforms in Russia. Mikhail Bakunin once wrote to Alexander Herzen that

18480-579: Was introduced for Peter the Great . After his victory in the Great Northern War and the signing the Treaty of Nystad in September 1721, the Senate and Synod decided to award Peter with the title of Emperor of all Russia with the following statement: "in the manner of the Roman Senate for the noble cause of emperors such titles publicly given them as a gift and into statues for the everlasting generations inscribed". On this 20th day of October, after

18620-675: Was met with thunderous applause, and even his long-time rival Turgenev embraced him. Konstantin Staniukovich praised the speech in his essay "The Pushkin Anniversary and Dostoevsky's Speech" in The Business , writing that "the language of Dostoevsky's [Pushkin Speech] really looks like a sermon. He speaks with the tone of a prophet. He makes a sermon like a pastor; it is very deep, sincere, and we understand that he wants to impress

18760-410: Was no student in the entire institution with less of a military bearing than F.M. Dostoevsky. He moved clumsily and jerkily; his uniform hung awkwardly on him; and his knapsack , shako and rifle all looked like some sort of fetter he had been forced to wear for a time and which lay heavily on him." Dostoevsky's character and interests made him an outsider among his 120 classmates: he showed bravery and

18900-553: Was placed on a table, following Russian custom. He was interred in the Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Convent , near his favourite poets, Nikolay Karamzin and Vasily Zhukovsky . It is unclear how many attended his funeral. According to one reporter, more than 100,000 mourners were present, while others describe attendance between 40,000 and 50,000. His tombstone is inscribed with lines from

19040-423: Was ruled by the young Charles XII, declared war on the Swedish Empire and launched a threefold attack on Swedish Holstein-Gottorp, Swedish Livonia , and Swedish Ingria . Sweden parried the Danish and Russian attacks at Travendal (August 1700) and Narva (November 1700) respectively, and in a counter-offensive pushed Augustus II's forces through the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to Saxony, dethroning Augustus on

19180-510: Was sapped by the cold weather (the winter of 1708/09 being one of the most severe in modern European history) and Peter's use of scorched earth tactics. When the main army turned south to recover in Ukraine , the second army with supplies and reinforcements was intercepted and routed at Lesnaya —and so were the supplies and reinforcements of Swedish ally Ivan Mazepa in Baturyn . Charles

19320-546: Was sharing an apartment at the time, took the manuscript to the poet Nikolay Nekrasov , who in turn showed it to the renowned and influential literary critic Vissarion Belinsky . Belinsky described it as Russia's first " social novel ". Poor Folk was released on 15 January 1846 in the St Petersburg Collection almanac and became a commercial success. Dostoevsky felt that his military career would endanger his now flourishing literary career, so he wrote

19460-482: Was the second child of Dr. Mikhail Dostoevsky and Maria Dostoevskaya (born Nechayeva). He was raised in the family home in the grounds of the Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor, which was in a lower class district on the edges of Moscow. Dostoevsky encountered the patients, who were at the lower end of the Russian social scale, when playing in the hospital gardens. Dostoevsky was introduced to literature at an early age. From

19600-400: Was uncertain about their relationship. According to Anna Dostoevskaya's memoirs, Dostoevsky once asked his sister's sister-in-law, Yelena Ivanova, whether she would marry him, hoping to replace her mortally ill husband after he died, but she rejected his proposal. Dostoevsky and Polina Suslova had a short but intimate affair, which peaked in the winter of 1862–1863. Suslova's dalliance with

#572427