The Possessed

The novel «The Possessed» occupies a special place in the works of F. M. Dostoevsky. It not only, alongside «Crime and Punishment», «The Idiot», «The Adolescent», and «The Brothers Karamazov», is part of the so-called «great pentateuch» of the writer, but it also stands out in this group. This novel, dedicated to the problem of the struggle between darkness and light, evil and good, was conceived by Dostoevsky in 1870 after the assassination in Moscow by a terrorist group of Sergei Nechaev, one of the members of his underground organization — Ivan Ivanov, who intended to break away from it. The writer foresaw that phenomena of this kind are a consequence of a whole range of problems that had accumulated in the country for centuries. However, «The Possessed» is not only a work about Nechaev and nechaevshchina; it is also about the possibility and necessity of the human soul to overcome all temptations and doubts, to endure all trials and find the saving path, following which one can achieve victory over the triumphant demonic presence in the world — evil, lies, and other vices. At the same time, «The Possessed» is a large-scale literary canvas, depicting in an original narrative form the life of a provincial town during fateful events. In this edition, the text of the novel is accompanied by extensive commentary, as well as an introductory article by the well-known domestic literary scholar, Doctor of Philological Sciences B. N. Tikhomirov, titled «Rehearsal of the Russian Apocalypse», which helps better understand the artistic concept of the novel. The publication is supplemented by illustrations created in the mid-1930s by Sarra Shor, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1897–1981). The future artist was born in a small provincial town in Volhynia three years before the onset of the 20th century. It seemed that she was destined for the ordinary fate of hundreds of thousands of Jewish girls living in the Russian hinterland. However, a passion for drawing awakened in Sarra. Initially, Sarra enrolled in the Kyiv Art School, where she first became acquainted with European avant-garde, and then moved to St. Petersburg. Over time, she joined a new artistic association — «Kultur-Liga»; the Jewish artists within it sought to promote new art, combining it with national motifs. In this vein, Sarra Shor's creativity developed. She drew sketches for theater productions and then became interested in book graphics. Books with illustrations by S. Shor were published by leading publishers in Moscow and Leningrad. These publications were repeatedly showcased at international exhibitions of book art, including abroad: in Cologne, Amsterdam, New York, Berlin, and London. An example of such works by Shor includes her illustrations for «The Possessed» by Dostoevsky. The novel «The Possessed» (1871–1872) is one of the most significant in the creative legacy of F. M. Dostoevsky. The impetus for its creation was the first political assassination in the history of the revolutionary movement in Russia, committed by a group of revolutionary terrorists led by Sergei Nechaev. The depth of the philosophical and religious issues, the sharpness of the social and moral questions posed, have led to heated debates surrounding this work since its publication. The complex genre nature, the essence of the author's pathos of «The Possessed» are traditionally defined in terms of «tragedy novel» and «warning novel». The edition is accompanied by extensive commentary. The introductory article «Rehearsal of the Russian Apocalypse» helps better understand the author's artistic concept of the novel.