The Idiot

The novel «The Idiot» together with «Crime and Punishment», «The Adolescent», «The Possessed» and «The Brothers Karamazov» is part of the so-called «great pentateuch» of F. M. Dostoevsky. This novel has become one of the most beloved works of the... writer, as in it Dostoevsky expresses his moral and philosophical position. In «The Idiot» a difficult task is set — to describe the «new prophet» and present the reaction of those around him to the words and actions of such a seeker of truth. In his letters, Dostoevsky calls the main character of his novel, Myshkin, «Prince Christ». In the Gospel of John, the Savior says that he is «not of this world», therefore, in Dostoevsky's novel, Prince Myshkin is a man who does not fit into the real world, a modern blessed one. In this regard, one can also recall Don Quixote of Cervantes; in the eyes of those around him, this hero is at best considered an eccentric. At the same time, conversations with Myshkin astonishingly reveal the hidden spiritual qualities of the characters in the novel. Thus, undoubtedly, Mark the Rat Catcher from Bulgakov's novel would also have changed after a conversation with Yeshua Ha-Notsri. However, Myshkin is unable to change the vicious world around him and, by not accepting it, he ultimately goes mad. The novel «The Idiot» began to be published in parts in the issues of the journal «Russian Herald» in 1868. The last chapters were written by Dostoevsky in 1869 in Florence. The work on the novel was difficult for him. Critics viewed this work skeptically, considering it disconnected from life. It was only in 1874 that «The Idiot» was published as a separate book. However, over time, the public's attitude towards the novel began to change, and on the cusp of the 19th and 20th centuries, it had a significant influence on European culture. Friedrich Nietzsche and Stefan Zweig wrote about this novel. Later «The Idiot» was repeatedly adapted into films both in Russia and abroad.
The edition is adorned with illustrations by Olga Andreevna Rusakova. They well convey the complex inner world of the characters in the novel. The future artist was born in St. Petersburg. After graduating from the design faculty of the Finnish Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences, she interned at the Polytechnic University of Valencia in the Faculty of Fine Arts. Rusakova is a participant in international competitions for illustration and wall visual arts. She illustrated the philosophical novel «Thus Spoke Zarathustra» by Nietzsche and «Crime and Punishment» by Dostoevsky in the BML series. She also created illustrations for the collection of poems by Marina Tsvetaeva «Evening Album» in the smaller format of the BML series.