Crime and Punishment (A Novel in 2 Volumes)

Gray, damp Petersburg is filled not only with the high society of the capital, but in the shadows wander shivering beggars. Their lives are filled with suffering and a struggle for a piece of bread and a corner under the roof of an unreliable little house. There, in the darkness, a poor student, fascinated by philosophy and pity for his existence, resolves to take a lowly and repugnant step to any decent person. There, in the darkness, he resolves to commit murder.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky conceived the idea of this novel while in prison, communicating not only with political criminals but also with thieves and murderers. Much struck him then in their words and judgments. And for the first time, he opened up to the Russian reader of the 19th century the thoughts and feelings of a murderer and representatives of the lower classes, which caused indignation among the secular society, but later achieved worldwide recognition.