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FYODOR MIKHAILOVITCH DOSTOEVSKY was born at Moscow on October 30, 1821, the son of a military surgeon. He was educated in his native city and at the School of Military Engineering at St. Petersburg, from which he graduated in 1843 with the grade of sublieutenant. The attraction of literature led him to give up the career that lay open to him, and he entered instead upon a long struggle with poverty. 1 His first book, "Poor Folks" (1846), though obviously …

…abnormal and perverted types, the psychology of which he analysed with an uncanny subtlety. His books form a striking contrast to those of Turgenev in point of art, for they are diffuse, often poorly constructed and incoherent, and without charm of style. But in spite of these limitations, his power of rousing emotion, the grim intensity of his conceptions, and his command of the sources of fear and pity make him a very great writer.