Marking the 200th anniversary of Fyodor Dostoevsky: The Presidential Library discussed whether a crime could be justified by thousands of good deeds

On April 16, 2021 the Presidential Library hosted a video lecture as part of the Knowledge of Russia project. It proposed an answer to the question of whether a crime could be justified by thousands of good deeds. This is the third event in the series of lectures "Fyodor Dostoevsky - Talking of Values", devoted to the 200th anniversary of the world-famous writer, which will be celebrated on November 11, 2021.

The video lecture was free. The meeting was held remotely and was broadcast live on the Presidential Library's portal in the Live broadcasts section in accordance with the program of live events, on the institution's YouTube channel and the VKontakte social network.

Dmitry Bogach, Candidate of Philology, Senior Researcher of the South Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University, analyzed the prominent novel Crime and Punishment, a masterpiece of world literature. This year, the novel marks the 155th anniversary. It was issued in the magazine Russkiy Vestnik in 1866. Dmitry Bogach will tell about problems highlighted by the novel and the public response to the complex and controversial book.

Besides, the video lecture participants learned about Dostoevsky's answers to the issues spotlighted in the novel: what to do when there is no way out; whether a crime can be justified by thousands of good deeds; whether the main hero repented of his crime; whether all is fair in achieving a great goal.

More information about Fyodor Dostoevsky is available in the Presidential Library’s materials, which are presented in the special digital collection Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) [The World of Dostoevsky]. It includes copies of the texts of the writer's works and materials about his life and career.

Also, the Presidential Library's portal promotes a video lecture by Doctor of Philology, Professor Konstantin Barsht Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky: A Creative History in Drawings and Handwritten Documents. It reveals interesting information about one of the most significant works of the classic and presents digital images of Fyodor Mikhailovich's rough notebooks.

The cycle of lectures "Fyodor Dostoevsky – Talking of Values" was launched on February 19, 2021. In the first event, Dmitry Bogach told how the classic showed the value of human life and refuted the stereotype that Fyodor Dostoevsky is a pessimistic writer. The second video lecture explained how the writer’s family values, based on Christian principles, were formed. It told about the strength of the relationship between parents and children, as well as between husband and wife.

Interactive lessons and video lectures are regularly held in the Presidential Library. More information about them is available on the institution's portal in the Multimedia lessons section and in the Video lectures for school section, which features records of lectures and open lessons held in the Presidential Library.