Portrait by Vasily Perov, 1872.
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was an influential figure in Russian literature, and is sometimes said to be a founder of existentialism. His novels include The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment. Dostoevsky was imprisoned in 1849 for engaging in revolutionary activity against Tsar Nicholas I. He later abandoned his radical sentiments and became deeply conservative and extremely religious. In the 1860s, Dostoevsky traveled to Western Europe to escape creditors. He married Apollinaria Suslova in 1867 and wrote many of his greatest books in this period.