November 06, 2021

A Not-Comprehensive List of Dostoyevsky 200th Events


A Not-Comprehensive List of Dostoyevsky 200th Events
You can always just go to the Dostoyevsky Museum in St. Petersburg on November 11 – if you have your QR code! Amanda Shirnina

On the eve of the 200th anniversary of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's birth (November 11, 2021), here is a totally not-comprehensive (incomprehensible?) list of Dostoyevsky events. If you are in St. Petersburg, where the famous novelist died and is buried but was not born, you will ironically not be able to celebrate him anywhere unless you have a QR code.

Stuff in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared 2021 the Year of Dostoyevsky in Russia. Dostoyevsky Day has been celebrated in St. Petersburg every first Saturday in July for the past twelve years. You can even check it out online.

As for the upcoming birthday itself, the Theatre of the Nations in Moscow has a Dostoyevsky 200 page on which it proposes to "refresh the perception of classical works and the image of Fyodor Mikhailovich" and asks "which themes and plots of Dostoyevsky's are most relevant now, what stereotypes we encounter in the perception of a classic, what and how Fyodor Mikhailovich would write if he were our contemporary, and who would his heroes be today?" Dostoyevsky 200 events are taking place throughout November and December in Moscow. Check out the schedule, here.

The Dostoyevsky Museum in St. Petersburg, in the apartment where the writer died, opened a new permanent "literary exhibit" in September. From November 11–13, it will host the "International Conference 'Dostoyevsky and World Culture.' " The conference also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the opening of the museum. The museum sponsored a Dostoyevsky photo contest this summer whose winners will be revealed in November. Check out a dashing twenty-first-century Dostoyevsky, here.

Stuff in the United States

The North American Dostoyevsky Society's official blog is The Bloggers Karamazov. It hosts Digital Dostoevsky, a "computational text analysis project" of our hero's works. It has a list of bicentennial events, including a Virtual Birthday on the day (November 11). Check out the schedule, here. Anyone can watch videos of events that have already occurred.

The International Dostoevsky Society is running a five-minute video competition for Demons ahead of its 2022 conference; videos are due March 31, 2022.

An online reading of The Brothers Karamazov is happening with the "100 Days of The Brothers Karamazov" out of Iowa City, Iowa; they already started, but it's a doorstop of a book, and the fun will continue until December 10. If you live in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area, check out other Dostoyevsky events.

Wherever you find yourself on November 11, take a moment to remember the psychological master of literature, Fyodor Mikhailovich. (And just forget the knotty little fact that he was actually born on October 30; he deserves two birthdays anyway...) Here's to you, Dostoyevsky.

You Might Also Like

Is Dostoyevsky Still Alive?
  • November 01, 2021

Is Dostoyevsky Still Alive?

On the occasion of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky’s 200th anniversary, we visit his adopted city to consider the imprint he left behind.
Happy 200th, Dostoyevsky!
  • October 30, 2021

Happy 200th, Dostoyevsky!

On this, the occasion of the great writer's 200th birthday, we offer some links to stories we have published about him over the years, as well as some cool videos. Happy reading and viewing!
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955