24 June 2008: Crime and Punishment

Having had to read Crime and Punishment for our culture class, it only made sense to go on a tour through the neighborhood where Dostoevsky and his egomaniacal protagonist lived. Here are some pictures from the excursion. Naturally, it was a melancholy, drizzly mess: perfect for the setting of Crime and Punishment. WARNING: SPOILER ALERT. If you haven't read the book and don't want it ruined, don't read further.

This is the apartment building where Dostoevsky and his brother lived and worked at a print shop they had. If I remember correctly, this is also the building where Sonia (from the novel) lived.








The apartment where Dostoevsky lived while working on Crime and Punishment. I believe his was the one with the balcony. He was a very religious man, and it is said that his preference for apartments on cross-roads came from his religious obsessions.




The plaque that says "In this house, in the years 1864-1867 lived Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Here was written the novel Crime and Punishment."






Raskolkinov lived in this building, in a tiny little closet of a room with terrible yellow wallpaper. I would have gone a little crazy, too.





This is the building where the old pawnbroker and her sister Lizaveta lived before Raskolkinov bashed in their heads with an axe.





It was on this bridge that Raskolkinov contemplated suicide after his nasty deed.




The tour was interesting, but ended quite abruptly as our professor found a bar he was rather fond of. So that was that.