Crime and Punishment: Historical Perspective

Historical and Literary Setting for
Crime and Punishment

The Age of Realism, generally considered the culmination of the literary synthesis of earlier generations, began in around 1850. The writers of this period shared important qualities: great attention to realistic, detailed descriptions of everyday life; the lifting of the taboo on describing the vulgar, unsightly side of life; and a satirical attitude toward mediocrity and routines. Although varying widely in style, subject matter, and viewpoint, these writers stimulated government bureaucrats, nobles, and intellectuals to think about important social issues. This period of literature, lasted from about mid-century to 1905.
The best Russian prose writers of the Age of Realism were Ivan Turgenev, Feodor Dostoyevsky, and Leo Tolstoy. Because of the enduring quality of their combination of pure literature with eternal philosophical questions, the last two are accepted as Russia's premier prose artists; Dostoyevsky's novels Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov , like Tolstoy's novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina , are classics of world literature.
During the 19th century, Russia was ruled by autocrats, or czars, who ruled with absolute power.
1825, Czar Nicholas I came to power. Nicholas is remembered for his much harsher treatment of the people and constant striving for more power. Nicholas was a strong conservative in his beliefs about serfdom, and did not tolerate the 500 peasant revolts following his ascension to the throne. He tried to preserve his power by restricting education so that revolutionary ideas would not spread. However, a new educated group, the Intelligentsia, rose to fight for democracy. In his struggle for more power, Nicholas's actions led to the beginning of the Crimean War.
Ruler of Russia during the events of Crime and Punishment
Nicholas was succeeded by Alexander II, a much more liberal czar, in 1855. After Russia's defeat in the Crimean War, he realized that he needed to modernize his country. His first reform was to free the serfs. Alexander II issued the Emancipation Manifesto in 1861, abolishing *serfdom. This liberal reform helped reestablish Russia as a great power. Alexander II was killed in 1881 when a student and member of the revolutionary group the Narodnaya Volya (People's will) threw a bomb at him. The Narodnaya Volya was a populist group formed by the Intelligentsia who opposed Alexander's insufficient domestic reforms.

*serf (sûrf)
definition:
n.
1. A member of the lowest feudal class, attached to the land owned by a lord and required to perform labor in return for certain legal or customary rights.
2. An agricultural laborer under various similar systems, especially in 18th- and 19th-century Russia and Eastern Europe.
3. A person in bondage or servitude.