Comparing Dostoevsky's Crime And Punishment

The novel Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoevsky is set in nineteenth century, St. Petersburg. The historical and political events that occurred before and around Dostoevsky's life heavily influenced his writing through his emphasis on Russia’s economic status and social standards. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Peter the Great (r. 1682–1725) “had opened Russia's "window on the West," both literally through his foundation of the new capital of St. Petersburg..” “..and less tangibly through his promotion of Western culture and technology to develop Russia's economy and society” (Waldron). Considering that St. Petersburg was made the new capital before Dostoevsky’s lifetime, we can tell the progression of Russia’s economy through
the descriptions that Dostoevsky gives us in the novel. The social progression that Peter the Great was leading towards can be seen in the future history of Russia and is highlighted through Dostoevsky's writing. If Peter the Great had worked towards improving society for both the lower and upper class then a big gap between the lower and upper class would not be seen in Crime and Punishment.
Later, during the nineteenth century, Russia faced political uprisings concerning social class. From 1816 to 1825 the “secret society” was formed after their unsuccessful revolt in Saint Petersburg on December 14, 1825. Along with the “secret society” were other groups who followed its ideas of improving the lives of the elite. For example, the Union Welfare, “Its members aspired to create favorable conditions for constitutional reforms in Russia aimed at the moral and spiritual improvement of the elite and society as a whole” (Zemskova). When reading Crime and Punishment, one can tell that Dostoevsky was influenced by these movements due to the separation he makes from the “ordinary” and “extraordinary.” “The ordinary ones must live in submission and have no right to transgress the laws..” (Dostoevsky 219). The difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary seemed to be correspondent with their levels of intelligence. Raskolnikov believed that he could be one of the extraordinary because he was of high intelligence. It is clear that Dostoevsky pulled a few of the beliefs from the secret societies of his time in crafting Raskolnikov’s Utilitarian theory.
A variety of future historical events in Russia also influenced Dostoevsky’s writing, one of which was the Crimean War from 1853- 1856. The spark for war came from the dispute among France, and Russia, and Turkey over the Christian shrines in Palestine. During the war, “The British also imposed an effective economic blockade that crippled Russian finances” (Lambert). This quote of Russia’s history proves that Russia’s economy was not at its peak which would make sense why Dostoevsky writes about the poverty that surrounds Raskolnikov. For example, St. Petersburg is described as having , “..intolerable reek from the public houses, so numerous in that part of the city, and the sight of the drunken men encountered at every turn..” (Dostoevsky 2). This description of St. Petersburg helps readers get a feel of everyday life in Russia which sets a somber mood for the novel.
After the Crimean war, when Alexander I took over, most Russians were serfs or unfree peasants, people who worked for the noble class on large private estates.
“Surfs comprised about 40 percent of the Russian population,” (“Alexander II”). The serfdom system at the time made peasants dependent on the nobility. It was not until March 3, 1861 that things started to change; Alexander I issued his decree for serfs to be freed. The emancipation made it possible for peasants to buy land from their landlords but since the serfs had little to no money, this was not possible for most and many had to rent from their landlords.With serfdom and the emancipation of serfs during Dostoevsky’s lifetime, one can come to the conclusion that this is the reason why he writes about poverty throughout Crime and Punishment. Since many of the people that Raskolnikov encountered fit the description of a serf or peasant this could be why the nobles looked down upon them. For this reason, the upper class such as the “elderly woman of the merchant class,” would feel pity for the poor and give them money like when she gave some to Raskolnikov, thinking he was a poor drunk (Dostoevsky 96). Also, the building that Dostoevsky describes that housed all kinds of “tradespeople--tailors, locksmiths, cooks, various German craftsmen, prostitutes, and so on,” show that what was occurring in Russia at the time influenced the setting in which the novel was written
in.
The common thread from these historical/political events in Russia are that the main focus was to improve the elite society. The events all focused on making Russia a place that the rest of humanity should look to as the perfect prototype. The lower class, peasants/serfs, were left to fend off for themselves like many of Raskolnikov’s friends in Crime and Punishment. If a person could not pay for their education, like Raskolnikov, then they would have no help from the government. The only way out of poverty and social upbringing was to either be married or born into it. Those who were not fortunate enough to have done so suffered from the judgements of the elite and struggled to make a living from day to day.