The Periodical Review and the Weekly Review in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Abstract

The article examines two publications mentioned in the novel Crime and Punishment: Ezhenedel’naya Rech’ (English: “Weekly Review”) and Periodicheskaya Rech’ (English: “Periodical Review”). It argues that in 1865, Dostoevsky did not use newspapers such as Moskovsky Vestnik and Russkaya Rech’ as prototypes for the editorial office that published Raskolnikov’s article, as these newspapers were insignificant during the 19th century. Instead, the article suggests that the names of the publications were chosen by the writer to distinguish between the types of publications (newspaper and magazine) and to emphasize that Raskolnikov’s article “About Crime…” was published in a magazine. This choice allowed Dostoevsky to highlight, on the one hand, the difficult situation of the protagonist who committed the crime, and on the other hand, to demonstrate that the ideas presented in his article found support in magazine editorial offices, which were more inclined to defend their beliefs and those of their authors compared to newspapers. As evidence, the article refers to Dostoevsky’s correspondence with Mikhail Katkov, with whom he discussed plans for the creation of Crime and Punishment, and to the Journal Note on New Literary Authorities and New Theories (1863), published in the magazine Vremia, which is often regarded as one of his programmatic statements. In this note, the writer expresses his negative views toward newspaper editors, whom he accuses of artificially creating topics for polemics.

Keywords

• dostoevsky
• crime and punishment
• raskolnikov
• periodical review
• weekly review
• russian journalism