Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky (1821­1881) was an influential Russian 
novelist. His dramas explore moral and political problems using 
suspenseful plots. His characters tend to be thrown into extreme 
situations where they are forced to wrestle with their drives and 
motivations. His works include Crime and Punishment  (1866), The Idiot  
(1868º1869), The Possessed  (1871­1872), and The Brothers Karamazov  
(1879­1880).