It is impossible to imagine Petersburg without the works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Many admirers of the work of the famous writer try to look at this city through the eyes of the heroes of his work "Crime and Punishment." Such tours allow you to better know the author himself and the characters of his books. Of course, his most famous hero is Rodion Raskolnikov, whose image makes readers think about a lot of questions. The main thing that Dostoevsky wanted to show in this way was that under no difficult circumstances should one lose faith in God, goodness, love for one's neighbor and violate moral principles. The image of Raskolnikov is very important for all world literature. Therefore, many readers are even interested in the house where Raskolnikov lived.
The largest "Petersburg" work of Dostoevsky
Many have heard of the phenomenon - "Dostoevsky Petersburg." The great writer in the work "Crime and Punishment" this city is shown from two sides. On the one hand, he shows palaces and parks, on the other - the usual streets where street girls roam, impoverished homeless children, innkeepers who are looking for a moment of oblivion in wine. More Dostoevsky draws attention to the atmosphere of the impasse and hopelessness of St. Petersburg at that time. Where did the little officials, students, artisans live then? After all, the main character of the work, Raskolnikov, was a student. They settled in small removable rooms in the cramped Petersburg streets and alleys. Most often, they settled near Sennaya Square and the Catherine Canal.
And today, sightseers often walk around Raskolnikov’s places along the streets where tragedies once daily occurred, where wretched houses resembled the fate of ordinary people. In those years in St. Petersburg there were so-called apartment buildings in which apartments were rented. Dostoevsky himself lived in one of these rented apartments. In the work Crime and Punishment, the action takes place just in the familiar area where the author lived.
Where did Dostoevsky put the main character of Crime and Punishment?
In his novel, Dostoevsky shows a specific area of St. Petersburg. Events in the work develop very quickly. From the moment he met Raskolnikov, committed the murder and confessed in him, only two weeks passed. Even in the first paragraph of the book, the reader sees the exact topographic designations. The author settled his hero, student Rodion Raskolnikov, in Stolyarny Lane. Even the abbreviated names of Dostoevsky are understandable to the reader. Even at the beginning of the work, abbreviated names are given, which you can guess: lane C - Stolyarny, bridge Kn - Kokushkin, V-ciy avenue - Voznesensky.
Although the work contains specifics in the names, it is still impossible to say exactly in which house Dostoevsky Raskolnikov settled. There are several versions, but one is put forward by the main one.
Dostoevsky’s wife said that the writer settled Raskolnikov in the house in which he lived for three years (1864-1867). Then Fedor Mikhailovich rented an apartment in a corner house, it was also called the Alonkin building. This house was then located at the intersection of Malaya Meshchanskaya Street and Stolyarny Lane. Today, those names correspond to the address - Treasury, house 7. In this house, Dostoevsky wrote "Crime and Punishment."
Another version is that he settled Raskolnikov in a house located opposite. Many researchers of Dostoevsky’s creativity were tormented by conjectures and came to the conclusion that Rodion lived at the intersection of today's 19/5 Civil and Przhevalsky Streets.
Address of the house of Raskolnikov
Many researchers agreed that Dostoevsky placed his hero in a tenement house, or the house of Joachim. This building has been preserved to this day. You can find the house of Raskolnikov in St. Petersburg at the following addresses: st. Civil, 19 or Stolyarny lane, 5. The double address is due to the fact that this house is corner.
Who built the famous house and when?
House No. 19 on Grazhdanskaya Street in 1831 was designed by Egor Timofeevich Tsollikofer. It was built in the style of classicism. Joachim was a famous carriage master. After the construction of the house, he himself lived in it. It was here that Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol lived for some time. In the comedy "The Examiner", he mentions the master Jochem.
Raskolnikovskaya staircase
The description of Raskolnikov’s house in Crime and Punishment is partially met. Dostoevsky chose the most "drunk" district, Stolyarny Lane, as his place of residence. It consisted of 16 houses, in which there were 18 drinking establishments. The neighboring Voznesensky Prospekt was also rich in taverns, taverns, beer and wine cellars. Deadlocks in life lead to drunkenness, prostitution, death, crime. The reader visually feels hopelessness in this area of St. Petersburg. For Raskolnikov, the prospect is closed on all sides. Every day he feels hopeless, leaving his closet. The life of the hero was broken by the St. Petersburg reality of the 19th century.
Rodion's housing in a profitable place is considered to be part of a disastrous urban environment. The profitable house of Raskolnikov in St. Petersburg is not the only one, there were many similar then. At Dostoevsky there are descriptions of some details of the house, entrance, stairs. This staircase is also called “Raskolnikovskaya”. The author raised his hero several times along it, it became symbolic. It was along her that the hero went to the Marmeladovs, the old percent-old woman. Later, this staircase led him with repentance to the police office of Porfiry Petrovich. Raskolnikov also experienced the most terrible moments on this staircase when he ran to the threshold of the old woman he had killed. Rodion lived on the top floor under the roof. Thirteen steep steps led from the fifth floor to the student’s room.
Student's closet
Raskolnikov's closet was located on the attic floor, that is, in the attic. This room looked more like a cabinet than an apartment. The student hated this closet. How could one be content with a tiny cell six steps long. She looked miserable with her yellowish wallpaper lagging behind the walls. In the novel there are comparisons of this room with a cabin, a coffin, a chest. Dostoevsky did not just describe such a dwelling, he himself had to expect a sentence in solitary confinement of the Peter and Paul Fortress. He knew very well what thoughts haunt a person in such an environment. It was in his closet that Rodion Raskolnikov decided to kill the old percent-woman.
Architectural changes at home
Today it is impossible to enter the courtyard of the house on 19 Grazhdanskaya Street, it was closed with bars. Previously, this house was five-story, today there are four floors. The fact is that on the ground floor there were semi-basement rooms. In 1970, the house was rebuilt and restored. The basement was liquidated, and the cobblestone paved courtyard was paved. Today, from the fourth floor, as in Dostoevsky’s novel, you can climb the 13 steps to the attic.
High relief on the wall of the house
Today on the corner of the house number 19 you can see the wall composition. In 1999, it was decided to establish a high relief on the Raskolnikov House building. The authors of the monument were the sculptor E. N. Rotanov and the architect V. V. Novosadyuk. The height of the bronze and granite composition is 165 cm. The granite slab (stele) was immortalized by the words composed by D. S. Likhachev and D. A. Granin. You can read these words in the photo above. They prove that every crime is accompanied by punishment. Therefore, under no circumstances should evil thoughts be allowed in.