# The Idiot

**Author:** Fyodor Dostoyevsky
**Tags:** Historical fiction, Russia
**Price:** Free
**Formats:** DOCX, EPUB, FB2, PDF, TXT
**Downloads:** 40
**Added:** 10.07.2026
**URL:** https://samolit.com/books/96013

## Description

Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Idiot introduces Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, a compassionate and guileless man returning to Russian society after years in a Swiss sanatorium for epilepsy. Often perceived as naive or foolish due to his unwavering honesty and profound empathy, Myshkin strives to live by Christian ideals in a world rife with cynicism, materialism, and social hypocrisy. His presence profoundly impacts those around him, particularly the passionate and tormented Nastasya Filippovna and the fiercely independent Aglaya Epanchin, both of whom become entangled in a complex web of love, jealousy, and obsession. As Myshkin attempts to navigate the intricate social circles of St. Petersburg, his pure-hearted nature clashes with the volatile desires and destructive forces of those he encounters. The novel explores the fragility of goodness and questions whether a truly beautiful soul can survive intact amidst the moral decay and suffering of 19th-century Russia, ultimately leading to a tragic examination of human nature, faith, and the elusive quest for redemption.