The Russian Academy Of Arts

On October 29, 2010 in Tobolsk was unveiled a bronze sculpture of the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky sitting on a bench at the open Gospel book. The monument designed by the Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts Mikhail Pereyaslavets stands not far from the building of a transit prison in Oktyabrskaya street near the public garden named after Fyodor Dostoevsky. He spent there ten days on his way to the exile in Omsk, Siberia.

Tobolsk is connected with one of the most difficult periods in Dostoevsky’s life. In St. Petersburg Dostoevsky was sentenced to death for being a part of the liberal intellectual group the Petrashevsky Circle. The death sentence was commuted by the Tsar Nicholas I to four years of exile at a prison camp in Omsk. When he was in a transit prison in Tobolsk, Natalya Fonvizina, the wife of the Decembrist Mikhail Fonvizin gave him the Gospel which helped Fyodor Dostoevsky to survive in Omsk.

As the head of the “Revival” Foundation of the city of Tobolsk Arkady Elfimov said, the writer had spent 4 years in Omsk. The first two years were extremely hard as he was not allowed either to read or to write and the only book was that Gospel. As he had no pencil, Dostoevsky made notes by his nail. In all, there were made almost 1700 notes. “Dostoevsky did not part with the book from Tobolsk till the end of his life. When dying he asked his wife to open the Gospel at random, she read out the words which made it clear that he was passing away” – said Arkady Elfimov.

This is the third monument created by Mikhail Pereyaslavets for the city of Tobolsk. The first two are monuments to the writer Pyotr Ershov and explorer Alexander Dunin-Gorkavich.  

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