St Petersburg commemorates the great Russian writer Fedor Dostoevsky in the apartment where he lived his last couple of years and wrote his last epic work, The Brothers Karamazov. His Literary Memorial Museum was opened in 1971.
After the death of Dostoevsky's wife Anna Grigorievna in 1918 the author's personal effects and extensive literary collection passed into the hands of the Soviet state. They lay in the archives until the museum was opened to coincide with his 150th birthday in 1971.
There are two main aspects to the exhibition, the first looking at Dostoevsky's life and times, the second concentrating on his great novels, including Crime and Punishment and The Idiot. In addition the museum contains a small theatre where visitors can see original performances of the author's most famous works.