Dostoevsky and the Soviets.

This article critically appraises the book "Dostoyevsky in Russian Literary Criticism, 1846-1956," by Vladimir Seduro. The first part of Seduro's book is devoted to tracing the reactions of Russian criticism to Dostoevsky from his earliest publications. His first book, "Poor Folk," was hailed in 1845 as the first Russian social novel; but this enthusiasm cooled when, instead of sticking to social themes, Dostoevsky began to experiment in short stories with the moral-psychological themes of egoism and guilt.