Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) was a noted Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. The second of seven children, Dostoyevsky was born into a devout Christian family and grew up on the grounds of Mariinsky Hospital, where his father was a doctor. A budding intellectual, Dostoyevsky was exiled to Siberia in 1849 for alleged anti-Tsarist activities. His formative exposure to the poor and oppressed in Moscow and his exile to Siberia profoundly shaped his writing.