Because of his participation in the Petrashevsky Circle, in which he distributed and read several Belinsky articles deemed as anti-religious and anti-government,[5] he and other members were sentenced to capital punishment.

Following his release, Dostoyevsky read a myriad of literature and gradually became interested in nationalistic and conservative philosophies and increasingly sceptical towards contemporary movements—especially the Nihilists.

Dostoyevsky wrote his most important works after his time in Siberia, including Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, The Gambler and The Brothers Karamazov.

Following their closures, most of his works were issued in the conservative The Russian Messenger until the introduction of A Writer's Diary, which comprised most of his works—including essays and articles.

[58] Other articles were written in response or as a criticism to a literary work, a person's view, requests to the military during the imprisonment period, announcements, notes and explanations.