Journey through the history and culture that produced the great literary explosion of the 19th century. With Dostoevsky at the center, we’ll enter his feverish world of crime, conscience, faith, and moral rebellion, while contrasting this with the regal visions of Tolstoy, and Chekhov, and the fantastical fables of Gogol.

Why does Russian literature always seem to break all boundaries? Why the obsession with murder, madness, God, revolution, ecstasy? And why does a tradition famous for despair keep erupting into laughter?