Crime and Punishment

A Russian book that everyone should read at least once is Преступление и наказание (Crime and Punishment) by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Jordan Peterson is of the same opinion (check here and here), along with many others.

Summary

For those who don’t want to read the entire book, there are summaries. With a lively narrator (2019, 13 mins), in brief English (2018, 3 mins), or illustrated Russian (2017, 9 mins), and also with Playmobil (2015, 11 mins). More on Wikipedia.

Audiobooks

For those who don’t want to read at all, just listen. Available at Audio Books Classic: part 1 (583 m), part 2 (684 mins), part 3 (338 mins). Also at Greatest AudioBooks: parts 1-3 (682 mins), parts 4-6 (643 mins). And on Spotify. In Russian via Популярные аудиокниги: part 1 (258 mins), part 2 (300 mins).

Reading and translation of Crime and Punishment

Reading in Dostoevsky’s original language remains, of course, the best. It’s free and easy, with the text (and English translation) available on RussianLessons.net. A simplified version can be found at Adapted Russian Books; part 1 here (2020, 12 mins). For those who prefer (only) English, here’s a pdf.

Also on Why You Should Read Crime and Punishment: An Animated Introduction to Dostoevsky’s Moral Thriller (Open Culture, 2019) and the page on TED-Ed.

Почему стоит прочитать “Преступление и наказание”? is the Russian version.

More about Crime and Punishment

• 8 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Crime And Punishment’ (The Culture Trip, 2017)
• ‘Crime and Punishment’ 150 years on (Russia Beyond, 2016)
• What Crime and Punishment can teach you that the internet can’t (New Statesman, 2013)

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