City as A Space : Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment"

This website was developed with the support of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity award (URCA) at East Carolina University in the Spring of 2021, displaying the efficiency of Digital Humanities for interactive reading of iconic novels in the humanities classroom. Created alongside my two-semester undergraduate thesis, this website allows contemporary readers to navigate the city of St. Petersburg and virtually ‘visit’ the Russian locations within the novel. Such visual engagement will result in a better comprehension of the Dostoevskian city as a historic and mythological space.

In Crime and Punishment (1866), Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) portrays "the most abstract" and "phantasmagory city in the world", not only to provide a setting through spatial representations, but to highlight characters’ mental, spiritual, and physical condition, through their "dialogical" interactions with the space. As a novelist, according to Bakhtin's perspective, Dostoevsky sees the city as a space "designed" to accumulate the conversational energy of his characters.

Together with a brief history of St. Petersburg and the city's spacial significance for Russian culture and literature, accompanied by references from Russian and Western scholarship on Dostoevsky, this website portrays a digital urban profile of the Dostoevskian city within the novel, mapping the physical locations depicted: past and present. Through the use of ArcGIS Map, I georeferenced a digitized Historic Map of the city from 1865 and made the result available to online users to explore: observing any changes that have occurred in the city over the past two centuries. Following this map there is an interactive display of the current state of St. Petersburg, the Present-day Map, along with the locations referenced throughout Dostoevsky’s novel. In the website navigation bar at the top of the page, the categories and general function of the locations can be found by clicking on the relevant category.

In the Present-day Map of the city, there is a Table of Contents containing all of the relevant spatial items throughout St. Petersburg. When interacting with these spatial points through the table of contents within the map, an image and a short description of what transpired at these locations as well as their evolving significance within the city since the mid-19th century is provided. The quotes from the novel can be found in the section City within the Novel following these maps, to readily access these places based on their general attributes; each spatial item, i.e., bridge or building, street or canal, park or square, etc., is supplemented by a brief citation from Dostoevsky’s text (including the part, chapter and page number). All of the quotations are from the Norton Critical Edition of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment (NY & London, 1989).

Founded by Peter the Great in 1703, the city of Saint Petersburg ranks with the great capitals of the world. It was established to be a "window" to the West. Symbolizing Russia's European aspects, St. Petersburg became something much more intricate, neither strictly European or Russian, and "engendered a cultural myth of exceptional importance for Russian national thought from the eighteenth through at least the middle of the twentieth century" (RL, 39). This complex urban identity of the Russian Imperial capital inspired writers of the 19th century, especially Pushkin, Gogol and Dostoevsky, to form the foundation of "Petersburg text."

Built on the delta of the Neva River next to the Gulf of Finland at around the 60th parallel north, the city is well known for its constant clash with the elements, its struggle between the water and stone, nature and civilization. Under different names – from St. Petersburg to Petrograd to Leningrad – through wars and revolutions, from Imperial to Soviet and post-Soviet existence, St. Petersburg experienced tremendous growth, changes, and rebirth.

The physical city has developed tremendously over the past two centuries, but a majority of the historic buildings and bridges mentioned within the text have remained unchanged, with respect to their spatial location. New bridges have been built further connecting the islands and those from the mid-19th century have either been reconstructed or destroyed. The two bridges mentioned within Crime and Punishment are still intact spatially but have been rebuilt to better withstand their current use. A majority of the buildings still stand in their original place, but their usage has changed due to the evolving necessities of the city.

Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is one of the most significant representations of St. Petersburg as a literary and cultural space in the nineteenth century Russia. Despite the fact that the city is, "depicted not merely as the setting for the action but as a protagonist, problem and mystery of Russian history and fate," (RL, 47), every location mentioned by the writer can be mapped out in the city. Although a substantial amount of time has passed since the novel's creation, these spaces can still be visited and seen by city’s inhabitants and tourists.

Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment (Norton Critical Editions), Third Edition. Ed. by George Gibian. NY & London: W.W. Norton & Company

Bakhtin, M. Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics. Ed. and transl. by Caryl Emerson. University of Minnesota Press, 1984. (BM)   

Fanger, D. Apogee: Crime and Punishment. In: Fyodor Dostoevsky (Modern Critical Views). Ed. by Harold Bloom. New York & Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989. PP. 59-84. (FD)

Preserving Petersburg: History, Memory, Nostalgia. Ed. by Helena Goscilo and Stephen M. Norris. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2008. (PP)

Wachtel, A. B., Vinitsky, I. Russian Literature: Cultural History of Literature. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2009. (RL)

Each location below will contain a number which correlates to its number on the present-day map of the city. Some locations may have more than one number as they contain more than one spatial item from the current display of St. Petersburg.

“His [Raskolnikov's] nervous shuddering seemed to have turned into a fever; he even felt chilly; in that terrible heat he was cold.” Part 1, Chapter 5, page 45

“<…> He [Raskolnikov] walked right across Vasilyevsky Island [2], came out on the Little Neva [7], crossed the bridge, and turned on to the Islands. At first the greenery and freshness pleased his tired eyes, accustomed to the dust and lime of the town, and its tall buildings crowding oppressively together. Here there was no stuffiness, no evil smells, no public houses. But these pleasant new sensations soon gave place to painful and irritating ones. Occasionally he would stop before some picturesque dacha in its green setting <…> he took a particular interest in the flowers and looked at them longest of all.” Part 1, Chapter 5, pages 45-46

“He [Raskolnikov] turned homewards, but by the time he reached Petrovsky Island [1] he was too exhausted to go on, and he turned aside from the road into some bushes, let himself fall to the ground, and was asleep at once.” Part 1, Chapter 5, page 46

“He [Raskolnikov] was pale, his eyes glittered, exhaustion filled every limb, but he had suddenly begun to breathe more easily. He felt that he had thrown off the terrible burden that had weighed him down for so long, and his heart was light and tranquil. ‘Lord!’ he prayed, ‘show me the way, that I may renounce this accursed <…> fantasy of mine!’” Part 1, Chapter 5, page 51 

“As he [Raskolnikov] crossed the bridge, he gazed with quiet tranquility at the river Neva [6] and the clear red sunset. Although he was so weak, he was not conscious even of being tired. It was as though the sore that had festered in his heart for a month had burst at last. Freedom! He was free now from the evil spells, from the sorcery and fascination, from the temptation.” Part 1, Chapter 5, page 51

“For a minute he [Svidrigaylov] gazed with peculiar interest, and even with a questioning look, at the black water of the Little Neva [7], but he soon found it very cold standing near the water, and he turned and walked along the Bolshoy Prospect [19]." Part 6, Chapter 6, page 425

When recalling this moment on the bridge, Svidrigaylov mentions how he feels about water itself.

“This reminded him [Svidrigaylov] of the Tuchkov Bridge [11] and the Little Neva [7], and he seemed to feel cold again, as he had then, standing above the water. ‘I have never liked water, even in landscapes,’ he thought again, and once more laughed shortly <…>” Part 6, Chapter 6, page 427

After almost being run down by a carriage, Raskolnikov escapes to this bridge.

"He [Raskolnikov] was on Nikolaevsky Bridge [13] before he came to himself again, as a consequence of a very unpleasant incident. The driver of a carriage laid his whip heavily across his back, because he had almost fallen under the horses' feet, in spite of the coachman's repeated cries. The blow enraged him that, leaping for the parapet <...>, he ground his teeth viciously with a clicking noise. Of course, there was laughter and comment from passers-by." Part 2, Chapter 2, page 96

An elderly woman passing by thrust money into Raskolnikov's hand after this incident, as on-lookers believed him to be a beggar looking for easy money.

"He [Raskolnikov] clasped the money in his hand, walked a few steps, and turned his face towards the Neva [6], looking towards the Palace [The Hermitage; 34]. There was not a cloud in the sky and the water, unusually for the Neva [6], looked almost blue. The dome of the cathedral [St. Isaac's Cathedral; 35], which is seen at its best from this point, not more than twenty paces towards the chapel from the centre of the bridge, shone through the clear air, and every detail of its ornament was distinct. <...> An inexplicable chill always breathed on him from that superb panorama, for him a deaf and voiceless spirit filled the splendid picture <...> Each time he marveled at his gloomy and mysterious impression, and then, mistrustful of himself, deferred consideration of the riddle to some future time." Part 2, Chapter 2, page 96

"He [Raskolnikov] unclasped his hand and stared at the money, then flung it into the water with a sweep of his arm; then he turned away and walked homewards. He felt that he had in that moment cut himself from everybody and everything, as if with a knife." Part 2, Chapter 2, page 97

After Raskolnikov came across Razumikhin outside the Crystal Palace, he escapes the situation and arrives at this bridge.

“Raskolnikov went straight to the Voznesensky Bridge [12], stopped in the middle of it, leaned both elbows on the parapets, and gazed along the canal [Ekaterininsky Canal; 10] <…> Leaning over the water he looked mechanically at the last pink reflections of the sunset, at the row of buildings growing dark in the thickening dusk, at one distant window, high up in some roof along the left bank, that shone for an instant with flame as the last ray of the dying sun caught it, at the darkening water of the canal.” Part 2, Chapter 6, page 144

While looking off the bridge, Raskolnikov witnesses a woman’s attempted suicide as well as the people’s attempt of saving the woman.

“<…> Raskolnikov had looked on with a strange feeling of indifference and detachment. Now he felt repelled <…> — ‘No, it’s disgusting…water…no good,’ he muttered to himself <…> His heart was empty and numb. He did not want to think about anything. Even his dejection had passed, and there was no trace of the energy with which he had left the house ‘to make an end of it’. Complete apathy had taken place.” Part 2, Chapter 6, page 145

When he is returning from Marmeladov’s apartment after he eventually died, Raskolnikov stops on this bridge.

“Five minutes later he [Raskolnikov] was standing on the bridge [Voznesensky Bridge; 12], on the exact spot where the woman had thrown herself into the water. / ‘Enough!’ he said decidedly and solemnly. ‘Away with illusions, away with imaginary terrors, away with spectres! <…> Life is! Was I not living just now? My life did not die with the old woman! May she rest in peace and—enough, old woman, your time has come! Now comes the reign of reason and light and <…> and freedom and power <…> now we shall see! Now we shall measure our strength! <…> Strength, strength is what I need; nothing can be done without strength’<…> his pride and self-confidence grew with every minute; in each succeeding minute he was a different man from what he had been in the preceding one.” Part 2, Chapter 7, page 161

“He [Raskolnikov] began to walk as quickly as he could, but on the way a small incident absorbed all his attention for a few minutes.” Part 1, Chapter 4, page 39

“As he [Raskolnikov] looked at the bench, he saw a woman walking some twenty paces in front of him <…> there was something so strange and striking, even at the first glance, about this woman walking along, that little by little his attention became fixed on her, at first unwillingly and almost with some vexation, and then with more and more concentration.” Part 1, Chapter 4, page 39 

“She seemed to be very young, no more than a girl, and she was walking through the blazing heat bare-headed and without gloves or parasol, waiving her arms about queerly. Her dress was of a thin silken material, but it also looked rather odd; it was not properly fastened, and near the waist at the back, at the top of the skirt, there was a tear, and a great piece of material was hanging loose. A shawl had been flung round her bare neck and hung crooked and lopsided <…> the girl’s gait was unsteady, and she stumbled and even staggered from side to side…she was quite drunk.” Part 1, Chapter 4, page 39

“This boulevard [Konnogvardeysky Boulevard; 15] is always rather deserted, but now at one o’clock, and in such heat, it was almost empty.” Part 1, Chapter 4, page 40

“Fifteen paces away [however] a gentleman had stopped at the edge of the boulevard [Konnogvardeysky Boulevard; 15]…and it was plain that he was desirous of approaching the girl for some purpose.” Part. 1, Chapter 4, page 40

After running into a policeman, Raskolnikov paid him 20 copecks to interfere, help the young girl, but she refused help.

“As this moment an instantaneous revulsion of feeling seemed as it were to sting Raskolnikov.” Part 1, Chapter 4, page 42

Raskolnikov then said there was no need to interfere and to allow the gentleman to amuse himself, saying ‘what business is it of yours’, with a sudden change of heart.

“Why did I [Raskolnikov] take it on myself to interfere? Was it for me to try to help? Have I any right to help? Let them eat one another alive—what is it to me? And how dared I give away those twenty copecks? Were they mine to give?” Part 1, Chapter 4, page 43

After Raskolnikov emerges from the yard into the square once disposing of the stollen goods he returns to this street and his mood changes.

“But the laughter ceased as he [Raskolnikov] turned on to Konnogvardeysky Boulevard [15], where two days before he had encountered the young girl <…> he felt a suddenly violent repugnance to passing the bench on which he had sat and thought after the girl left, and it seemed to him also that it would be terrible to meet again the mustached policeman to whom he had given the twenty copecks.” Part 2, Chapter 2, page 92

“He [Raskolnikov] stopped, thought a moment, and went down the right-hand pavement towards Voznesensky Prospect [20]. Once clear of the square, he came into a lane. / He had often before walked through this short street [17], which curved round from the square into Sadovaya Street [18]. Recently, whenever he had felt sick of things, he had been drawn to roam about all these parts, ‘so as to feel even more nauseated.’” Part 2, Chapter 6, page 133

Raskolnikov enters the square, finding a wasteland nearby, the perfect place to dispose the stollen items.

“He [Raskolnikov] was not destined, however, to reach the Islands, either: emerging from the Voznesensky Prospect [20] into a square [23], he caught sight on his left of the entrance to a courtyard entirely surrounded by blank walls. Immediately to the right of the gate stretched the long windowless side of a neighboring four-storied building. To the left, parallel with the wall and also from close by the gate, a wooden hoarding ran in for about twenty paces and then bent round to the left. It was a piece of fenced-off waste land, strewn with various rubbish. Farther in, in the far depths of the yard, the corner of a low, sooty, stone shed, evidently part of some workshop, showed behind the fence.” Part 2, Chapter 2, page 91

“‘This would be a place to throw the things and get away,’ he [Raskolnikov] thought at once.” Part 2, Chapter 2, page 91

After Raskolnikov disposes the items, he emerges back into the square.

“He [Raskolnikov] left the yard and turned towards the square [23]. A violent, almost unbearable rejoicing filled him for a moment as it had done before in the police station <…> ‘My tracks are covered <…> it’s all over; there’s no evidence,’ and he laughed <…> he laughed a long, nervous, shallow, noiseless laugh, and went on laughing all the time he was crossing the square." Part 2, Chapter 2, page 92

“In these streets and alleys near the Haymarket [24], with their numerous houses of ill fame and their swarming population of artisans and labourers, such queer figures sometimes appeared on the scene that even the oddest of them could hardly arouse any surprise.” Part 1, Chapter 1, page 2

“<…> he [Raskolnikov] went out of his way to cross the Haymarket [24] instead of returning home by the quickest and most direct route <…> but why, he used to ask himself, did such an important and fateful encounter for him take place in the Haymarket [24] (through which he had no reason to go) just at this time, just at this moment of his life, when his mood and the circumstances were exactly at those in which the meeting could have so fateful and decisive an influence on his destiny? It was almost as if fate had laid an ambush for him.” Part 1, Chapter 5, page 52

“It was about nine o’clock when he [Raskolnikov] crossed the market-place <…> numbers of dealers and rag-and-bone men of every kind thronged in the basement cookshops, the dirty and stinking courtyards of the houses, and especially the public houses in the market-square. Raskolnikov preferred these places and all the neighbouring backstreets and alleys when he went wandering aimlessly about. Here his rags dew new supercilious glances, and he could look as disreputable as he liked without scandalizing anybody.” Part 1, Chapter 5, page 52 

It was here that Raskolnikov heard Lizaveta Ivanovna, the pawn lady’s sister, talking about being away from the house after six the next day. This conversation sealed his fate, allowing him to justify executing his ‘design’.

As Raskolnikov returned to his room:

“He [Raskolnikov] went in like a man condemned to death. He did not reason about anything, he was quite incapable of reasoning, but he felt with his whole being that his mind and will were no longer free, and that everything was settled, quite finally.” Part 1, Chapter 5, page 53

When Raskolnikov finally escapes the confinement of his room, as well as the claustrophobic presence of the previous guests, he heads toward the Haymarket.

“By force of habit, he [Raskolnikov] turned towards the Haymarket [24], following the usual course of his former walks.” Part 2, Chapter 6, page 132

After the funeral of Marmeladov, Raskolnikov begins to think about the places where he feels most at ease.

“<…> the more solitary his [Raskolnikov] surroundings, the more conscious he felt of the close and disturbing presence of something not so much terrifying as troublesome, so that he would return to the town as quickly as possible and mingle with the crowd, entering an eating-house or a tavern or walking in the Haymarket [24] or the Rag Market. Here he felt easier and more alone.” Part 6, Chapter 1, page 372

Raskolnikov is trying to confess to his crime, and in accordance with Sonya’s request he goes into the Haymarket to do so.

"He [Raskolnikov] entered the Haymarket [24]. He found it distasteful very distasteful, to rub elbows with the crowd but he went just where the crowd seemed thickest <…> The people were pressing around him <…> He walked away at last, not even conscious of where he was, but when he came to the center of the square a sudden sensation came over him, a feeling that mastered him all at once, seized him body and soul. / He had suddenly remembered Sonya’s words: ‘Go to the cross-roads; bow down before the people, and kiss the ground, because you are guilty before them, and say aloud to all the world, “I am a murderer!”’ <…> He was crushed by the weight of all the unescapable misery and anxiety of all this time, and especially of these last hours <…> it had come down on him like a clap of thunder; a single spark was kindled in his spirit and suddenly, like a fire, enveloped his whole being. Everything in him softened on the instant and the tears gushed out. He fell to the ground where he stood <…> / He knelt in the middle of the square, bowed to the ground, and kissed its filth with pleasure and joy. He raised himself and then bowed down a second time <…> Laughter answered him. <…> All these exclamations and observations acted as a check on Raskolnikov and stilled the words ‘I am a murderer’, which had perhaps been on the tip of his tongue. He endured the remarks calmly, however, and without looking round walked straight down the street leading to the direction of the police office." Part 6, Chapter 8, page 444-445

“Passing the Yusupov Gardens [25], he [Raskolnikov] began to consider the construction of tall fountains in all the squares, and how they would freshen the air. Following this train of thought he came to the conclusion that if the Summer Gardens [26] could be extended right across the Champ de Mars [27] and joined to those of Mikhaylovsky Palace [37], it would add greatly to the beauty and amenities of the city. Then he suddenly began to wonder why in big downs, people chose of their own free will to live where neither parks nor gardens, but only filth and squalor and evil smells.” Part 1, Chapter 6, page 62

“His [Raskolnikov's] little room in Stolyarny Lane [16] <…> his little room, more like a cupboard than a place to live in, was tucked away under the roof of a high five-storied building [28].” Part 1, Chapter 1, page 1

“He [Raskolnikov] went past [the landlady’s flat] each time with an uneasy, almost frightened, feeling that made him frown with shame.” Part 1, Chapter 1, page 1

“He [Raskolnikov] was not really afraid of any landlady <…> but to have to stop on the stairs and listen to all her chatter about trivialities in which he refused to take any interest, all her complaints, threats <…> then to have to extricate himself, lying and making excuses—no, better to creep downstairs as softly as a cat and slip out unnoticed.” Part 1, Chapter 1, page 1

“This time, however, he [Raskolnikov] reached the street [Stolyarny Lane; 16] feeling astonished at the intensity of his fear of the landlady.” Part 1, Chapter 1, page 1

“He [Raskolnikov] woke feeling bilious, peevish, and irritable, and gazed round his little room with loathing. It was a tiny little cubby-hole of a place, no more than six paces long, and so low that anybody of even a little more than average height felt uncomfortable in it, fearful that at any moment he might bump his head against the ceiling. The yellowish dusty wall-paper peeling off the walls gave it a wretchedly shabby appearance, and the furniture was in keeping; there were three rickety old chairs and a stained deal table in the corner, holding a few books and papers so covered with dust that it was plain that they had not been touched for a long time; and lastly there was a large and clumsy sofa, taking up almost the whole of one wall and half the width of the room, and with a print cover now old and worn into holes. This served Raskolnikov as a bed…before this sofa stood a small table.” Part 1, Chapter 3, page 23

After reading his mother’s letter, Raskolnikov fled his apartment.

“He [Raskolnikov] seized his hat and went out, this time without fearing to meet anybody on the stairs; he had forgotten all about that.” Part 1, Chapter 3, page 33

When Raskolnikov was leaving to execute his 'design'...

“He [Raskolnikov] crept to the door on tiptoe, quietly eased it open, and stood listening for sounds from the staircase. His heart was beating wildly. But the staircase was quiet, as though everyone were asleep.” Part 1, Chapter 6, page 58

“He [Raskolnikov] flung himself toward the door, listened, seized his hat, and crept as stealthily as a cat down his thirteen stairs.” Part 1, Chapter 6, page 59

Following the murder, Raskolnikov returned home.

“Afterwards, on his [Raskolnikov's] way to his room, he met no one, not a soul; even the landlady’s door was closed.” Part 1, Chapter 7, page 74

Before his crime Raskolnikov did not lock his door but following the murder he did it often.

“Who’s fastened the door then? See he’s taken to locking his door now!” Part 2, Chapter 1, page 77

Nastasya told Raskolnikov he has been summoned to the police station, in regard to his living situation and how he has not paid rent.

“On his [Raskolnikov's] way downstairs, he remembered that he had left all the things behind the wallpaper and thought that perhaps he was being got out of the way on purpose for a search to be made, and he stopped. But overwhelming despair of what might perhaps be called a cynical view of disaster made him shrug his shoulders and walk on.” Part 2, Chapter 1, page 79

When Raskolnikov returns from the police station, he is in a frenzy and decides he needs to dispose of all the stolen items he acquired during the murders.

“Then he [Raskolnikov] went out of the room, this time leaving the door wide open.” Part 2, Chapter 2, page 90

When Raskolnikov is consumed by his illness Razumikhin comes to visit him.

“At this moment, however, the door was opened wide again, and Razumikhin, stooping a little because of his height, came in. ‘This place is no better than a ship’s cabin,’ he [Razumikhin] exclaimed as he came in; ‘I always bump my head and they call it a lodging!” Part 2, Chapter 3, page 100

Later, Peter Petrovich Luzhin, Raskolnikov’s sister’s fiancé, comes to visit him and the encounter is rather uncomfortable.

“Realizing, perhaps, from some slight but quite definite indications that an exaggerated rigidity of bearing would accomplish precisely nothing in this ‘ship’s cabin’, the newcomer turned with a softer but still rather stiff courtesy towards Zosimov <…>” Part 2, Chapter 5, page 121

Following the encounter with Peter Petrovich as well as all the other guests who occupied his room, Raskolnikov finally was alone.

“No sooner had she gone than he [Raskolnikov] got up, fastened the door by its hook, unwrapped the parcels of clothes Razumikhin had brought, and began to dress. Strangely enough, he had now become quite calm; the half-insane ravings of a short time before and the panic fear of the past days had alike vanished. This was the first minute of a strange sudden tranquility. His movements were neat and precise, and revealed a resolute purpose.” Part 2, Chapter 6, page 131

When Raskolnikov’s mother, Pulkheria Alexandrovna, visits his room for the first time she is appalled by its shabbiness.

“‘What a dreadful room you have, Rodya, just like a coffin,’ <…> ‘I’m sure it is responsible for at least half of your depression.’” Part 3, Chapter 3, page 196

When talking to Sonya about his ‘condition’, Raskolnikov recounts the feelings his room evoke.

“<…> But do you know, Sonya, that low ceilings and cramped rooms crush the mind and the spirit? Oh, how I [Raskolnikov] hated that hole. But all the same I would not leave it <…> I had no light at night, and I lay in the dark <…> I preferred to lie and think.” Part 5, Chapter 4, page 352

“<…> he [Raskolnikov] approached an enormous building [29] which fronted the canal [Ekaterininsky Canal; 10] on one side, and Sadovaya Street [18] on the other.” Part 1, Chapter 1, page 3 

“The building had three or four porters, and the young man thought himself lucky not to meet any of them as he [Raskolnikov] slipped from the gate to the first staircase on the right. It was narrow and dark, but he already knew that, and the circumstances pleased him; in such obscurity, there was no danger from prying eyes.” Part 1, Chapter 1, pages 3-4

When Raskolnikov arrived outside the door of the flat is was met with immediate suspicion from Alëna Ivanovna, a greeting that appeared to happen every time he visited.

“After a short interval the door opened the merest crack, and a woman peered suspiciously out at her visitor [Raskolnikov] <…> she seemed reassured, however, when she saw that there were several people on the landing and opened the door wider.” Part 1, Chapter 1, page 4

“The young man [Raskolnikov] stepped across the threshold into a dark hall divided by a partition from the tiny kitchen <…> the little room the young man entered, with its faded wallpaper, geraniums, and muslin window-curtains, was bright with the rays of the setting sun <…> there was nothing special about it. The old furniture, all of painted yellow wood, consisted of a sofa with a high curved wooden back, an oval table in front of it, a toilet-table with a small mirror between the windows, some chairs against the wall, and two or three cheap pictures in yellow frames, representing German young ladies with birds in their hands: that was all. In a corner, a lamp was burning before a small icon. Everything was very clean; both furniture and floor were highly polished, and everything shone <…> his curious glance fixed on the print curtain hanging over the door into another tiny room. In this stood the old woman’s bed and chest of drawers <…> the flat contained only these two rooms.” Part 1, Chapter 1, pages 4-5 

“Raskolnikov went out in great confusion. The confusion grew and grew, and on his way downstairs he stopped more than once as if suddenly struck by something or other. When at last he reached the street, he broke out <…>” Part 1, Chapter 1, page 6 

Once Raskolnikov had arrived at the apartment to execute his 'design'...

“Drawing a deep breath and pressing his [Raskolnikov] hand above his wildly beating heart, he once more felt for the axe and settled it in its loop, then began to mount the stairs carefully and quietly, listening at every step. But the staircase was empty at this hour; all the doors were closed, and nobody was to be seen.” Part 1, Chapter 6, page 63

“As before, the door opened the merest crack, and again two sharp and mistrustful eyes peered at him [Raskolnikov] from the darkness <…> he took hold of the door and pulled it toward him, so that she would not be tempted to lock herself in again <…> when he saw that she was standing across the doorway in such a way that he could not pass, he advanced straight upon her, and she stood aside startled.” Part 1, Chapter 7, page 64 

“He [Raskolnikov] stood still, staring, unable to believe his eyes; the door, the outer door leading to the staircase, the door at which he had rung a short time ago, and by which he had entered, was at least a hand’s-breadth open; all this time it had been like that, neither locked nor bolted, all the time <…> he flung himself at the door and put up the bolt.” Part 1, Chapter 7, page 69

“At length, when the footsteps had begun the last flight, he [Raskolnikov] started to life, and just managed to slip swiftly and dexterously back from the landing into the flat and close the door behind him. Then he grasped the bolt and slid it gently, without a sound into its socket.” Part 1, Chapter 7, page 70

Following the murders, Raskolnikov is getting ready to leave the apartment...

“He [Raskolnikov] was preparing to descend when suddenly a door on the floor below opened noisily and somebody started down the stairs, humming a tune <…> he was already setting his foot on the stairs when once more he heard footsteps.” Part 1, Chapter 7, page 69

Later in the novel...

Raskolnikov witnessed the attempted suicide of a woman on the bridge, he is disgusted and subsequently becomes numb to any and everything. As he is walking home, he passes the pawn lady’s apartment and decides to go inside.

“He [Raskolnikov] turned in, passed through the gateway, went into the first entrance on the right and began to ascend the familiar staircase towards the first floor. The steep, narrow stairs were very dark. On every landing he stopped and looked about with curiosity. The window-frame on the first landing had been removed <…>” Part 2, Chapter 6, page 146

Following his ascent of the staircases, Raskolnikov enters the now vacant apartment and looks around.

“This flat also was being redecorated, and the workmen were inside. This circumstance astonished him [Raskolnikov]; for some reason, he had expected to find everything just the way he had left it, perhaps even with the corpses in the same places on the floor. But now with its bare walls and empty rooms it seemed somehow strange. He went over to the window and sat down on the sill.” Part 2, Chapter 6, page 146

“He [Raskolnikov] turned in, passed through the gateway, went into the first entrance on the right and began to ascend the familiar staircase towards the first floor. The steep, narrow stairs were very dark. On every landing he stopped and looked about with curiosity. The window-frame on the first landing had been removed <…>” Part 2, Chapter 6, page 146 

“It was a large room, but very low ceilinged <…> the locked door to the left let to their room. Opposite this, in the right-hand wall, was another door, always kept locked, which led into the next flat. Sonya’s room was rather like a barn; the irregularity of its angles made it look misshapen. One wall, with three windows which gave on to the canal [Ekaterininsky Canal; 10], was set obliquely, so that one corner, forming a terribly acute angle, seemed to run off into obscurity, and when the light was poor the whole of it could not even be seen properly; the other angle was monstrously obtuse. There was hardly any furniture in this large room. To the right, in the corner, was a bed, with a chair beside it nearer the door. Against the same wall <…> stood a plain deal table covered with a blue cloth, with two cane chairs near it. By the opposite wall <…> was a small, plain, wooden chest of drawers, looking lost in empty spaces. This was all there was in the room. The yellowish, dirty, rubbed wallpaper was darkened in the corners; the room must have been damp and full of charcoal fumes in the winter. Its poverty was evident; the bed had not even curtains.” Part 4, Chapter 4, pages 266-267

It is within Sonya's space, at the threshold, that Raskolnikov is able to confess to his crime; also, where he finds solace from the crippling influences and environment of the city.

“When he [Raskolnikov] reached the Kapernaumov’s flat [30], he experienced a sudden sensation of impotence and fear. He stopped before the door, asking himself, ‘Need I really tell her who killed Lizaveta?’ <…> He did not yet know why he could not, he only felt it, and the tormenting consciousness of his helplessness before the inevitable almost crushed him. To escape from his anxious preoccupations, he quickly opened the door and paused on the threshold with his eyes on Sonya.” Part 5, Chapter 4, page 343

In her room, Sonya enlightens Raskolnikov to take that final act of redemption, to do what he must to redeem his soul and entire existence.

“‘Go at once, this instant, stand at the cross-roads, first bow down and kiss the earth you [Raskolnikov] have desecrated, the bow to the whole world, to the four corners of the earth, and say aloud to all the world: “I have done murder.” Then God will send you life again <…>’” Part 5, Chapter 4, page 355

“The drunkard’s agitation and apprehension grew steadily greater as they neared the house.” Part 1, Chapter 2, page 19

“It was disordered and untidily strewn with various tattered children’s garments. A torn sheet was stretched across the corner at the back of the room. The bed was probably behind it. There was nothing in the old room, but two chairs and a sofa covered with ragged oilcloth, with an old dead kitchen table, unpainted and uncovered, standing before it. On the edge of the table stood the stump of a tallow candle in an iron candlestick. It appeared that Marmeladov had one room, not only a corner of one, but the room was more than a passage.” Part 1, Chapter 2, page 20

“They [Raskolnikov and Marmeladov] entered from the yard and went up to the fourth floor. The higher they went, the darker grew the staircase <…> it was very dark at the top of the stairs.” Part 1, Chapter 2, page 20

“The grimy little door at the head of the stairs stood open <…> at the farther end the door leading to the other rooms, or rabbit-hutches <…> stood ajar <…> occasionally the most indecorous words came flying out of the door.” Part 1, Chapter 2, page 20

“Marmeladov did not go right into the room, but gave Raskolnikov a push which sent him forward, and himself ell on his knees at the door. At the sight of the stranger the distracted woman paused for a moment before him <…> but then it seemed to occur to her that he must be going to one of the other rooms, to which theirs served as a passage. Having come to this conclusion she paid him no further attention, but turned towards the entrance to shut the door, and suddenly cried out at the sight of her husband on his knees on the threshold.” Part 1, Chapter 2, page 21

“Meanwhile the inner door had been pushed wide open and impudent laughing faces, adorned with pipes or cigarettes, or topped with skullcaps, were peering out inquisitively <…> they laughed with special glee.” Part 1, Chapter 2, page 22

“As he went out, Raskolnikov, thrusting his hand into his pocket and scraping together the coppers remaining from the rouble he had changed in the tavern, managed to put them unobserved on the window-sill. Afterwards, on his way downstairs, he repented of his action and almost turned back.” Part 1, Chapter 2, page 22

When Marmeladov gets run over by a carriage, Raskolnikov instructs some bystanders to bring him up into his apartment and call for a doctor. Due to the cramped conditions this supposedly intimate moment between Marmeladov and his wife becomes a public spectacle.

“The police had gone, except one who stayed behind for a time, trying to drive out against the people who had thronged in from the stairs. Practically every one of Mrs. Lippewechsel’s lodgers, besides, had flocked out of the inner rooms, crowding at first into the doorway, and then pouring in a mass into the room itself.” Part 2, Chapter 7, page 154

“They even seemed a little afraid of Katerina Ivanovna; the lodgers, one after another, began to press back towards the door, with that strange inward glow of satisfaction, which is always found, even among his nearest and dearest, when disaster suddenly strikes our neighbours, and from which not one of us is immune, however sincere our pity and sympathy.” Part 2, Chapter 7, page 154 

“Meanwhile the door from the inner rooms began to open again under the pressure of the curious, and in the little lobby the onlookers were crowding thicker and thicker, from every flat on the staircase; but they did not cross the threshold of the room.” Part 2, Chapter 7, page 156-57

After Marmeladov was on his last breath, Raskolnikov leaves money behind for the family and leaves.

“And he [Raskolnikov] hurried out of the room, pushing his way towards the stairs as quickly as he could, through the crowd <…> he went down quietly, without hurry; he was in a fever again, but unconscious of the fact, and full of a strange new feeling of boundlessly full and powerful life welling up in him, a feeling which might be compared with that of a man condemned to death and unexpectedly reprieved.” Part 2, Chapter 7, page 159-160

“‘Not at all far from here, in Bakaleev’s house [31]…’ / ‘That’s on Voznesensky Prospect [20],’ interrupted Razumikhin; ‘there’s a cheap hotel occupying two floors of the building; the merchant Yushin runs it; I’ve been there.’/ ‘Yes, it’s a hotel…’ / ‘It is a horrible place, dirty and stinking, and its character is suspect; there have been various incidents, and God knows who lives there. What took me there was a disgraceful affair. It is cheap, though.’” Part 2, Chapter 5, pages 124-125

“Raskolnikov hesitated only for a moment and then went down the steps. He had never set foot in such a place before, but now his head was swimming, and his throat was parched <…> he sat down in a dark and dirty corner behind a small sticky table, ordered his beer, and drank the first glass thirstily. He began to feel better at once, and his thoughts grew clearer <…> his outlook had grown cheerful, as if he had been suddenly freed from a terrible burden <…> even at this moment he dimly perceived, however, that there was something morbid in his sudden recovery of spirits.” Part 1, Chapter 1, page 7

“There was one other man, who looked like a retired Government clerk <…> he, too, seemed to be in rather a disturbed state of mind.” Part 1, Chapter 1, page 7

“‘My dear sir,’ he [Marmeladov] began almost portentously, ‘it is a true saying that poverty is no crime. And even less, as I well know, is drunkenness a virtue. But beggary, my dear sir, beggary is a vice. In poverty, the inborn honourable sentiments may still be preserved, but never in beggary—not by anybody. In beggary, a man is not driven forth from human society with a cudgel, but, to make his condition more humiliating, is swept away with a broom—and with justice, for as a beggar I am the first to humiliate myself.” Part 1, Chapter 2, page 9

“Raskolnikov was listening with close attention, yet with a feeling of discomfort. He felt vexed that he had come here.” Part 1, Chapter 2, page 17

After provoking Zametov to inquire about what he was reading, Raskolnikov makes a ‘confession’, but his current state of madness makes Zametov question his credibility.

“‘I’ll tell you that later, but now I [Raskolnikov] will declare to you [Zametov]…no, better, I’ll “confess” …No, that’s not right either: I will “make a statement”, and you shall take it down—that’s it! So, I state that I was reading…that I was interested in…that I was looking for…that I was searching…’ Raskolnikov screwed up his eyes and waited—: ‘I was searching—and that is why I came here—for something about the murder of the old woman, the moneylender,’ he brought out at last, almost in a whisper, bringing his face very close to Zametov’s. Zametov looked steadily back at him, without stirring or moving his face away. Afterwards, what seemed strangest about all this to Zametov was this silence that lasted for a full minute, while they remained looking at one another without moving.” Part 2, Chapter 6, page 137

Later, Zametov declares Raskolnikov must be mad and they begin to discuss a group of counterfeiters who had been caught. Once Raskolnikov describes how he would have done it, Zametov discredits the reality of this scheme.

“‘Only all this is only talk, and in reality, you [Raskolnikov] would be sure to trip up. I’ll tell you, it seems to me [Zametov] impossible, not only for you and me, but even for a desperate and experienced man, to answer for himself in such a matter. Here’s an example close at hand: an old woman has been murdered in our quarter of the city. Here, then, was a desperate rogue, running the most appalling risks in broad daylight and only saved by a miracle—but all the same, his hands trembled; he didn’t succeed in carrying out his robbery—he couldn’t stand it; it’s clear from what we know of the case...’” Part 2, Chapter 6, page 140

As Raskolnikov walks up the stairs for the first time he begins to think.

“‘I [Raskolnikov] shall go in, fall on my knees, and tell the whole story,’ he thought as he came to the fourth floor.” Part 2, Chapter 1, page 80

“The staircase was steep and narrow and smelt of dishwater <…> all the doors stood open almost the whole day, it was terribly stuffy. Up and down, these stairs moved porters <…> the door into the office also stood wide open.” Part 2, Chapter 1, page 80

“He [Raskolnikov] went into this room (the fourth from the ante-room), which was very small and crammed full of people, who looked a little neater and cleaner than those in the other rooms.” Part 2, Chapter 1, page 80

Within the police station Raskolnikov first meets Porfiry Petrovich, the man who eventually drives him mad as he knows his secret. Although Raskolnikov never admits to him that he had committed the murders, Porfiry Petrovich knows and sets a series of conversations to draw out his secret…

Raskolnikov finally goes to visit Porfiry Petrovich to retrieve the items he had pawned before killing Alëna Ivanovna and her sister, the latter being something Porfiry Petrovich believes Raskolnikov is guilty of and is trying to manipulate him into confessing.

“This was a room neither large nor small, containing a large writing desk standing in front of a sofa upholstered in imitation leather, a bureau, a bookcase in one corner, and several chairs. It was all Government furniture, made of yellow polished wood. In one corner, in the wall, or rather the partition, at the back of the room, there was a closed door; there must be another room beyond the partition.” Part 4, Chapter 5, page 281

The two engage in a conversation, where Porfiry Petrovich continues to claim he finds Raskolnikov innocent but at the same time draws him further and further into the conviction that he does indeed believe this to be fact. Raskolnikov continues to ask Porfiry what is behind this door and he responds by saying he will get to this ‘surprise’ later.

“‘But don’t you [Raskolnikov] want to see my little surprise?’ chuckled Porfiry <…> ‘What little surprise? What is this?’ he asked, stopping short and looking at Porfiry with terror. / ‘Just a little surprise. Here it is, just behind the door, he, he, he!’ (He pointed his finger at the closed door in the partition, which led into his living quarters.) ‘I locked it in, so that it shouldn’t run away.’” Part 4, Chapter 5, page 295

 After Raskolnikov flung himself onto the ground within the public square, he knew he had to go and confess to his crime.

“The spiral staircase was as dirty and littered as ever, the doors of the tenements still stood open, the same kitchens emitted the same reeking fumes <…> His [Raskolnikov] legs felt numb and ready to give way but still they carried him <…> Feeling cold and barely conscious, he opened the office door.” Part 6, Chapter 8, pages 445-446

My name is MaKenna Johnston, and I have a dual degree from East Carolina University in Political Science and Multidisciplinary Studies, with majors in Russian Studies and Security Studies, along with a certificate in Geographic Information Science. Through the URCA support, this website was created as an extension of my undergraduate thesis project which examined the significance of space in Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. As a freshman, I was unsure of what path to take, but after meeting with Dr. Murenina, my mentor for Dostoevsky's project, I knew I was going to major in Russian Studies. Despite all of the other academic pursuits, this major challenged me to step outside my comfort zone and produce work that not only allowed me to grow on an intellectual level but a personal one as well.

Having learned about Russian culture I took advantage of the opportunity to travel to St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia through the ECU Summer 2019 Study Abroad. This experience enriched my perspective on the novels I had previously read in the 19th Century Russian Literature class, especially Crime and Punishment. When I first read this novel, I was not immediately captivated by the nuances of cityscape, but after seeing the city itself, I understood how the writer used real locations to create his distinctive narrative and I developed a newfound appreciation and passion for Dostoevsky's novel and its narrative style.

When analyzing the text, I could visualize some of the locations in St. Petersburg as I had been there first-hand, an experience I wanted to 'share' with the online reader introduced to this website. Having the ability to grasp the physical locations of the characters’ apartments and their existence within the larger city's landscape provides the reader with a different level of cultural and historical awareness, elevating the reading experience of the canonical Dostoevsky novel.

To learn more about the Russian Studies Interdisciplinary Program at East Carolina University click on the link below. Enter your name, email, and any questions you have on the page provided by this link or use the navigation bar at the top of their page to further explore all the program has to offer.