You can almost touch the history at the Dostoyevsky "shrine."
There's always something interesting at Dostoyevsky's Last Flat.
Not only does the museum display paraphernalia related to the legendary author, and stage dramatic and cinematic productions inspired by his works, but it also features constantly changing exhibits of modern art.
Dostoyevsky lived at the corner of Yamskaya (renamed Dostoyevsky) Ulitsa and Kuznechny Pereulok from October 1878 until his death on January 28, 1881, during which period he wrote his masterpiece "Brothers Karamazov" and his infamous unfinished works.
The entire building has been preserved as the "Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky Literary Memorial Museum," the centerpiece of which is the author's actual flat.
The flat has been recreated exactly as it was at the moment of his death, as loyally as possible to the recollections of the author's visitors, his wife's notes, and a contemporary photographer; an adjacent flat displays paraphernalia themed around Dostoyevsky's works and travels.
This interesting but typical museum fare is only the beginning. The rest of the building is devoted to the Museum Art Gallery, whose many gallery halls contain the ever-changing exhibits of foreign and local modern art.
This constantly changing menu lends the small museum plenty of variety without having to compete with the city's larger museums. Instead of the Hermitage's daunting vastness, the hordes of tourists, and the desperate marathon attempt to "see it all", the Dostoyevsky Museum Gallery's small size creates an intimate atmosphere which invites a more relaxed perusal of the pieces on display.
Featured this week were three exhibits of modern Russian artists. The main gallery on the second floor was displaying the works of four local artists, Marina Ikoku, Natalia Sobolyeva, Lavrenti Fezzati, and Mikhail Terasimets. Terasimets' mixed media of print and pen and ink were extremely cool, especially the piece entitled "Rusalka," a nude which interposes in an engaging way the attraction and otherworldly repulsion of the naiads of Russian myth.
Adjacent to this exhibit is displayed the delicate needlepoint work of artist Vladimir Fomichyev. The prodigious amount of patience and attention to detail that went into the creation of so many classically beautiful cameos is what's most immediately striking about this collection of mythological and devotional themes.
The unattributed exhibit on the ground floor features impressionistic oils of the familiar architecture of St Petersburg. Earthy tones highlighted with playful color and perspective convey the artist's exuberant affection for the subject and make a thoroughly amusing show of usually very boring material.
Also interesting was the showing of some students' work, most of which was typical student work. Within the mythological theme were the expected lifeless scenes from various legends, but three works were unexpectedly refreshing.
One, a rendering of the "cosmic egg" creation myth, used color well with lively characters, which made up for the prevalent lack of movement over the whole exhibit. The other two were pen and inks: "The Song of Lada" by Alexei Chizhov created a fiercely powerful mood and "Svarozhich battles the Dragon" by Vika Antipova was strikingly effective in its use of chaotic background detail to suggest the ferocity of the struggle, juxtaposed with rigidly posed combatants that echoed with battle's eternal vigor.
Exploring contemporary art is always fun because the establishment hasn't yet made up its mind as to what is `good art', and so for the small price of admission anybody can be a critic in the cozy setting of Dostoyevsky's last home.