Dostoevsky began the idea of "Crime and Punishment" in the summer of 1865. This was after he had gambled away much of his money. Because of this, he could not pay his bills or eat properly. He owed large sums of money to creditors, and was also trying to help the family of his brother Mikhail. Mikhail had died in early 1864. He began writing it under the title "The Drunkards". He wanted to write about "the current problem of drunkenness". However, when Dostoevsky began writing about Raskolnikov's crime, the theme of crime and punishment became his main subject instead.