The Idiot The Idiot The Idiot (pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform ) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal "The Russian Messenger" in 1868–9. The title is an ironic reference to the central character of the novel, Prince (Knyaz) Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, a young man whose goodness, open-hearted simplicity and guilelessness lead many of the more worldly characters he encounters to mistakenly assume that he lacks intelligence and insight. In the character of Prince Myshkin, Dostoevsky set himself the task of depicting "the positively good and beautiful man." The novel examines the
Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia Prince Nicholas had a younger brother, Prince Dimitri Romanovich. Their father Prince Roman Petrovich was the only son of Grand Duke Peter Nicolaievich and Grand Duchess Militsa Nikolaievna (née Princess of Montenegro). His grandfather was the younger son of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna (née Duchess of Oldenburg). His great grandfather Nicholas Nikolaevich was a younger son of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna (née Princess Charlotte of Prussia) and founded the Nikolaevichi branch of the Russian Imperial Family. Prince Nicholas was brought up in Cap d'Antibes with his family still using the