Demons (Dostoevsky novel) Demons (Dostoevsky novel) Demons (pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform ; sometimes also called The Possessed or The Devils) is a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in the journal "The Russian Messenger" in 1871–2. It is considered one of the four masterworks written by Dostoevsky after his return from Siberian exile, along with "Crime and Punishment" (1866), "The Idiot" (1869) and "The Brothers Karamazov" (1880). "Demons" is a social and political satire, a psychological drama, and large scale tragedy. Joyce Carol Oates has described it as "Dostoevsky's most confused and violent novel, and his most satisfactorily 'tragic' work." According to Ronald
Demons (Dostoevsky novel) epigraph, and Dostoevsky's thoughts on its relevance to Russia are given voice by Stepan Verkhovensky on his deathbed near the end of the novel. In late 1860s Russia there was an unusual level of political unrest caused by student groups influenced by liberal, socialist and revolutionary ideas imported from Europe. In 1869, Dostoevsky conceived the idea of a 'pamphlet novel' directed against the radicals. He focused on the group organized by young agitator Sergey Nechayev, particularly their murder of a former comrade—Ivan Ivanov—at the Petrovskaya Agricultural Academy in Moscow. Dostoevsky had first heard of Ivanov from his brother-in-law, who was