Nikolay Speshnev chapter of "Demons" when, in the midst of confessing to a terrible crime, he formulates the guiding idea of his life: "that I neither know nor feel good and evil and that I have not only lost any sense of it, but that there is neither good nor evil (which pleased me), and that it is just a prejudice." It is speculated that Dostoevsky also refers to Speshnev on one occasion in "The Idiot". The central character, Prince Myshkin, recounts a long conversation with "a certain S—", an erudite and well-bred man, on the subject of atheism. Nikolay Speshnev Nikolay
Vladimir Myshkin in his three starts before being defeated by Canada 3-2 in overtime in the semifinals. Nonetheless, Myshkin played spectacularly that game in a losing cause, being named the USSR's player of the game, and was named to the tournament all-star team for his heroics. As the starting goaltender of the national team, he backstopped them to a bronze medal at the 1985 World Championships and a gold in 1986 on home ice in Moscow. The following year, the 31-year-old Myshkin was replaced by younger goaltenders Evgeny Belosheikin and Sergei Mylnikov. After 1986, he appeared only once more at the World